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Berns, Robert G.; Erickson, Patricia M.Contextual Teaching and Learning: Preparing Students for theNew Economy. The Highlight Zone: Research Work No. 5.National Dissemination Center for Career and TechnicalEducation, Columbus, OH.Office of Vocational and Adult Education (ED), Washington,DC.2001-00-009p.VO51A990004For full text:http://www.nccte.com/publications/infosynthesis/index.asp#HZ

Information Analyses (070)MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.Constructivism (Learning); Context Effect; CriticalThinking; *Education Work Relationship; Educational Change;Educational Needs; *Educational Practices; *EducationalTheories; Educational Trends; Group Activities; MultipleIntelligences; Problem Solving; Secondary Education; ServiceLearning; Teacher Role*Contextual Learning; *Contextualized Instruction; SelfDirection

Contextual teaching and learning (CTL), which is still beingdesigned and implemented, is a conception of teaching and learning that helpsteachers relate subject matter content to real-world situation, and motivatesstudents to make connections between knowledge and its applications to theirlives as family members, citizens, and workers. Educational theories andthemes that relate to CTL include knowledge-based constructivism,effort-based learning and incremental theory of intelligence, socialization,situated learning, and distributed learning. Approaches for implementing CTLinclude problem-based learning, cooperative learning, project-based learning,service learning, and work-based learning. CTL requires that teachers planlessons that are developmentally appropriate for students; includeinterdependent learning groups; provide for an environment that supportsself-regulated learning; consider the diversity of students; addresses themultiple intelligences of students (including questioning techniques thatenhance student learning and problem-solving skills); and include authenticassessment. In implementing CTL, teachers serve as facilitators, organizers,role models, learning mentors, content specialists, and knowledge dispensers.CTL increasingly is becoming a part of reforms of both career and technicaleducation and academic education. (This document includes a description of anexample high school course CTL project that integrates English, mathematics,and career and technical education, and a list of seven inserviceprofessional development projects. (Contains 31 references.) (KC)

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2001Contextual Teaching and Learning:Preparing Students for the New Economy

no. 5

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement

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The Highlight Zone: Re-search @ Work is designedto highlight research find-ings and provide a synthe-sis of other informationsources. The intention is

)r) to help practitioners ap-ply and adapt researchresults for local use.

onnv.Erocete.courn)

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by Robert G. Berns and Patricia M. EricksonA national conversation has emerged in recent years regarding the best way of teaching to attain higherstudent achievement. Since the hallmark report A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellencein Education 1983), calls for school reform to produce more effective schools as measured by the achieve-ment of all students have inundated the country. This focus on student achievement, often measured bystandardized tests in such academic areas as reading, mathematics, and science, has challenged career andtechnical educators. At the same time, the global economy and competitive marketplace, the changingnature of jobs, and advancing technology have influenced career and technical education (CTE) curricu-lum. In addition, changes in the demographic characteristics of students and the growing body of knowl-edge about how people learn and what makes for effective teaching have caused career and technicaleducators to reexamine the basic principles and methodology of career and technical education.

From Behaviorism to Constructivismand Contextual Teaching and Learning

The early 20th-century roots of career and technical education can be found in the theories proposed byDavid Snedden and Charles Prosser, who suggested that the public schools were an arm of the socialsystem of our society and, thereby, had an inherent mission to further the good of society by contributingto its social efficiency. Then called vocational education, CTE offered a means of preparing well-trained,compliant workers for that efficient society. At the same time, an emerging teaching and learning theory,behaviorism, was proposed in which E. L. Thorndike suggested that learning resulted from links formedbetween stimuli and responses through the application of rewards. Schools would teach students the rightwork and moral habits. Behaviorism has served as the basic teaching and learning model for CTE (Doolittleand Camp 1999). It continues to be seen in performance objectives, criterion-referenced measures, tasklists as a source of curriculum, and specific, predetermined skills demonstrated to industry standards.

Another theory developed at about the same time (1910-1920) was constructivism. In this teaching andlearning model, students construct their own knowledge by testing ideas based on prior knowledge andexperience, applying these ideas to a new situation, and integrating the new knowledge gained with pre-existing intellectual constructs. Rooted in the theories of John Dewey (1900), constructivism calls foractive participation in problem solving and critical thinking regarding an authentic learning activity thatstudents find relevant and engaging (Briner 1999).

Although both theories involve student participation, CTE has not tended to include constructivist ap-proaches to the extent it has embraced behaviorism. More specifically, although Prosser and the field ofvocational education embraced the engaging element of constructivism, the nature of the curriculummore appropriately lent itself to the approaches of behaviorism. Through the years, CTE teaching andlearning approaches have included both direct instruction (usually individual, drill-and-practice exercisesbased on behaviorism) and projects (sometimes group activities that may or may not exhibit the charac-teristics of constructivism). An example of direct instruction is an expert demonstrating to students in ahorticulture class how to plant roses, followed by students indivdivally planting their own roses with theinstructor monitoring and providing feedback as the students practice. The same class may be planning aservice project as members of the FFA student organization, in which they plan to provide gifts for theresidents of a local nursing home during a holiday season. Although this project may not exhibit all of thecharacteristics of constructivism, it would have the potential to do so.

As direct instruction followed by practicing specific skills offers a behavioristic means for teaching andlearning, contextual teaching and learning (CTL) provides a constructivist model. For this service projectto represent constructivism through CTL, the teaching and learning processes must include the charac-teristics of CTL. Although direct instruction may be appropriate for helping students reach certain learn-

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ing goals, CTL provides the means forreaching other sets of learning goals thatrequire higher-order thinking skills.

Definition of CTL

The contextual teaching and learning ini-tiative is a work in progress. University fac-ulty, in collaboration with P-12 educators,are involved in a variety of projects to studythe teaching and learning process. In ad-dition, they continue to research ways toorganize the many bodies of knowledgethat address various aspects of teaching andlearning.

The first of eight recent projects sponsoredby the Office of Vocational and Adult Edu-cation, U.S. Department of Education wasconducted at The Ohio State Universityin partnership with Bowling Green StateUniversity. A preliminary definition of CTLemerged from that study (ContextualTeaching and Learning 2000):

Contextual teaching and learning is aconception of teaching and learningthat helps teachers relate subjectmatter content to real world situa-tions; and motivates students tomake connections between knowl-edge and its applications to their livesas family members, citizens, andworkers and engage in the hard workthat learning requires.

Thus, CTL helps students connect thecontent they are learning to the life con-texts in which that content could be used.Students then find meaning in the learn-ing process. As they strive to attain learn-ing goals, they draw upon their previousexperiences and build upon existing knowl-edge. By learning subjects in an integrated,multidisciplinary manner and in appropri-ate contexts, they are able to use the ac-quired knowledge and skills in applicablecontexts (Berns and Erickson 2001).

Underlying Support for CTL

For CTL to be considered a legitimatepedagogy to be applied with students, itmust be based on sound educational prin-ciples, theories, and practices. CTL buildsupon bodies of literature that include theo-ries and writings by Dewey (1900), Piaget(1929), Bruner (1966), and others. Thus,it is an extension of past thinking, theo-

ries, testing, and writings. More contem-porary work has included syntheses byResnick and Hall (1998) and themes iden-tified by Borko and Putnam (1998). Ex-amples of theories and themes that relateto CTL follow:

Knowledge-based constructivismBothdirect instruction and constructivist activi-ties can be compatible and effective in theachievement of learning goals (Resnickand Hall 1998).

Effort-based learning/incremental theoryof intelligenceIncreasing one's effortsresults in more ability. This theory opposesthe notion that one's aptitude is unchange-able. Striving for learning goals motivatesan individual to be engaged in activitieswith a commitment to learning (ibid.).

SocializationChildren learn the stan-dards, values, and knowledge of society byraising questions and accepting challengesto find solutions that are not immediatelyapparent, along with explaining concepts,justifying their reasoning, and seeking in-formation (ibid.). Indeed, learning is a so-cial process, requiring social and culturalfactors to be considered during instruc-tional planning. This social nature of learn-ing also drives the determination of thelearning goals (Borko and Putnam 1998).

Situated learningKnowledge and learn-ing are situated in particular physical andsocial contexts. A range of settings may beused such as the home, the community,and the workplace, depending on the pur-pose of instruction and the intended learn-ing goals (ibid.).

Distributed learningKnowledge may beviewed as distributed or stretched over(Lave 1988) the individual, other persons,and various artifacts such as physical andsymbolic tools (Salomon 1993) and notsolely as a property of individuals. Thus,people, as an integral part of the learningprocess, must share knowledge and tasks(Borko and Putnam 1998).

Working together, these theories and oth-ers serve as underlying principles uponwhich the CTL conception and process isbased. Indeed, "the contextual approachrecognizes that learning is a complex andmultifaceted process that goes far beyonddrill-oriented, stimulus-and-response

methodologies" (Center for OccupationalResearch and Development 2000, online,n.p.).

Characteristics of ContextualTeaching and Learning

CTL can be more fully described by iden-tifying its characteristics. These attributesinclude its interdisciplinary and contextualnature, approaches that can be used toimplement it, factors that address indi-vidual needs of students, and the teacher'srole.

Interdisciplinary Learning,Problem-based Learning, andExternal Contexts for Learning

For instructional processes to be CTL,learning must be extended across disci-plines so that students gain a real-life per-spective. They see how the knowledge andskills relate to their lives either now or inthe future. Real-world situations and prob-lems rarely represent only one discipline.

The intent is also for the level of learningto rise so the students can better under-stand life situations (e.g., those presentedat the workplace), identify and effectivelysolve problems, make wise decisions, andthink creatively. Thus, if students are en-gaged in a classroom research project inwhich they are studying city plans tochange a natural preserve to a housingdevelopment near the school, they wouldneed to be learning and applying languagearts, mathematics, and scientific knowl-edge while addressing the agricultural is-sues inherent in such a situation. Whetherthe agriculture teacher is the only instruc-tor involved, or a team of teachers fromthe academics and CTE subject areas arecollaborating, the learning goals wouldtranscend one specific discipline.

The learning goals may be based on (1)state, local, and/or professional associationcontent standards from the involved dis-ciplines; (2) such skills as the Secretary'sCommission on Achieving Necessary Skills(SCANS 1991), WorkKeys (ACT 2001),and other family, employability, and pro-cess competencies; and (3) higher-orderthinking skills such as problem solving,critical thinking, and decision making.

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In CTL, experiences help students makeconnections with both internal and exter-nal contexts. They begin with their exist-ing knowledge, past experiences, and othercurrent classes or situations (Berns andErickson 2001) and conduct activities insuch external contexts as the school, home,workplace, and the Internet. These expe-riences result in a deeper understandingso that students are more likely to retaincompetencies for a longer period of timeand be able to apply them in appropriateways at appropriate times in the future.

Thus, the integration of academic and ca-reer-technical education helps the studentunderstand the content of both the aca-demic subject matter and the subject mat-ter of the career and technical area of study.All teachers, individually or in teams ofcareer-technical and academic teachers,can use CTL to increase student learningand achievement in such integration ef-forts, thus resulting in better meeting thepurposes, goals, and objectives of specificschools, classes, and education in general.

Approaches for Implementing CTL

To implement CTL, a variety of teachingapproaches may be used. Over the years,five teaching approaches have emergedthat include context as a critical compo-nent. They engage students in an activelearning process. These approaches are notdiscrete. They can be used individually orin conjunction with one or more of the oth-ers. Although varying in the literature, thefollowing definitions are intended to cap-ture the essence of the concepts as meansfor implementing CTL:

Problem-based learningan approachthat engages learners in problem-solvinginvestigations that integrate skills and con-cepts from many content areas. This ap-proach includes gathering informationaround a question, synthesizing it, and pre-senting findings to others (Moffitt 2001).

Cooperative learningan approach thatorganizes instruction using small learninggroups in which students work together toachieve learning goals (Holubec 2001).

Project-based learningan approach thatfocuses on the central concepts and prin-ciples of a discipline, involves students inproblem-solving investigations and other

meaningful tasks, allows students to workautonomously to construct their own learn-ing, and culminates in realistic products(Buck Institute for Education 2001).

Service learningan approach that pro-vides a practical application of newly ac-quired (or developing) knowledge andskills to needs in the community throughprojects and activities (McPherson 2001).

Work-based learningan approach inwhich workplace, or workplace-like, activi-ties are integrated with classroom contentfor the benefit of students and often busi-nesses (Smith 2001).

Many CTE instructional models provide aformat to allow for these CTL approaches:cooperative education, work experienceprograms, internships (paid and unpaid),apprenticeships, in-school laboratories,simulations, and school-based enterprises.However, these models do not automati-cally use the CTL process. To do so, theteachers need to include the characteris-tics of CTL identified in this section.

Activities and projects sponsored by career-technical student organizations may alsoinclude various attributes of CTL. For ex-ample, if the FFA service project for a nurs-ing home cited earlier were to be based onthe problem-based learning approach, thestudents would have identified the specificproject after being presented with a "fuzzy"situation, such as "a nursing home in townmight have some needs." The studentswould then spend time in the nursinghome. They might find that the residents'rooms are not very colorful. They wouldthen organize themselves into small groupsand work on solving the problem. In theprocess, they might write messages to eachother, calculate the mathematics to deter-mine the resources needed for driving toand from the nursing home, verbally com-municate with the school and nursinghome administrators, and apply whatevercareer-technical skills are intended (e.g.,the preparation of floral arrangements, if ahorticulture class). The students wouldorient the nursing home administrators andprovide a debriefing following the place-ment of the arrangements in the rooms.The project, then, would be intended toreach specified learning goals from math-ematics, language arts, and horticultureas identified in the standards and curricu-lum.

In this example, various aspects of prob-lem-based learning, project-based learning,and service learning merge into a learningexperience for the students. CTL requiresthese approaches to be used in a more ho-listic manner than often used in the past.Again, CTE instructors may already usethis type of activity in their class or in theirCTE student organization; however, howit is donethe amount and nature of thestudent participation, for exampledeter-mines the extent to which the project rep-resents CTL.

Factors that AddressIndividual Needs of Students

For the instructional process to be consid-ered to be contextual teaching and learn-ing, teachers must address the followingfactors when using one or more of the CTLapproaches (Berns and Erickson 2001).These concepts are based on cognitive re-search that has provided a rich knowledgebase on how people learn. Teachers must

plan lessons that are developmentally ap-propriate for the students. The relation-ship between curriculum content andmethods used to teach students must bebased on the particular levels of the stu-dents' social, emotional, and intellectualdevelopment. Thus, the age of the stu-dents, other individual characteristics,and their social and cultural environmentmust be taken into consideration. Whata high school senior is ready to learn anddo, for instance, may be quite differentthan a high school sophomore (Kilmer2001).include interdependent learning groups.'Through small groups, students learnfrom each other and learn to work inteams, quality circles, and other forms ofcollaboration that are required of adultsin the workplace and in other contextsin which students will be expected tofunction.provide for an environment that supportsself-regulated learning. Students need tounderstand their strengths and weak-nesses, to set attainable goals, and to de-velop strategies to achieve their goals. Asthey learn these skills, they gain self-con-fidence and competence. They now un-derstand the importance of taking timeto think and reflect on options beforeplunging forward during life's challenges.Through self-regulated learning, teachersalso create an environment in which stu-dents reflect on how they learn, how they

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approach schoolwork, how they coulddeal with obstacles, and how they couldwork in harmony with others. With CTLapproaches requiring group work, stu-dents need to be able to contribute so thattheir group will be successful (Winogradand Paris 2001).include consideration of the diversity ofstudents. Teachers must teach to a widerange of students. Considerations includestudents' racial and ethnic backgrounds,their socioeconomic status, their primaryhousehold language, and any disabilitiesthey may have. For example, teachersevaluate materials for sex bias and ste-reotyping. They also plan and react to lan-guage so that students overcome languagebarriers to learning (Sapon-Shevin 2001).address the multiple intelligences of stu-dents. When using a CTL approach, theways particular students in the class learnbest need to be considered. Gardner(1993) has identified eight learning ori-entations that involve such factors ashearing or seeing language, involvement,music, numbers, visualization, humanmovement, interaction with others, andleading. Teachers embed within the CTLapproach strategies that make instructioneffective for students of varying intelli-gences (Brockman and Brockman 2001).include questioning techniques that en-hance student learning and the develop-ment of problem solving and other higher-order thinking skills. For CTL to achieveits goals, appropriate types and levels ofquestions must be asked. Questions mustbe carefully planned to produce the in-tended level of thinking, responses, andactions by students and all participantsin the CTL approach (Frazee 2001).include authentic assessment. Authenticassessment evaluates a student's applica-tion of knowledge and complex thinking,rather than rote recall of factual informa-tion. The interdisciplinary nature of CTLrequires assessment that measures knowl-edge and skills in more than one disci-pline and in multiple ways (Ananda2001).

The Teacher's Role

For the CTL approaches to be most effec-tive in student learning, teachers mustplan, implement, reflect upon, and reviselessons. Such plans are based on CTL prin-ciples and approaches that require teach-ers to serve in the following roles: facilita-tor, organizer of the teaching/leaming/as-sessment process, role model, learning

mentor, content specialist, and knowledgedispenser. Although the teacher can imple-ment CTL individually, teacher collabora-tion maximizes interdisciplinary learning.For teachers to be effective using CTL, theymust be prepared to understand its vari-ous aspects. Models for preparing currentand future teachers are currently underdevelopment through activities funded bythe U.S. Department of Education. Theseprojects are described later.

School Reform, Career-Technical Education, and

CT's RoleCTL is an instructional process. As such,it is increasingly being used by schoolswithin their school reform efforts. CTL canserve as the pedagogical component of thisreform in all subjects and at all grade lev-els for all students. It provides a means forteaching to be improved within the vary-ing innovative initiatives designed to pro-duce increased learning by all students.

As part of the reform effort, career andtechnical education is developing andimplementing a variety of models for orga-nizing schools and programs in a way thatmakes sense to students, brings meaningto the classroom in the form of relation-ships between subject matter and careers,and elevates the level of learning by all stu-dents. Career academies, majors, and path-ways as well as tech prep are examples ofthese models.

At the same time, CTE is increasingly be-ing seen as a means for enhancing academ-ics. By providing a curriculum that is basedon the need for students to demonstratemastery of rigorous industry standards, highacademic standards and related generaleducation knowledge, technology, and gen-eral employment competencies, CTE pro-vides an avenue for school reform, espe-cially at the high school level.

An intent of all of these concepts is in-creased student learning. However, theideas also respond to the needs of a neweconomy that Lynch (2000) suggests is amajor influence on the entire educationalsystem. A new world of fast communica-tion, rapid decision making, internationalactivity, cyberspace, ever-changing marketdemands and standards, increasingly so-

phisticated computers, and the need for amore thorough knowledge of the wholebusiness environment (ibid.) characterizesthe world for which CTE and, indeed, allof education, is preparing its youth.

Lynch (2000) also cites the following di-rections of the new career and technical edu-cation (p. 1):

Preparing students with the educationand technical skills they will need for suc-cessful employment in various careers orprofessionsTeaching students about all aspects of anindustryEnhancing academics by bringing real-world context and applicationespeciallytargeted to workplacesto educationTeaching students how to apply high-levelmath, science, technology, and languagein workplaces and communitiesPreparing high school students for college,should they and their families choose forthem to attendPreparing students with the academicfoundation to be lifelong learners

For the new CTE to be successful, the in-structional process must change. In thepast, career and technical education cre-ated and followed a task-based curriculum.Students were prepared to perform thespecific duties required of a job. Althoughlearning skills to perform such tasks maybe important in some CTE programs, CTLrequires that portion of the curriculum tobe placed in a broader framework that in-tegrates other subject content into thelearning process for the students. Learn-ing goals are elevated to higher-orderthinking skills in the process of learninghow to find information, adapt to change,and communicate effectively while relat-ing appropriately to others.

Thus, a more constructivist, CTL approachto teaching and learning is required. Con-textual teaching and learning provides ameans for developing career-related andacademic competencies at a high level.Although CTE was at the forefront of re-lating subject matter to real world situa-tions, the constructivist approach, as em-bodied in the various aspects of CTL, hasnot been the usual instructional process.

An Lxample

Envision a high school faculty lounge 2days before the school year is to begin inthe fall. One of the career-technical mar-keting teachers is discussing her junior classwith two of her colleagues, a math teacherand an English teacher, who also teach jun-iors. Concerned about students who oftenlack interest in academic subjects, theythink some sort of cross-course activitymight be more motivating. The marketingteacher suggests the three of them collabo-rate on using contextual teaching andlearning, a concept she had learned in aprofessional development activity last year.

She tells them how problem-based, project-based, and cooperative learning can beused to increase student achievement.Specifically, she suggests they have the stu-dents complete a marketing researchproject. Such a project could be designedfor the students to meet two marketingstate and local standards (Vocational In-structional Materials Laboratory 1995): (1)use marketing information to make deci-sions, and (2) conduct marketing research(including develop research materials, col-lect data, etc.).

Such a project would require students tolearn both marketing and academic sub-ject matter in English and mathematics.The following language arts and mathemat-ics standards would apply (VIML 1999):

Apply measurement and spatial skillsApply statistical analysis skillsAnalyze critical dataCreate graphs and chartsUse spreadsheet softwareApply listening skillsApply technical writing skills

Employability learning standards wouldalso be sought (ibid.):

Use scheduling techniquesUse word-processing softwareContribute to teamworkBuild interpersonal relationshipsDemonstrate technological literacyApply self-management processes

The academic teachers agree to collabo-rate with the marketing teacher to providethis engaging, interdisciplinary activity fortheir students.

It is now early October, and the class isabout to begin a unit on marketing re-search. After having spent a month plan-ning for this project with the other twoteachers, the marketing teacher tells herjunior class that they will be learning mar-keting research by conducting a classproject. She says that their English andmathematics teachers will be involvedalong with the local Chamber of Com-merce. She has made an appointment withJim Smith, the director of the Chamber,and would like an officer of the classDECA chapter to accompany her to hisoffice downtown to invite him to theirclass. A few days later, the DECA presi-dent and marketing teacher extend theinvitation to Mr. Smith, and he enthusias-tically accepts.

The teacher follows up the visit with aphone call to Mr. Smith to discuss the goalsof the class and his potential role in theupcoming project. The following week, Mr.Smith visits the class. He tells the studentsof the community's master economic de-velopment plan, which will include the de-velopment of housing divisions, businessstrip centers, and light industry.

Looking at the plan, he asks the studentswhat they see as a need for the commu-nity. The teacher then places the studentsin small groups of four. During the groupwork, the teacher and Mr. Smith travelfrom table to table helping the students inthe process. A leader from each group thenreports the group's ideas to the full class.

One group suggests that entertainment islimited in the community. Although thereare typical theatres, restaurants, and shop-ping areas, they identify a dinner theatreas an attraction that might be popular. Theclass collectively agrees that this area wouldbe interesting to pursue.

The next questions posed to the studentsare, How does that type of business fit intothe overall economic development plan forthe community? What information wouldbe helpful to determine the likelihood forsuccess by such a business? Such questionsrequire students to think at a higher level.They soon discover that some type of mar-keting research study would help themanswer the question.

After full discussion, the class, teacher, andMr. Smith agree that a survey of the com-munity to determine the level of supportfor a dinner theatre would be the market-ing research project. This pursuit will beauthentic in that the results will actuallybe used in the community. At the conclu-sion of the project, the final report will beshared with members of the Chamber ofCommerce at one of their regular eveningmeetings. The students are quite enthusedat the possibility of their work eventuallyresulting in an actual new business beingopened in the community.

As the project is being identified, theteacher considers the extent to which itwould be developmentally appropriate.Since the students are high school juniors,she feels they have the prerequisite skillsto complete the project successfully. Shedecides the project will, indeed, be appro-priate while providing experiences that willlead the students to the standards set forthe class.

In planning the project so that individualstudent needs will be met, the teacher con-siders the diversity of the learners. Realiz-ing that the students need to learn to workeffectively in groups consisting of diverseindividuals, she carefully places studentsinto groups with the assistance of her En-glish and mathematics colleagues so thatthe composition includes variance in abil-ity level, communication skills, maturitylevel, and background. The groups are as-signed roles such as survey instrument, dataanalysis, graphs and charts, final report, andpublic relations. The entire class will col-lect the data in the community.

After the marketing instructor determinesthat the students undertand the parts of amarketing research project, the class as awhole identifies the specific problem to beaddressed (i.e., to determine the level ofinterest in the community for a dinner the-atre) and the method of collecting infor-mation. Realizing that any data collectionwill require financial resources, they con-sider the needed budget along with the prosand cons of each possible method (e.g.,mail survey, telephone survey, individualinterviews, and focus group interviews).They choose to prepare a short survey in-strument that they will distribute at vari-ous business locations in the community.

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During the project, the students are encouraged to ask high-levelquestions while the teacher also asks such questions as, Why doyou want to ask that particular question on the survey instrument?How can you ensure that the question you are asking will providethe information you need?

The students are also required to keep individual journals everyday for a variety of reasons. First, students increase learning throughreflection. Also, teachers can monitor the progress of groups byreading such journals. In the journals, the students address suchissues as "my contribution to the group today," "what I learnedtoday, " and "what I need to do differently tomorrow." Reflectingupon their own behavior and learning also provides the studentswith a means to regulate their own situation.

During the next 2 weeks, the class works in their small groups.They are required to prepare progress reports that are assessed byboth the marketing and English teachers. The group that com-pletes the data tabulation and analysis and that prepares the graphsand charts first presents its work to both the marketing and math-ematics teachers for their assessment. After the work has beenaccepted, this group then presents it to the entire class, being care-ful to explain the mathematical procedures used to arrive at theirstatistics.

All of the groups collaborate to prepare a final report for the Cham-ber of Commerce. After several drafts with the help of both themarketing and English teachers, the report is presented at a Cham-ber meeting. The principal and the English and mathematics teach-ers accompany the marketing teacher and her students to themeeting. After the presentation, the students receive a warm ova-tion. In fact, a few days later, the class receives a letter of apprecia-tion from Mr. Smith and the Chamber of Commerce. In it, theyexplain how the report will be used by the Chamber to encouragetargeted community members to consider developing a dinnertheatre for the community.

As is evident, the students have been assessed in multiple, au-thentic ways during the course of the project (formative assess-ment) and at its conclusion (summative assessment). The rubricsfor these assessments were constructed by the students with thehelp of the teacher. The formative assessments included individualdaily journals (assessed by the marketing teacher) and process as-sessment by students and the marketing teacher (three times)including such criteria as individual student contributions to thegroup, verbal communications, interpersonal skills, etc. Thesummative assessment included a final report (assessed by. Mr.Smith and the English, mathematics, and marketing teachers) andthe presentation (assessed by Mr. Smith, the principal, and thethree teachers).

What was once a unit in which one teacher (the marketing teacher)lectured while the students took notes and later completed a pa-per-and-pencil test, the instruction has become an interdiscipli-nary, higher-level, and more real and meaningful experience forthe class. In preparing students to be successful in the marketingworkplace of today and tomorrow, the classroom has now becomemore like that environment.

Through this project, the students were learning three subjects atthe same time in an integrated manner. A team of teachers, alongwith a businessperson, contributed to the planning and implemen-tation of the project, bringing expertise from a variety of contentareas to the learning process. Some of the learning occurred out-side the school. The project became more motivational and realto the students, allowing them to learn subject matter at a higherlevel while helping them develop a variety of "process" or "life"skills, including teamwork, communications, problem solving, andassuming responsibility for their own learning.

The National CTL Initiative

As is evident from this example, CTL implementation requiresthe teacher to play a significant role. Indeed, studies suggest that"what teachers know and can do is the most important influenceon what students learn" (Darling-Hammond 1996, p. 6). Althoughstudent characteristics, including socioeconomic status, accountfor variance in achievement, the teacher's knowledge of the sub-ject matter and skill in the use of decision making, problem solv-ing, creative thinking, instructional planning, implementation ofplans, and assessment of situations and students make a definitedifference in how much students learn, at what level the studentslearn, and to what extent they retain that knowledge.

In 1997, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. De-partment of Education, funded a project at the Ohio State Uni-versity in partnership with Bowling Green State University to de-fine contextual teaching and learning, develop a framework fordescribing and studying CTL in preservice teacher education, pre-pare a set of background papers, and identify and study university/college programs that prepare teachers to use various aspects ofcontextual teaching and learning (Contextual Teaching and Learn-ing 2000).

From that work, seven additional projects were funded to createmodels for the recruitment and preservice preparation of futureteachers and development of inservice teachers. These projectsare described here (source: U.S. Department of Education 2000).Although most of these models are still under development, con-tact information is included for readers interested in learning moreabout them or in identifying products and their availability.

Inservice Professional Development ProjectsBowling Green State University. BGSU has created an interactive, Web-based Model of Excellence for the inservice professional development ofP-12 teachers in the effective use of CTL. This distance-learning modelallows teachers to learn CTL in a contextual, problem-based, engagingmanner. The ultimate goal is to enhance P-12 student learning, resultingin better success in postsecondary education and careers. The system hasbeen piloted in four school districts.

Contact Information:Robert G. Berns, Project DirectorPatricia M. Erickson, Co-principal InvestigatorDivision of Teaching and LearningBowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, OH 43403Tel: 419/372-2904; Fax: 419/372-2827E-mail: rbems@bgnet.bgsu.edu; Website: www.bgsu.edu/ctl

Johns Hopkins University. Johns Hopkins University is devc,toping,demonstrating, and evaluating an inservice professional developmentapproach and materials for high schools that will support contextual teach-ing and learning within a Career Academy structure. All of the profes-sional development activities and materials will be demonstrated andevaluated in nonselective urban high schools with Career Academiesthat blend academic and vocational content in the core curriculum andelectives.

Contact Information:James McPartlandRobert BalfanzCenter for Social Organization of SchoolsJohns Hopkins University3003 N. Chillers St., Suite 200Baltimore, MD 21218Tel: 410/516-8800; Fax: 410/516-8090E-mail: jmcpartlan@csos.jhu.edu

University of Wisconsin at Madison. This project has designed theTeachNET model, which is intended to enhance inservice professionaldevelopment programs by providing teachers with opportunities to par-ticipate in workplace/community learning experiences and assisting themin applying what they learned to instructional practices. TeachNET hasestablished a network of Regional Cluster Teamseach coordinated bya local Professional Development Organizationcommitted to enhanc-ing local capacity for providing professional development opportunitiesthat connect workplace/community learning and contextual instructionalpractices. TeachNET is particularly relevant for districts, school partner-ships, and consortia of educational institutions in urban and rural set-tings interested in maximizing participation in workplace learning.

Contact Information:Thomas Sargent, Project DirectorCenter on Education and WorkUniversity of Wisconsin964 Educational Sciences Bldg.1025 West Johnson St.Madison, WI 53706-1796Tel: 608/263-5936; Fax: 608/262-3063E-mail: tsargent@education.wisc.eduWebsite: www.cew.wisc.edu/teachnet

Preservice Preparation ProjectsThe Ohio State University. This project is designed to complete a cross-program analysis of the profiles of five university preservice teacher prepa-ration programs that exhibit characteristics of CTL. A comprehensivemodel program of contextual teaching and learning preservice teachereducation is under development with plans for the Urban Network toImprove Teacher Education (UNITE) to review and refine the modelprogram. A program inventory will assess the degree to which selectedUNITE partners are using contextual teaching and learning in their pro-grams. Technical assistance will support the implementation of the con-textual teaching and learning framework at The Ohio State University,George Washington University, and Western Oregon University.

Contact Information:Susan SearsCollege of EducationThe Ohio State UniversityColumbus, OH 43210Tel: 614/688-8111; Fax: 614/292-1196E-mail: sears.1@osu.edu; Website: www.contextual.org

University of Georgia. The overall goal of the UGA project is to de-velop and implement a preservice teacher education model that is basedin a theoretical framework of contextual teaching and learning. The modelwill permit preservice teacher education students to move through coursesthat integrate contextual teaching and learning concepts. It also will usea broad range of contexts both to inform teaching and learning and toprovide places for them to occur beyond the classroom. Preservice stu-dents will experience CTL in diverse settings and will reflect upon andintegrate their experiential learning into contextual curriculum and peda-gogy that can be used in their teaching.

Contact Information:Richard Lynch or Michael PadillaThe University of GeorgiaAthens, GA 30602Tel: 706/542-3891; Fax: 706/542-3893E-mail: rlynch@uga.cc.uga.edu; Website: www.coe.uga.edu/ctl

Washington State Contextual Education Consortium. Led by the Uni-versity of Washington, the Washington State Contextual Education Con-sortium is a partnership of 10 universities and colleges that are collabo-rating with 18 demographically diverse school districts to enhance atten-tion to contextual teaching and learning in preservice teacher prepara-tion programs across the state. The project includes the development ofstatewide Contextual Education Academy designed to engage professorsof education and arts and sciences with K-12 teachers in demonstratinginnovative contextual teaching and learning classroom strategies thateffectively address new state academic standards, providing technicalassistance to the practitioners faculty, replicating local variations of theacademy model in the areas of the state represented by academy mem-bers, developing a compendium of effective contextual teaching and learn-ing materials, and developing a compendium of effective preservice teacherpreparation models.

Contact Information:Al SmithCollege of EducationUniversity of Washington4725 30th Ave., NESeattle, WA 98105-4021Tel: 206/543-3815; Fax: 206/685-4722E-mail: alsmith@u.washington.eduWebsite: www.wacontextual.ewu.edu

Recruiting New Teachers, Inc. The Urban Teacher Academy Project(UTAP) being conducted by Recruiting New Teachers promotes a highlyqualified and diverse teacher work force for the nation's urban schools byexpanding on the successful school-to-career approach of teacher acad-emies. These teacher academies encourage high-school students to con-sider careers in teaching through a specialized 2- to 4-year curriculumrelated to teaching and learning, practice-teaching opportunities in lo-cal schools under the guidance of mentor teachers, and help in pursuingpostsecondary education. Many teacher academies operate in partner-ship with community college and/or university education programs, thusgiving students a supportive corridor into the teaching profession.

Contact Information:Anne Berrigan or Shirley SchwartzRecruiting New Teachers, Inc.385 Concord Ave., Suite 103Belmont, MA 02478Tel: 617/489-6000 ext.142; Fax: 617/489-6005E-mail: aberrigan@rnt.org

In summary, contextual teaching andlearning draws upon the latest research oneffective teaching and student learning. Asa pedagogical aspect of school reform, itplaces responsibility on the student withthe teacher serving as a significant con-tributor in the process. Engaging, activelearning replaces passive, traditional meth-ods through a variety of hands-on, collabo-rative, high-level approaches. These ap-proaches result in a motivational, invigo-rating educational experience for all stu-dents as they learn at a higher level. As aresult of CTL, students are better preparedfor the new economy. They better retainknowledge and skills, thus raising studentacademic and career-technical achieve-ment. Indeed, they are better prepared forpostsecondary education, careers, andbright futures in the 21st century.

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A list of website addresses for each of the CTLteaching approaches and other CTL conceptsis available at http://www.bgsu.edu/ctl. A CTLreference book list is available at http://nccte . com /publications /infosynthes is/index.html

Robert Berns is Professor, Business andMarketing Education, and Patricia Erickson isAssistant Professor, Family and ConsumerSciences, at Bowling Green State University.

The following people are acknolwedged for theircritical review of the manuscript: MarkBalschweid, Assistant Professor, PurdueUniversity; Cathleen Stasz, Senior Scientist,Rand Corporation; Richard Makin, ExecutiveDirector, Clearfield County Career and

Technology Center (Pennsylvania); Susan Sears,Associate Professor, the Ohio State University;and Michael Loyd, Research Specialist, Centeron Education and Training for Employment, theOhio State University.

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