One of the most interesting outcomes of the conference was that many of the participants developed ideas about using the different standards to design curriculum that integrates academic and industry education. Most participants from the academic and vocational areas had previously had almost no contact with those from the other area and many were skeptical about the extent of common ground. Yet many left the conference with the conviction that prior collaboration might have led to valuable improvements in both sets of standards.
To facilitate interaction and stimulate focused thinking, the conference organized the initial half-day session by assigning the participants to work groups according to academic discipline and industry. For example, the developers of the English standards were paired with representatives of the standards for retailing. As a group, they were charged with reviewing each other's standards, discussing strengths and weaknesses, and identifying opportunities for using the standards to promote integrated instruction and curriculum.
Initially, members of both groups were skeptical that this dialogue would yield significant results. In the English/Retailing group, for example, the English teachers doubted that retailing offered any opportunities for serious, high-level academic work. Similarly, the business and marketing teachers had misgivings that the traditional English curriculum could be linked in any substantial way to their objectives. Technical writing and rsum preparation, of course, might provide some opportunities, but these are a decidedly minor emphasis of the high school English curriculum.
However, as the group reviewed and discussed each other's standards, some interesting ideas began to emerge. For example, the English standards call for mastering critical writing that contrasts and compares alternative points of view. The retailing standards expect students to understand alternative approaches to marketing. The retailing teachers, therefore, asked whether having retailing students write an essay contrasting the different marketing strategies of two major corporations--say, Nike and Reebok--would be an acceptable means for addressing the English standard. Without hesitation, the English teachers endorsed that approach, and the group was soon deep in conversation about the potential richness of such a topic.
Similarly, the English standards call for students to read a wide range of literature from a variety of periods and genres. One of the retailing standards specifies that students will discuss and understand the ethical issues surrounding marketing and other aspects of retailing. The English teachers, therefore, asked whether organizing a unit around reading and performing parts of Death of a Salesman would address this retailing standard. The retailing teachers enthusiastically embraced this suggestion.
Thus, in a very short time, this group began to mine what was a much richer vein of integrated content and practice than either had initially imagined. Indeed, some of the traditional stereotypes surrounding the mutual regard (or disregard) that academic and vocational teachers have for one another began to break down. Both groups recognized that each possessed unique and important expertise, which when combined could lead to new opportunities for engaging, substantive learning.
This kind of thoughtful interaction between academic and vocational/technical teachers, as well as industry representatives, can elevate substance and practice among both groups. The academic standards become more concrete and accessible to more students; the industry skill standards can be raised well beyond the entry-level focus that has typified most of these efforts to date. Moreover, academic and vocational teachers gain some new respect for each other's substantive domains and instructional practices. Both groups are essential to the success of this process: Neither academic nor vocational teachers can accomplish successful, rigorous integration acting alone.
As was mentioned previously, this interaction resulted in conference participants representing the NCTE leaving the conference with a plan to develop a document to inform their membership of the use of English/language arts in industry. They are calling for papers that will extend the discussion of the English/language arts standards into the areas of workplace literacy, career education, and school-to-work.
In another case, one representative of a technical industry initially stated that he had very little to discuss with the developers of the history standards. He thought that his interest would be limited to science and mathematics. Nevertheless, after participating in a discussion group focused on the history standards, much to his surprise, he became convinced that the process of historical analysis called for in the history standards was very much the same as the process of analytical problem solving that is required of a skilled technician in his field. Subsequently, he has worked to strengthen and broaden the academic content of his industry-related training and education.
Thus, participants did not leave the conference with the conviction that either academic or industry groups needed to compromise their standards to bring them into closer alignment with the other set. Indeed, it became clear that both sets of standards could be strengthened through closer coordination, and that the standards themselves could be used to develop curricula and projects that integrate academic and vocational instruction.
Since the conference, NCRVE has held several workshops that have used the techniques developed at the conference.[7] Groups of academic and vocational teachers have used existing sets of academic and industry skill standards to develop interesting integrated student projects.
For example, a group of English and science teachers, charged with designing a project that required students to use several examples of good literature while simultaneously mastering a bioscience industry skill standard concerning contamination, designed the following activity. It so happens that a common laundry detergent, Tide, is visible under ultraviolet light. Consequently, one of the science teachers suggested using Tide to simulate a laboratory accident that contaminated the high school. After first period science class, students would go about the rest of their day carrying a small pouch leaking detergent powder. The following day, students would use ultraviolet lights to find, measure, and trace the dispersal of the "contaminant" throughout the high school. Collecting and analyzing data on the extent and patterns of contamination, students would suggest and evaluate ways to avoid or minimize the consequences of accidental contamination.
As part of this project, the students would also investigate relevant literature. For example, some might read Eve Curie's biography of her mother, Madame Curie, perhaps discussing the risks that researchers unknowingly or knowingly assume in the pursuit of new scientific knowledge. Others might read Richard Preston's The Hot Zone and examine the differences and similarities between contamination in their high school and the global spread of deadly viruses or other diseases.
In another group, aiming to integrate mathematics and manufacturing, math teachers and vocational teachers, along with an industry representative from a company manufacturing corrugated boxes, considered the following learning objectives:
The group suggested a project that would challenge students to evaluate the consequences of adopting different kinds of geometric shapes--for example, circles, squares, triangles, and other polyhedrons--in the manufacture of corrugated cardboard and other boxing materials. Why do some shapes perform better than others and under what conditions? Could the students suggest alternatives to current designs and assess their recommendations?
As was the case at the conference, the participants were initially skeptical about this process. But initial skepticism usually gave way to enthusiasm. Thus, the process has been shown to be an effective way to develop exciting student projects but also to demonstrate to academic and vocational educators and industry representatives how much they have in common and how much they have to gain by working together.