The purposes of the first week are generally to prepare teachers to perform successfully in the mini-sabbatical and, more particularly, to perform successfully in the second week, when they will be required to observe worksites and derive knowledge that can be applied in the development of new curricular units.
In the first week, participants will acquire knowledge and skills of three sorts:
Participants also initiate a process of reflection on and integration of new concepts and attitudes into the perspectives that each participant brings to the mini-sabbatical. This process will be facilitated and documented through the regular use of journals.
Prior to the first day of activities, mini-sabbatical participants will have received and read selections from the research report, Classrooms that Work (see Syllabus, Appendix A-1). The reasons for doing so are twofold: (1) to orient participants to the conceptual basis of the mini-sabbatical; and (2) to set high expectations for engagement and participation in the course.
The purpose of these two activities is to enable participants to begin learning about each other.
The purpose of this unit is to provide participants with a common understanding of the mini-sabbatical, including the origins of its development, its organization, and their roles and responsibilities.
Participants will have read selections of research reports as background and will listen to a presentation by research staff. The presentation will follow the "Introduction to the Mini-Sabbatical" beginning on page 1, and will discuss the current direction of vocational education research, the theoretical basis for the mini-sabbatical, and findings from the research projects out of which the mini-sabbatical grew. The trainer will then explain the design of the mini-sabbatical and lead a discussion of the syllabus.
Materials provided: journal notebook
This activity will explain the purpose of the mini-sabbatical journal and provide participants with a chance to practice writing a journal entry.
One purpose of journals is to assist in the integration of new understandings with one's personal perspective and to account for personal theories that participants hold.
Periodically, the trainers will collect journals. Privacy of authors will be protected, and confidentiality will be maintained in reporting and dissemination.
Participants write in their journals to the following prompts:
An open discussion of participants' questions and concerns follows.
Note: Throughout this guide, we provide multiple journal prompts. In actuality, only one or two such prompts, selected to reflect the direction of the preceding discussion, will be used.
This activity introduces mini-sabbatical participants to the "Classrooms that Work" (CTW) model. Teachers will have read background materials (see Week 1 Syllabus, Activities 1.0-1.5, for these readings) and then hear a presentation. (Slides of the presentation were selected from the briefing, "Designing Classrooms that Work," which can be found in Appendix A-4.) They will discuss the presentation in class. This presentation describes the research project that led to the development of the CTW model, focusing on two classrooms taught by the same teacher, contrasting instructional goals, classroom design, teacher roles, school context, and student perceptions.
At the conclusion of the presentation and discussion, teachers will spend 15 minutes journalling in response to the following prompts:
From this unit, participants will learn (1) the constructivist perspective and its meaning for classroom practice; (2) cognitive science notions about the difference between domain-specific and "generic" skills, and the importance of "situated" practice; (3) the dimensions of classroom environments that are successful in imparting generic skills; and (4) the close relationship between the dimensions. Successful classrooms integrate appropriate goals, tasks, roles, and routines, typically around a project of some sort. The CTW model involves integrating authentic or "work-inspired" goals, tasks, roles, and routines, typically around a project or investigation.
As the presentation of the model proceeds, project faculty will make connections back to the discussion of authentic practice, high quality, and teachers' personal theories that were introduced and discussed in Activity 1.2 (Overview of the Mini-Sabbatical).
This activity is designed following a "jigsaw" model, where participants share responsibility for presenting information to each other.
Participants pair up by subject taught. Each pair is given a case study from the "Classrooms that Work" report that relates to their specialization. They are given 20 minutes to review the case and to discuss key points. They focus on finding specific examples of the dimensions in the "Classrooms that Work" model, and on identifying the "authentic" culture of practice developed by each teacher and his or her students.
In a trainer-led discussion, participants share what they have learned, following the order of the case studies in the report. The following are some prompts for leading the discussion:
Materials provided: Zulu love letter pin kits
The purposes of this activity are to focus on the use of teamwork as a generic skill and to provide a specific basis for a discussion of high-quality learning.
Participants will pair and make Zulu love letter pins.[1] Each team may accomplish the task in any way they see fit. They must keep careful notes on their goals (what they want to get out of the experience) as well as the process, including difficulties, breakthroughs, and any new awareness and/or insights about learning and designing learning. Then the teams develop a two- to three-minute presentation to the group. The mini-sabbatical trainer models appropriate teacher roles such as coaching, scaffolding, and fading.
After presentations, participants engage in a trainer-led discussion:
Participants write for about 15 minutes on the following prompt (the questions in Activity 1.6 can also be used):
The purpose of this activity is to help participants think about what constitutes good teaching from the perspective of a student engaged in learning. Participants will read an article by Collins and Frederiksen, "Five Traits of Good Teaching: Learning, Thinking, Listening, Involving, Helping"; then they will attempt to apply the readings to the analysis of their own learning process. Finally, they will adapt the learning activity for a set of hypothetical students.
Discussion will test the participants' understanding of their readings:
Using the CTW model and insights from the discussion, each participant then outlines a classroom design for a project requiring his or her own students to make Zulu love letter pins.
Participants discuss their learning in light of the readings:
Finally, participants should review their previous journal entries ("write a note to your colleagues back at school on what makes a classroom work") and reflect on making the Zulu love letter and the discussion that followed. Then they should enter any modifications to what they had written earlier, if needed.
Materials provided: blank field notebook, sample fieldnotes, worksite videos, and videotape player and screen
The purpose of this activity is to introduce participants to the skills they will need to perform, analyze, and document worksite observations in the second week. Participants will hear presentations on the goals and techniques of worksite observations and have the opportunity to practice prior to placement in the field.[2]
Presentations by the mini-sabbatical trainers will address (1) authentic practice, work context, and the rationale for worksite observations; (2) understanding work from workers' perspectives; (3) techniques for observing and documenting work; (4) types of tasks suitable for the design of high-quality learning experiences; and (5) logistics of workplace observation for the second week (e.g., assigned mentor, schedule, directions and parking). Briefing slides for these presentations can be found in Appendix A-2.
[1] These inexpensive beading kits are commonly available in craft stores. Any craft kit for an unfamiliar folk art will produce the desired effect.
[2] We suggest that teachers observe work at the training site. The idea is to facilitate practice in observing unfamiliar activities. Examples of assignments that were available at RAND: electrician, computer troubleshooting and repair, and public relations.