Linked Learning: Pathways to College and Career Success

ConnectEd and Long Beach Unified

The State of Education…

“The best employers the world over will be looking for the most competent, most creative, and most innovative people on the face of the earth and will be willing to pay them top dollar for their services… Beyond [strong skills in English, mathematics, technology, and science], candidates will have to be comfortable with ideas and abstractions, good at both analysis and synthesis, creative and innovative, self disciplined and well organized, able to learn very quickly and work well as a member of a team and have flexibility to adapt quickly to frequent changes in the labor market as the shifts in the economy become even faster and more dramatic.”

The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, 2007

The State of Education… So how do we fare academically on the international landscape compared to other countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)?

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) US ranks : 14 th 25 th 17 th in Reading in Math in Science

But this is only one measure…

“…. So, the big picture from PISA is one of education stagnation at a time of fast-rising demand for highly-educated workers. afford to ignore.” The mediocre performance of America’s students is a problem we cannot afford to accept and cannot Secretary Arne Duncan December 7, 2010

State of the Economy and Education

(National Trends) Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

“So What Now?” Consensogram Activity

1.

To what degree are you familiar with the Rigor and Relevance Framework?

2.

To what degree does my SLC integrate real-world applications into the academic core?

3.

To what degree does my SLC team know what our local workforce requires of a graduating senior?

4.

To what degree does your SLC team use problem- and/or project-based learning to drive the curriculum?

5.

To what degree do you believe that ALL students can be college and career ready upon graduation from your SLC?

Let me tell you a story...

What is Linked Learning?

The Linked Learning approach offers students a choice among several different multi-year programs of study, which combine academic and technical skills , organized around broad industry themes (i.e., biomedical science; engineering; arts, media, entertainment) and prepare students for a full range of postsecondary options , including: – 2- and 4- year college/university admission – Apprenticeships – Military – Formal employment training – Careers

Organizing Principles

• Prepare students for both college and career • Connect academics to real-world applications • Lead to the full range of postsecondary options • Improve student achievement

Pathway Components

• A Challenging Academic Component • A Demanding Technical Component • A Work-based Learning Component • Support Services

Math Science English Social Studies Technical Core/Work-based Learning Prepared for College and Careers

Middle School Articulation

Social Studies Post-Secondary Articulation College and Career Plan----------college Tours----------Applications ------------Courses Social Studies Social Studies Social Studies Math Math Math Math Technical Core Introductory

Level

Technical Core

Intermediate Level

Technical Core

Capstone Level

Technical Core English English English English

Multiple Post Secondary Opportunities

Science Science Science Science Support Services Support Services Support Services Work-based Learning Opportunities Company Tours ----------------------------Job Shadowing------------------------------ Internships Support Services

Reflection: Linked Learning

• How does your SLC reflect these guiding principles?

• How does your SLC integrate the four core components?

Example

• Health Professions High School in Sacramento

Pathways…

Bring real world relevance to the college preparatory curriculum.

Promote project-based teaching and learning.

Use more authentic assessment methods.

Alignment: Foundations for Engaging Every Learner, Every Day High School Reform Initiative 2009-2014

1. Implement a rigorous and relevant multidisciplinary curriculum in the academic core to increase student achievement.

2. Provide all students with a sequenced and aligned technical curriculum, including work-based learning and CTE experiences, for career exploration.

3. Provide for consistent and sustained support, including prevention and intervention, to ensure that all students achieve their maximum potential.

4. Create a holistic campus climate where relationships, social behavior, and positive professional interactions lead to academic success.

Instructional practices that support the ACSI, HSRI, and HSO Goals:

Classroom

Instructional Practices

Department/SLC

PD Evolution/Action Plans

Site-Level

School Improvement Plan (WASC)

High School Office Goals 2010 – 2011

Prepare all students for postsecondary education & careers through linked learning.

Provide support services within each pathway.

Enroll and support students in a coherent sequence of rigorous courses aligned to student outcomes.

High School Office

High School Reform Initiative/District Initiative for Expanding Pathways

• • • RR Framework (Quadrant D) Linked Learning Strategies Performance Mapping: Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning

LBUSD Board of Education/Superintendent’s Office

Academic and Career Success Initiative

Evaluation 6 Synthesis 5 Quadrant C

⎯

Assimilation

Students extend and refine their acquired knowledge to be able to use that knowledge C create unique solutions.

Quadrant D

⎯

Adaptation Students have the competence to think in complex ways and also apply knowledge and skills they have acquired. Even when

D

create solutions and take action that further develops their skills and knowledge.

Analysis 4 Application 3 Comprehension 2 Knowledge/ Awareness 1 Quadrant A

⎯

Acquisition

Students gather and store bits of knowledge and A to remember or understand this acquired knowledge.

Quadrant B

⎯

Application

Students use acquired knowledge to solve problems, design solutions, and complete B appropriate knowledge to new and unpredictable situations.

Rigor Relevance Framework 2008 International Center for Leadership in Education

1 Knowledge in one discipline 2 Apply in discipline 3 Apply across disciplines

Application Model

4 Apply to real world predictable situations 5 Apply to real-world unpredictable situations

• SLC structures and themes give us a context for the “Application” axis on the Rigor and Relevance Framework.

– i.e., business academy students can learn the historical context of To Kill A Mockingbird by studying the Stock Market Crash, while arts academy students can accomplish the same task by analyzing Billy Holiday’s

Strange Fruit

and pictures of the “Dust Bowl”

Past: Student Experience was not coordinated for student engagement or real-world connections.

But how can we organize our work between the disciplines to ensure a coherent experience for the students?

Linked Learning: Student Experience IS now coordinated for student engagement and real-world connections.

Industry Sectors and Organizing Themes

Why Themes?

• Context and purpose • Provides relevance and connections for the students • Provides a common ground for content specific teachers to talk and plan • Connection for business/community

Determining Themes: Factors to Consider

• Successful programs • Student interest • Labor market demands • Community resources • College connections • Partnerships • Facilities • Staff interest

From Student Learning Outcomes to Student Outcome Charts

• Opportunity for expert practitioners to work in interdisciplinary communities to define what students should know and be able to do within a particular themed course of study.

• Process that empowers a pathway to define its own identity around key industry themes.

Why Define Student Learning Outcomes?

• “Clarity of desired ‘end’ provides the framework for designing ALL student experiences.” • Ensures a rigorous and RELEVANT experience for all students within a pathway.

Student Outcome Charts

Student Outcome charts are a tool that provides a

blueprint

for a coherent, engaging four year educational experience above and beyond the academic standards all students take.

Alignment to an Industry Sector and then a subsequent Pathway is critical to focusing our work and making sure that students have a coherent educational experience.

Recognize that certain sectors (& even pathways) may NATURALLY overlap: – Engineering & Construction – Arts, Media, Entertainment & Fashion/Interior Design – Finance/Business & Marketing, Sales, Services – Etc.

PEACE Academy

• Industry Sector: Public Services • Pathway: Legal/Government Services

Process

VISION

More broad and future oriented… “what” we hope to be about.

MISSION

More specific and defines “why/how” we will get there.

GOALS AND OUTCOMES

Why this common language is so important…

• Finish each of the following proverbs/aphorisms… – People in glass houses shouldn’t… – You can lead a horse to water, but… – Don’t bite the hand that… – You can’t teach an old dog… – A penny saved is… – None as so blind as… – When the blind lead the blind…

PEACE Academy

•

Vision

: “Enter to Learn, Exit to Serve” •

Mission

: “The PEACE Academy is an international negotiations and leadership academy that promotes critical thinking, community-minded students to advocate for social justice through philosophical debates, service learning projects, international negotiations, and complex instruction.”

Student Outcomes….

focus on those

skills

and

abilities

most critical to success within your

career

theme.

So where do these come from?

Foundation Standards

They cover the 11 areas essential to all students ’ success: •

1.0 Academics

•

2.0 Communications

• 3.0 Career Planning and Management • 4.0 Technology • 5.0 Problem Solving and Critical Thinking • 6.0 Health and Safety • 7.0 Responsibility and Flexibility • 8.0 Ethics and Legal Responsibilities • 9.0 Leadership and Teamwork • 10.0 Technical Knowledge and Skills • 11.0 Demonstration and Application Framework – pages xvi - xvii

Pathway Standards

• The pathway standards are concise statements that reflect the essential knowledge and skills students are expected to master to be successful in the career pathway.

• Each career pathway comprises 3 to 12 standards with 2 to 6 subcomponents per standard.

Framework – pages xvi - xvii

Define Attributes of Students in this Pathway…

Strategy: – Take the Pathway Standards assigned.

– Informally unpack the standards to see: • What students should be able to do? VERB - circle – Consider the level of rigor (Bloom’s Taxonomy) – Skills that students might need to master to meet/exceed the standard • What content do students need to know? NOUN - underline – Discuss themes & patterns that emerge from this process and use those to define your students’ 3-5 attributes (adjective to describe a student in this pathway). Attributes can also be known as the broad pathway outcomes.

Student Outcomes (Deep Dive)…

Are observable, measurable results or evidence of the educational experience. They may be things the program wants: – students to know (cognitive), – ways students think (affective/ attitudinal), or – things students should be able to do (behavioral, performance, psychomotor).

They are detailed & meaningful enough to guide decisions in program planning & improvement, & decisions about From CUPR Common Language doc pedagogy & practice. NOT ACTIVITIES.

Course (Program) of Study

Integrated Curriculum and Linked Learning: Performance Mapping

Integrated Curriculum Institute This professional development is

•

Process

driven: Performance Mapping •

Product

driven: Integrated Project

Integrated Curriculum Institute

The goal of performance mapping is to use content area standards and

pacing guides

to discover cross subject area

connections

from which to build an authentic integrated project.

47

Integration Continuum

Single Subject BASIC Paired Interrelated

Math CTE ELA SCI Theme-based Real-World Application SOC For Lang

Conceptual

ARTS

INTERMEDIATE COMPLEX 48

Integrated Curriculum Design

1. Student Outcomes 2. Curriculum/Performance Mapping 3. Share Curriculum and Find Connections 4. Topic Selection 5. Essential Question 6. Establish Performance Tasks/Assessments 7. Lesson Plans 8. Reflection and Revision

Industry and post-secondary partners advise in:

•Curriculum Development •Instruction and Implementation •Student Assessment

Unpacking the standards

Uncover to determine:

• Standard Identification: • Content:

what

students know… • Skills:

what

students are able to…

(performances)

• Performance Standard Measures and Criteria: •

How

students demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skill

Unpacking the Standards

Active

Verbs matter!

Verbs establish the level of learning and drive the assessment methods Performance measures and activities in the project must allow students to

do the VERB!

51

Place your post-it notes in chronological order on the butcher paper

Take turns explaining the details of your content to the team .

Connections across subjects come from both

verbs

(skills = what students should be able to do) AND/OR

nouns

(content = what students should know)

54

Make Connections

Your Turn

• Practice making connections with a partner • Share and discuss your findings at your table

Subject Monday

Identify various modes of transmission for common pathogens

Performance Map Template Across Subject Areas Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

Demonstrate proper experimental procedure Draw conclusions from data regarding prevalence of bacterial contamination Explain how different factors influence the spread of disease

Friday

Analyze and evaluate symptoms to determine patient health status Find information on the topic using a minimum of five sources Evaluate the credibility and reliability of resources. Paraphrase the research into your own words.

Formulate a preliminary thesis statement to reveal the specific point of the paper. Prepare a formal outline using proper outlining form. Distinguish between active and passive transport along concentration gradients.

Analyze structural differences between cells and viruses Compare and contrast viral replication and cellular division 57

Topic Selection

• Reflects focus of your SLC • Relevant to students’ lives and interests • Includes student investigation and research • Addressed through multi-disciplinary perspectives • Includes industry & college professionals 58

Integrated Planning in Action

Video : San Diego Teachers

59

Four Major Characteristics of Integrated Projects

1. Standards driven – timely and identifies level of mastery 2. Inquiry driven – becomes the students’ problem 3. Authentic – product, performance, service or solution 4. Personalized – differentiated based on students’ motivation and skills 60

Let’s Take a Closer Look

Integrated Project Quality Criteria Project Title: Forensic Investigation

Integrated Curriculum Design

1. Student Outcomes

Industry and

2. Curriculum/Performance Mapping

post-secondary partners advise

3. Share Curriculum and Find Connections 4. Topic Selection •Curriculum Development 5. Essential Question

6. Establish Performance Tasks/Assessments

7. Lesson Plans 8. Reflection and Revision •Instruction and Implementation •Student Assessment

• Video Example

Integrated Curriculum Design

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Student Outcomes Curriculum/Performance Mapping

Industry and post-secondary

Share Curriculum and Find Connections

partners advise in:

Topic Selection Essential Question •Curriculum Development Establish Performance Tasks/Assessments

7. Lesson Plans 8. Reflection and Revision

•Instruction and Implementation •Student Assessment

Integrated Problem-Based Projects

Topic

World Hunger: Heifer International Environmental Issues: Long Beach Breakwater Port of Long Beach Improving Community Health Water Conservation: Design a “Blue” house

Essential Question

How can I impact the world by thinking globally and acting locally?

SLC: Industry Sector

PEACE 10 th grade: Public Services Can we change our environment?

PEACE 9 th grade: Public Services How do efficiency and innovation affect ethics?

CAMS 10 th grade: Engineering Technology How can you make your community healthier with $1 million?

CAMS 9 th grade: Biotechnology/Health How can we develop a system that will deliver sustainable, clean water?

ACE 10 th grade: Architecture, Construction, and Engineering

ConnectEd Resources

• Tools and manuals • Video examples • Self Assessment Rubrics • Certification Criteria • Online collaboration spaces • District framework for support

What I didn’t tell you was...

• High academic rigor • Technical core was college level • There was an internship connected • The theme was integrated in all courses • Multidisciplinary • Exhibition of the work was primary • Who was the student?

Team Debrief: Force Field Diagram

SAMPLE:

All teachers use performance mapping to integrate academic content with relevant real-world competencies resulting in students who are college and career ready [SLC Cohort 10 Goal 1 &3].

DRIVERS PREVENTERS

• Funding available for training.

• Teachers will be comforted by the fact that they do not have to abandon standards and pacing guides.

• Student-focused, teacher friendly approach that respects a teacher’s expertise • Master schedule will have to support collaboration between grade-level teams within the school day.

• Getting our Curriculum Office in the district to support this work.

• Going to scale seems daunting.

• People may not know how to collaborate.

Action Steps:

• Schedule a meeting with the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction to introduce this approach.

• Create a needs assessment to make sure the professional development is needs-driven and presumptive.

• Pilot the training with one SLC to determine how to tailor the approach to our district.

Contact Information

• Rob Atterbury, [email protected]

Director of Professional Development, ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Careers • Nader Twal, [email protected]

SLC Project Director, Long Beach Unified • Veronica Evans, [email protected]

Academic and Career Tech Ed Curriculum Leader, Long Beach Unified

Why reforms fail?

• Lack of real commitment, buy-in, and a confluence of effort • No outside force balancing the changes in leadership and their whims • Lack of fidelity to the model, cutting corners • Lack of a systemic approach • Involvement of everyone in the design and development • Change the structure and never change the instruction or culture

The Evidence

• Compared with their peers, students in pathways: o Attend at higher rates o Are less likely to drop out and more likely to complete high school o Pass the California High School Exit Exam at higher rates o Are more likely to score proficient or higher on California Standardized Tests in English, science, and social studies o Earn more annually in the five years after high school graduation – $2,500 per year more!