Participants and Weekly Schedule

For the pilot study, we recruited seven teachers and one teacher-trainer as participants from four schools in the Los Angeles area. The participants, five men and three women, had diverse experience and backgrounds (see Table 1).

Two male teachers taught math and technology, respectively, in a career academy with a transportation industry focus (Teachers 1 and 2). Both were relatively new to teaching, and one came to teaching with a background in engineering and architectural drafting. Teachers 3, 4, and 5 (two men and one woman) also taught in a transportation industry-related career academy that was part of the same program, but at a different school. All three teachers had prior work experience in areas related to their main teaching discipline. Students enrolled in these academies had various opportunities to learn about the transportation industry throughout the school year; juniors and seniors had opportunities for paid summer employment in transportation-related jobs.

Teachers 6 and 7, a male and a female, taught at a medical magnet high school where students spent one-half day per week (over three years) as interns in various medical settings. The final participant, a teacher-trainer, was responsible for curriculum and staff development at a new math, science, and technology magnet high school. Previously, she had taught life sciences for ten years. None of these three teachers had industry experience.

As part of the recruitment process, teacher candidates completed a background survey, including education and credentials, typical practices, preferred ways of working within the educational system (e.g., level of comfort with crosscurricular planning), and desired work assignment. Teachers also submitted a work sample--that is, a project or instructional unit designed by the teachers that they found engaging to students. The results of the survey, the work sample, and a personal interview determined a candidate's eligibility.

Selected teachers were paid an honorarium of $3,000 to participate in the six-week mini-sabbatical pilot. The first four weeks were spent in class at RAND or conducting work observations at assigned worksites. The last two weeks were held at a local high school, where teachers taught their curriculum unit to a small group of students. Throughout the mini-sabbatical, teachers had specific homework assignments and kept a daily journal.

We recruited student participants through the counselors and schoolwide announcements at the high school that agreed to provide classrooms for the teaching phase of the mini-sabbatical.[6] Written parental consent was obtained for each student's participation. Fifty-one students (57% female), ages 13-18, were paid $20 per day to participate. Their ethnic background was 55% Latino, 10% African-American, 23% Asian, and 12% Anglo. Each teacher was assigned from six to seven students. Students also kept journals and completed activity logs daily.