| "Curriculum Strategies" emphasizes the involvement of vocational and academic teachers in curriculum building that focuses on integrating vocational and academic curriculum content, organization, and sequence. Curriculum strategies focus on (1) meeting to plan projects and activities, (2) changing from past procedures in both program offerings and in class instruction, and (3) designing and enhancing the curriculum. |
Joan requires her drafting students to prepare a portfolio with a complete set of drawings and daily journal entries. She works with an English teacher, Marie Sanchez, to evaluate the journals. When she first started assigning journal writing as a part of the portfolio, many students displayed a lot of resistance. They wanted to practice drafting, not writing.
Joan decided to help her students change their attitudes about writing. One day she invited a representative from the Federal Aviation Commission to speak to her class. During the speech, a student asked the representative if she thought journals were important. The representative held up her journal, which was about an inch thick and said, "I write in my journal every day." The speaker explained that she writes up all the details of what she does every day. This was a turning point for the students. "Now," said Joan, "they don't even question their journal writing assignment."
Marie was also pleased with the results. She commented, "You could see an immediate improvement in the students' journal entries after the speaker visited the drafting class. They now ask a lot of questions about how they could improve their journals. I have even noticed an increase in motivation toward their other English assignments."
Joan and Marie said that they realize the importance of both applied writing and of involving community people as part of the curriculum. They have been discussing new ways in which to coordinate speakers with curriculum activities. The primary problem is that since the most qualified people in the community have busy schedules, it is difficult to get them to commit to making a visit to the school.
2. Why did the students have an increase in motivation for all of their English assignments?
3. If you were Joan or Marie, how would you go about arranging for qualified individuals from the community to visit your classes?
4. How should teachers help prepare individuals from the community, such as the Federal Aviation Commission representative, to make presentations to students?
5. What are the benefits for students, the school, and the community of involving business and industry in educational programs? How can business and industry partnerships with education facilitate the integration of vocational and academic education?
6. As a teacher, how could you implement portfolio assessment strategies that support the integration of vocational and academic education?
7. As a teacher, where could you get ideas for a quality portfolio assignment?
8. Joan and Marie have the same students in their classes. How does this scheduling of students facilitate their integration efforts?
Several years ago when Jed Townsmen, the principal, decided it was time to start planning for the integration of vocational and academic education, Charles was somewhat resistant to the idea. During a faculty meeting at the beginning of the year, he argued that teachers should be given more planning time if the integration process was going to work. He stated that he had enough to do with his advanced English classes.
Somewhat reluctantly, Charles agreed to work with other English teachers and various vocational teachers on a freshman career project. Each student was to explore a particular vocational area and write a report. The report would be presented in both the English and vocational class. English teachers were to help the students with report grammar and style. Vocational teachers helped students locate and organize research for their reports in the students selected vocational areas.
Later in the year, after the freshman career projects were completed, Charles had this to say, "Getting the career project papers from the English teachers to the vocational teachers has not been a complete success at any point. The transfer of papers has not been a total bomb, but it has not been a success either." He explained that the process of getting the papers from the English class to the proper vocational teacher in an agreed upon time frame is not always easy. Since the students in all his classes have different vocational teachers, they did not learn of the joint assignment at the same time. Charles thinks that coordination of due dates and presentation of the assignment is as much a problem as the assignment content.
During the department meeting at the end of the year, Charles suggested that a manager was needed "to run the articulation project." He stated that the current procedures simply will not work if someone is not given time to coordinate the project. Marcella Jones, one of the school's marketing teachers, along with several other teachers, agreed with Charles.
In a discussion that followed, however, no one could suggest a plan to implement this idea.
2. Was there any aspect of Charles' attitude that may have contributed to the problem he describes?
3. What might these teachers do in the future to address the problem that Charles and Marcella describe?
4. What kinds of plans need to be developed to establish procedures for conducting the careers project?
5. What strategies could be put in place to coordinate assignments between vocational and academic classes?
Students at Hillsville have alternating weeks of instruction. One week students are in vocational classes, the following week they are in academic classes. As part of their academic course requirements, Bill's electronics students are required to take a physics course. The last part of the physics course deals with electronics. The vocational and academic teachers have been working together to integrate their instruction.
During lunch one day, before the start of the fall semester, Bill asked Tom Hernandez, the physics teacher, if he could switch the sequence and teach the electronics portion of the class first. Bill explained that doing this would coordinate physics course content with what was being covered in the electronics laboratory. Thus, the instruction that students received in physics would be integrated with electronics and vice versa.
Tom said he would have to think it over, but indicated that the switch should be possible. Bill did not have an opportunity to discuss this change any further with Tom but assumed that the electronics portion of the physics class would be taught during the first part of the fall semester.
After several weeks, Bill was disappointed to discover that his students did not seem to have an understanding of physics concepts at the appropriate times in the electronics laboratory. He discussed this concern with his students, asking them about what they were learning in physics. Their responses led Bill to believe that the information they needed was covered in physics class with an emphasis on theory. The students were not, however, able to transfer the theory they were learning in physics to the application level needed in the electronics class.
Bill said, "I guess integration is taking place, but I am not very satisfied. If I had to do it over, I would not have bothered with it. I would have continued to teach all of the physics portion of electronics myself."
2. Bill was dissatisfied with the outcome of his first attempt at integration with Tom, the physics teacher. What might Bill have done differently to assure success?
3. What could Tom have done to make the integration process more successful?
4. Why is it important that theory and accompanying applications be taught in both vocational and academic classes?
5. What can motivate teachers like Tom to make curriculum changes such as switching the sequence of instruction in the physics course?
6. What responsibilities do vocational and academic teachers have to follow-up with one another when curricular changes are being made?
Bonnie Sturgill has taught math at Lincoln for five years; Bill Goldman has taught electronics there for six years. Bonnie and Bill have often informally discussed students they have in common. When vocational and academic integration was first being introduced in their school last fall, Bonnie and Bill decided to work together. Later in the school year, Bill asked Bonnie if she would be willing to start coming to the electronics laboratory to explain the basics of mathematical computation to his sophomore electronics students. Bonnie agreed to help out in Bill's lab and they arranged a suitable schedule.
Bill felt the students in that particular electronics class were as weak in math skills as any he had ever seen. He was thus quite pleased that Bonnie spent a lot of the time teaching the electronics students general math as related to electronics concepts that all the students needed to know. Bonnie worked with students who were having particular learning difficulties as well as students that seemed to understand general math without much assistance.
As a result of this six-month teaching experience, Bonnie and Bill developed a specialized textbook. The book covered math skills that were required for the electronics curriculum. Bonnie was very proud of the textbook that she and Bill had prepared. She said, "I have had much success working with remedial students using the abbreviated textbook. It reinforced what the students had already learned and provided very specific help in areas that they use in the electronics class."
In evaluating their effort at the end of the school year, Bill commented, "Bonnie and I saved quite a number of students who would have flunked out of the electronics curriculum because their math skills were just not adequate. I am very pleased with our work."
2. How did instruction in the electronics laboratory change as a result of this integration effort?
3. The specialized textbook was perhaps one of the best outcomes of their efforts. What are other specific areas where a textbook of this type would be beneficial?
4. Why was it important for Bill and Bonnie to focus on students who needed remedial help?
5. How might Bonnie and Bill proceed to share their math skill book with other electronics and math instructors?
6. Bonnie and Bill focused on students who needed remedial help. How could Bill have helped Bonnie with the other math students as well?
Jerry has even volunteered the help of his students to other teachers. His students help by editing videotaped materials and doing live taping for the teachers. The psychology, literature, and social studies teachers often come to Jerry for this help. Usually arrangements can be made for the students to do these things during their broadcast journalism class or their free periods. Sometimes a problem arises, however, when students who do the taping must be excused from academic classes. A few of the academic teachers will not excuse the students for this activity.
Admitting that requesting students be excused from classes is not a popular practice with several teachers, Jerry explains, "I feel that the hands-on learning the students get from taping is so valuable that having them out of their classes to get the experience is justified." He notes, however, that he senses some resentment on the part of a few academic teachers toward his students. At a recent faculty meeting, one of the academic teachers even made a sarcastic remark about administrative bias towards "high-priced" video equipment.
Jerry says that some teachers seem to perceive lecturing as the only real teaching since that is the teaching method most often used in college. "Today's students are not motivated by lectures. By my way of thinking, many students are motivated electronically." Therefore, he argues, instruction that can be linked to the use of electronic devices will be highly motivating to them.
Since several of his students have gotten jobs in broadcasting right out of school, Jerry is adamant in arguing his position. He feels that this is proof that the experience his students get taping and editing tapes is as important as anything they learn in high school. He states emphatically, "This is the information age. These academic teachers need to realize that some of the old ways just plain don't work anymore."
2. How can Jerry gain the cooperation of the academic teachers with whom he is having problems?
3. Jerry argues that since his students often get jobs in the broadcast journalism field right out of high school, hands-on experience can be more important than classroom instruction. How would you respond to this point of view?
4. How can the other teachers work with Jerry to take advantage of what he sees as students being "motivated electronically?"
Monique Jackson, who had owned and operated a successful nursery school for over 20 years, is a second year teacher at Dunbar. She had always dreamed of becoming a high school teacher and is now enjoying her position in her second career. Monique teaches occupational child care classes with a total enrollment of 60 students. Because she is always willing to give extra time during lunch or after school, Monique is very popular with her students.
Although she thinks the administration's approach to integration is sound, Monique is having problems coordinating her work because of the "pull-out" system used at the school. Under this system, students with deficiencies in mathematics or English are excused from part of the three-hour child care laboratory time to attend classes taught by on-staff academic instructors at the vocational center.
"The pull-out system takes students from my classes at different times, so I have students on four different levels in the same class. Besides having different learning abilities, the students are completing work of the first, second, third, and fourth semester at the same time." Monique feels that administrators initiated the pull-out system more to keep vocational enrollments up than for the best interests of the students. As a new teacher, however, she is hesitant to express her feelings to her principal.
Monique says that when the pull-out system started, the vocational and academic teachers thought they would be using an infused instructional approach. Through the infused approach, students would be receiving their instruction in math and English as part of their vocational instruction. "Now, with the pull-out system, there has been some alteration in the English course, but very little is related to the needs of the vocational students." Monique thinks, for example, that studying the works of Shakespeare should be a part of the curriculum of their home school.
Monique would like for the English and math skills to be more related to the students' vocational programs and to real life in general. She says, "when my students are working on memos to parents, the English teacher could help them out. Or, when the students are studying what it costs to live on their own, to have a car, and so on, the math teacher could relate instruction to budgeting and finances.
Monique would like to see the English and math teachers come into her classroom rather than just helping students that are pulled out. The biggest problem is structuring the occupational child care class to include students missing that much time and students who may miss a whole skill session: "If I have a demonstration, I can't always wait for the pulled-out English and math students to get back." Also, she is concerned because she has only Mondays and Fridays to do reviews because on the other days preschool children are there in the class.
"When my students go out to get a job, they are expected to know everything. Employers won't buy students saying they were in English class when a certain skill was taught."
2. List the positive points in implementing a pull-out system. List the negative points. Does the pull-out system reflect an effective way to achieve integration of vocational and academic education? Why or why not?
3. Monique has strong opinions about the pull-out system. How can she address these issues with her principal?
4. What responsibility should Monique assume in helping English and math instructors to relate their instruction to child care?
5. When Monique speaks to her principal, she needs to have formulated an alternative plan. Discuss a few alternative plans and how Dunbar might benefit through implementation of these plans.
Bill described Ron as a very animated teacher who could "tell lots of personal stories to relate math skills to electrical construction." Bill explained that many of his students fail because of their poor math skills, which in many cases resulted from never having been successful in math. He talked about when Ron first started coming to his lab: "The students thought it was a pain, just something that they had to worry about. They came to the vocational school to learn electricity, not sit in a classroom doing math problems." After a few visits from Ron, however, the students began to look forward to his math lessons.
Both Ron and Bill noticed that by doing math on a more informal basis, their students were more motivated. Bill went on to say, "It has led a lot of students to take higher-level math classes because they are not afraid of math anymore. The electrical construction students can see some relevancy between learning mathematics and what they are going to do in the trade area."
When the tentative teacher schedules for the following year were announced, Ron realized that he would not be able to continue visiting the electrical construction lab. Since then, he and Bill have been wondering what they might be able to do about this problem. They both agree that the collaboration worked so well that to discontinue it would be a great loss to the students.
2. Although the electrical construction students resisted at first, why did they eventually respond favorably to Ron DeSanto's visits?
3. What might Ron and Bill do to ensure that they can continue to collaborate next year as they have done this year?
4. Assuming that Ron and Bill cannot continue to collaborate as they have this year, what alternatives can they explore?
Last fall, a career project was initiated at Memorial High that required students to write reports about the technology of the careers they are exploring in their vocational classes. Also, students were required to revise the reports and present them orally in their English classes. Ted was initially resistant to this project because he felt his time spent in class was already full. He said, "I don't like to change my curriculum. I might teach the same thing for 10 or 12 years without changing. I think that this is easy for the English teachers; they can simply adopt this project assignment so that it fits into what they are already doing."
Now, near the end of the school year, Ted is somewhat more enthusiastic about the project. He says that when the students in his classes worked on the technology reports, he encouraged them to express themselves and not to worry too much about grammar and sentence structure on their first drafts. His understanding was that the English teachers would work with these elements. He thought that the content of his students' reports was very good. He felt that the students were demonstrating an awareness of technology and an understanding of how inventions have advanced society.
Ted was impressed with how much time Mary Canfield, a first-year English teacher, spent helping students rewrite their reports in her class. However, he was disappointed when two other English teachers, Joe Rielly and Susan Francis, commented to other faculty members about grammar and syntax errors on his students' reports. They felt that writing skills were not being stressed as they should be. Ted, in turn, felt that these teachers should be responsible for emphasizing writing skill components in their classes.
Overall, Ted is pleased with the outcome of the project. Just the other day, he stated, "The projects helped keep me up-to-date and to see the relevance of what I'm teaching. The freshman projects really helped students in deciding on technology-related careers. Best of all, I feel good because the reports made me interact with the students more."
2. Not all the English teachers were in agreement concerning the career project. How could the roles that the vocational and academic teachers had in the project be more clearly defined?
3. What do you think Ted's attitude about integration will be in the future? Why?
4. How did the students benefit from the career projects they prepared for their English and communication technology classes?
5. Did Mary's being a first-year English teacher make a difference in her attitude about the career project?
6. What approach could be used to help Ted understand the "writing style expectations" of the English teachers?
7. What kinds of help do vocational and academic teachers need when implementing a project such as the one described in this case?
Randy, who had taught science for 22 years, felt that he needed some inspiration and some new ideas. He has concluded that students have changed over the years and that, "many of the his tried-and-true teaching methods were not working with today's students." He and George were impressed with several ideas presented in the conference workshops, especially those that involved projects suitable for team teaching. They agreed to get together and prepare coordinated lesson plans for a special project when they returned to school in the fall.
True to their intent, Randy and George began working together as the school year started. Based on suggestions given at a conference workshop for stimulating students' imaginations, they planned a mouse trap car competition. Students from the physics class and from the construction class would meet together in the construction lab. They would be challenged to apply the physics and the construction principles they were learning by designing a car that was powered by a mouse trap only. No other limitations would apply.
The project was initiated with much enthusiasm on the part of the two teachers and their students, but a problem soon became apparent. A wide variation existed in the ability of students participating in the competition. The physics students were more theoretical in their thinking but inexperienced with hand tools, while the construction students were more dexterous but verbally less articulate.
In one student's case, for example, her parents were both engineers, and she came to class with some very good theoretical ideas from home. However, the ideas could not be implemented with the resources available and the student became very discouraged. A few of the construction students told their teacher privately that they were afraid they could never understand the scientific principles that were being discussed by the physics teacher and therefore were afraid their mouse trap cars would be inferior. Some of the construction students argued that they did not need to know any physics to build their cars.
Randy and George discussed these and other similar problems that were occurring and decided that perhaps the project would work better if they had the students form teams. The teams would have to include at least one student from physics class and one from construction class. The teachers had to help with the arrangement of a few of the teams so a compatible mix of skill and knowledge would exist. An entire class period was spent forming the teams, but in the end both the students and teachers were happy with the results.
The student-team approach helped somewhat but did not miraculously solve all the problems. Communication among the team members was still difficult in several cases, and communication between certain teams and the teachers was not very effective. The project took two weeks longer than originally planned and Randy and George spent nearly twice as much time meeting after school as they had anticipated to work out some of the problems.
In the end, several impressive cars were made and the students said they enjoyed the project and felt they learned a lot. However, Randy and George had some strong reservations about the project and questioned whether, with all the unexpected problems, it was worth doing again. They made no plans to team teach for the rest of the year.
2. Regarding students involved in the project, what was the underlying problem with the mouse trap car competition?
3. The idea of having the students work in teams alleviated some of the problems with the project. What other approach may have been helpful?
4. What steps could the two teachers have followed to "set the stage" for the mouse trap car competition project with their respective students?
5. What learning objectives should the two teachers have stated so that the physics students would see the need for applying what they are learning in the real world and so that the construction students would see the need for physics?
The group decided to target some of the at-risk students who were not succeeding as well as the teachers felt they could. The teachers agreed that if the students could be encouraged to feel more a part of the school, they would be more committed to their work. Through the establishment of a business academy, the students would form their own business enterprise for the purpose of developing and marketing a product.
Quality Oil Company, one of the area businesses that had adopted Ridgefield, agreed to sponsor the project. With this support, the teachers and students gained confidence that they could "make something happen." Deciding that the product would be motor oil, the students designed the oil bottle and the label and determined what oil viscosity would be best to select. Further, they mapped out an extensive promotional campaign. Students worked in small task groups and were given time to work on the project in marketing class and English class.
The students wrote a commercial and a rap song related to the product. Considering that a total of 180 cases of oil were sold, the advertising was effective. At the end of the year, the students decided to use the profit from the business, after setting aside a small portion for a pizza party, to provide money to students who could not afford tuition for summer school.
Pete says the whole project was extremely successful. He explains, "Although some other teachers were initially skeptical about the project, they soon came around when they saw how excited the students were. These are students who had never been excited about anything since they had been at Ridgefield." He feels the business academy has made a big difference in the lives of the students.
The academy will be operating again this year with the students planning to market a car kit for which they have already begun the market research. "Even more important," Pete stresses, "is the difference at the school level. There is a renewed excitement that is very refreshing." As an extension of the business academy, a new program for ninth graders called Jump Start will begin this year. It is patterned after the business academy for the purpose of facilitating successful experiences for larger numbers of at-risk students.
2. What kinds of learning objectives did the teachers stress through the business academy project?
3. The success of the business academy depended on a huge time commitment on the part of the teachers who were involved. What specific things did the teachers do to contribute to the success of the academy project?
4. The academy model, a school-within-a-school, has gained popularity in recent years. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of grouping certain students with the same classes and teachers throughout the school year?
5. How did support from the business community help to ensure the success of the business academy project?
Some of the students who had failed English were tenth graders who wanted to go to the career center to complete occupational preparation programs, but could not because their grades were too low. Sue says, "We felt that getting these students back on track would enable them to attend classes at the career center. I, for one, feel that the half-day career center programs are the only reason some of my students stay in school. So this issue is crucial."
The summer make-up program was established to provide students who had failed courses during the school year with an opportunity to repeat these courses on an intensive basis during the summer. The program was designed to help students stay in school, qualify to take courses at the career center, and graduate with their peers. In one month during the summer, the students can take what is usually a year-long course at Freemont High. Students can then go to another high school and take another course for a month. "In this way," Sue explains, "students can complete an additional one to two credits which puts most of them right back on track."
Sue admits that since the English class she taught ran from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., she had some apprehension about the length of time the group would be together. Some of these students had failed three courses during the year and were not motivated to work on academics. She says, "I knew that it was important to provide a variety of activities for the students. As part of the course, we talked about the importance academics serve as the basis for vocational studies. We also discussed the job interview and the résumé."
Sue says that she quickly appreciated the full-day class period. She notes, "There were opportunities for students to work on their writing, speaking, reading, grammar, and composition. Once I related the students' assignments to their vocational interests, the motivation increased and the work was done." All the students received credit for the make-up courses and all are back in school this year. Since they are now able to take courses at the career center, Sue continues, "I believe the program will really make a difference. The secret is relating the academics to the students' career interests. These students will work in English class if they see the relevance of the learning to their lives."
2. Sue thought the repeater program was beneficial. Can you see any problems with a program of this type?"
3. Sue mentions talking to her class about job interviews and résumés. What other work-related issues can be discussed in English class?
4. What resources do English teachers need to add vocational contexts to their instruction as Sue did?
5. What do academic teachers need to know to incorporate vocational contexts in their instruction?
6. How could vocational teachers help Sue with the make-up English class she teaches?