Providing Technical Assistance, Resources, and Training To Support State Standards

      Policy Rationale and Goals: In the mid-1990s, the Maryland School Performance Program (MSPP) introduced a wide range of changes in the state's education system which were targeted at implementing high standards and holding schools, teachers, and students accountable for student performance. MSPP is described by the Maryland State Department of Education as the "state's blueprint for educational accountability and school improvement." (1998) MSPP standards for grades K-8 are called Learning Outcomes and for grades 9-12, High School Core Learning Goals. Learning Outcomes and Core Learning Goals have been adopted in English, math, science, social studies, and Skills for Success which include communication, technology, and other more broad competencies. The Learning Outcomes and Core Learning Goals form the basis for a standards-driven assessment system which will be phased in for high school students as 9th grade tests in reading, writing, math, and citizenship required for graduation beginning in 2001. Student achievement on the Learning Outcomes is already assessed in grades 3, 5, and 8 in the four core subjects using assessments developed by the state based on the standards. (Glidden, 1998, p.54) According to the state's timeline, by 2005, students will have to pass exams in three subjects -- government, English, and either geometry or algebra to graduate from high school. By 2012, students will be required to take ten tests to earn a diploma. The test areas that are planned include algebra; geometry; U.S. history; world history; government; English 1, 2, and 3; and two science tests chosen from earth and space science, physics, chemistry, and biology. (Quality Counts `98, 1998, p.150)

      To help both academic and vocational teachers implement Core Learning Goals in their classrooms, Maryland has developed a statewide staff development program to train teachers to create integrated projects. In Maryland, an integrated project links at least one academic area and one Skill for Success specified in the Core Learning Goals to at least one career area. As the state embarks on the journey to improve the achievement of all students, technical assistance to teachers is viewed as a vital tool to provide effective strategies for increasing student achievement. Through an educational program embedded with material and instructional strategies that are applicable outside the four walls of a classroom, Maryland hopes to reach the diverse learning styles of all students while at the same time holding them accountable for learning.

      Integrated projects may span multiple courses or be contained in one course. In order to forge a clear link between academic and technical areas, integrated projects must specify the Core Learning Goal or Goals that are addressed. In addition to focusing on a particular Core Learning Goal, the projects must address one of the nine career clusters that Maryland has identified.[2] The projects often include sample industry standards for the career cluster chosen, thus ensuring that the projects are linked to the skills identified by employers as vital to employment and truly reflective of real-world opportunities.

      Implementation Strategy: According to the Maryland State Department of Education's description, integrated Project Workshops are organized by both the Division of Career Technology and Adult Learning and the Division of Instruction and Staff Development. These two divisions are part of the Department of Education and have partnered on a limited basis before the Integrated Project Workshops. As the discussion around the upcoming assessment process centered more and more on Core Learning Goals, the two divisions saw the need to work closely together to ensure the successful implementation of Core Learning Goals throughout the state's educational system.

      Maryland provides statewide training opportunities to teachers twice a year which focus on the use and planning of integrated projects. In these training sessions, academic teachers and career technology teachers work together in teams to create and plan integrated projects. The teams may also include business partners in the community and postsecondary instructors who are often invited to add specific expertise or to ensure that the projects are current and relevant to students' future career goals. To date, over 970 participants have received training.

      During the state workshops, participants receive a day of instruction and time to develop and plan their project with the assistance of State Department of Education staff. Once the teachers return to their own schools, they will need additional time to further develop and refine the projects. Because the projects are often very complex and involved, planning and development typically lasts a semester with the projects implemented the following semester. The projects are often designed to reinforce something already being taught by the teacher. "[Integrated projects are] often a better way to teach students concepts and skills already outlined in the course content," says Pat Mikos of the Maryland State Department of Education.

      The state's workshops are divided into two strands. In Strand One workshops, participants are given an overview of the integrated project process and philosophy. Their projects deal with the integration of only one academic subject and one occupational area so that what the teams are learning may be tested and refined. Strand One instruction is required of the leaders of teams who wish to attend Strand Two workshops.

      Strand Two workshops cover the integration of multiple academic and vocational topics, including the integration of the entire curriculum in a broader multidisciplinary team. Implementing the integrated projects developed by the teachers on the team in their own classroom is also a requirement for participation in the Strand Two workshops and for all team members attending the workshops.

      An example of an integrated project is "Providing Health Care to Diverse Clients." In this project, students perform such tasks as examining issues that may arise as a hospital serves more diverse patients, reviewing health standards and their implications on health care a diverse population, visiting a hospital where these issues are likely to arise, and producing a brochure or report on their strategy to address a particular health care need.

      Evolution of Strategy: Forty-five projects have now been disseminated, and an additional 20 projects will be disseminated this year. The projects are disseminated to every high school in the state regardless of whether the school sent teachers to the Integrated Projects Workshop. Prince George's County, one of the larger counties in Maryland, also posts all projects on their web site so that they might be accessible to parents and educators outside of Maryland as well.

      Some postsecondary teachers are involved in the creation of these projects, and there is an effort to get more teachers from this level involved. The goal of this involvement is the greater articulation between the high school and postsecondary levels. In addition, there are plans to expand the number of training opportunities offered to teachers so that more may participate in the training.

      Lessons Learned: An early lesson of this process was that the projects must "meet the needs of the teacher," according to Mikos. In Maryland, this meant that teachers must see that the projects address and reinforce the state standards. With the upcoming changes in high school assessment raising the stakes on student achievement, teachers want to know that they are helping students succeed.

      Another lesson learned was that no one department or agency can provide all the necessary training. A cadre of experienced teachers must be developed to help train other teachers, and local educators must teach each other. Because teachers are often more willing to experiment when they are learning new techniques from their colleagues, this method of instructional delivery will provide professional benefits to the state's teachers as well.

Glidden, H. (1998). Making standards matter 1998. Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers.

Maryland State Department of Education Career Connections web site. Available on-line: <http://www.mdse.state.md.us/factsndata/mdcareer.html>.

Maryland State Department of Education. (1998, February 28). State announces reconstitution-eligible schools (Press release). Available on-line: <http://www.mdse.state.md.us/sco/pressreleases/980128.html>.

Prince George's County, Maryland web site. Available on-line: <http://www.pgcps.pg.k12.md.is/~connect/biintro.html>.

Quality Counts `98: Rewarding results, punishing failure. (1999, January 11). Education Week, 18(17), 150.

[2] The nine career clusters include Consumer Service, Hospitality and Tourism; Business Management and Finance; Manufacturing, Engineering Technology; Environmental, Agricultural and Natural Resources; Health and Biosciences; Arts, Media and Communication; Transportation Technologies; Human Resource Services; and Construction and Development. Maryland State Department of Education Career Connections web site:http://www.mdse.state.md.us/factsndata/mdcareer.html.