College and Career Readiness

1. College and Career Readiness • Part I: Welcome

2. College and Career Readiness • Introductions

3. College and Career Readiness • ~Charlene Reader, English Teacher at Somonauk High School and Co-Chair of the College and Career Readiness English Team • ~Kim Livingston, Assistant Professor of English at WCC and College and Career Readiness Advocate • ~Teri Fuller, Assistant Professor of English at WCC and Co-Chair of the College and Career Readiness English Team

4. College and Career Readiness • Enough about us...

5. College and Career Readiness • Finding a Framework: • David Conley on College and Career Readiness

6. College and Career Readiness • Yesterday’s Students • 1. Work for large company • 2. One job for life • 3. Steadily increasing pay • 4. Secure retirement • 5. No real international competition for good jobs

7. College and Career Readiness • Today’s Students • 1. Work for small company • 2. Multiple jobs • 3. Pay freezes/cuts • 4. Move for work/career • 5. Uncertain retirement • 6. Tough international competition for good jobs

8. College and Career Readiness • Today’s Students • 1. Work for small company • 2. Multiple jobs • 3. Pay freezes/cuts • 4. Move for work/career • 5. Uncertain retirement • 6. Tough international competition for good jobs

9. College and Career Readiness • Interesting Findings* • ~1 in 3 students who enroll in 2 or 4-year college will transfer • ~65-85% of students will change their majors at least once • ~Young adults change jobs an average of seven times from 20-29 • Sources: National Association for College Admission (2010); ACT (2005); US Department of Labor Statsitics (2010)

10. College and Career Readiness • Our Question: • Do the Core Standards prepare our postsecondary students for learning beyond high school? If so, how?

11. College and Career Readiness • Part II • Preparing the High School Student for Postsecondary Success: A Process of Alignment • Charlene Reader--District 432

12. College and Career Readiness • The High School Journey: • ~Illinois Learning Standards • ~Professional Learning Communities • ~Atlas and backward design • ~Aligning to the Common Core Standards

13. College and Career Readiness • PLC Process: Professional Learning Communities • “Dedicated to the idea that their organization exists to ensure that all students learn essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions” (DuFour 3).

14. College and Career Readiness • PLC Process: Professional Learning Communities • -Learning for All: the collaborative nature of the group • -Collective Inquiry: curiousity and openness • -Learning by Doing: action orientation • -Continuous Improvement: • -gathering evidence • -developing strategies • -implementing strategies • -analyzing impact • -applying to new knowledge • -Results Orientation

15. College and Career Readiness • SAC Work • Divided into subject areas to meet on Fridays • -Initially K-12 • -K-5 • -6-12

16. Atlas and Backward Design

17. College and Career Readiness • Where Are We Now? • The Unpacking Process

18. College and Career Readiness

19. College and Career Readiness • Making Decisions

20. College and Career Readiness • For your fourth quarter book report, you will be answering one of the following questions in an essay format. TURN THIS PAPER IN WITH YOUR BOOK REPORT! • How do the main character’s traits relate to one of the themes of the novel? • If you decide to answer this question, consider the following as you read: • Who is the character being discussed? • What traits does he or she have? • What are the themes of the novel? • How do the symbols in the novel relate to the theme? • If you decide to answer this question, consider the following as you read: • What are the symbols? • What do the symbols mean? • What is the theme? • Common Core • Outcomes - Reading (RL.9-10.3, RL.9-10.1) • Outcomes – Writing (W.9-10.1a., W.9-10.1c., W.9-10.1d., W.9-10.1e, W.9-10.2b, W.9-10.2c, W.9-10.4, W.9-10.5, W.9-10.9)

21. College and Career Readiness

22. College and Career Readiness • Works Cited • Common Core State Standards: English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies Science, and Technical Subjects. CCSSO, 2011. Web. 18 April 2012. <http://www.corestandards.org/>. • DuFour, Richard, et al. Learning by Doing. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2006.

23. College and Career Readiness • Break-Out Questions • (20 Minutes) • 1. How is your high school aligning curricula with the Common Core Standards? • What challenges are you facing, and who may help you with those challenges? • Please discuss and be prepared to report to the group.

24. College and Career Readiness • Part III • Faculty Expectations of the Postsecondary Student • Kimberly Livingston, Assistant Professor of English at WCC

25. College and Career Readiness • Description of an English 101 Semester • Course Outline • Standardizes courses by prescribing goals and requirements (page total, topics covered) • Ensures transfer (Illinois Articulation Initiative) • Allows for teacher creativity in methods

26. College and Career Readiness • English 101: My Course • Online Section: • http://www5.waubonsee.edu/

27. College and Career Readiness • Top 5 Characteristics of My Most Successful Students

28. College and Career Readiness • 1. Familiar with the Messiness of Writing • They know how to make their own decisions about a writing project; they don’t expect to just follow the rules • Decisions are made by assessing the requirements of each writing situation • Can I use first person? • Do you want us to make a works cited page? • Are contractions OK?

29. College and Career Readiness • 1. Familiar with the Messiness of Writing Cont. • They have experience shaping a topic • Can turn vague subject into workable thesis (the way it happens in real writing situations) • Determined to make it work (because they’ve seen it work before)

30. College and Career Readiness • 1. Familiar with the Messiness of Writing Cont. • They see research as a tool, not as the dreaded Project from Hell • They’re Tenacious: trying different databases and search terms, asking for librarians’ help • They understand theory of MLA • When and why documentation is required (not just for quotes) • Why a works cited page without in-text citations does not work

31. College and Career Readiness • 2. They Know the Criteria of An Effective Essay (e.g. Content, Organization, Readability, & Mechanics) • They’ve received structured feedback from teachers and peers • They know how to give helpful feedback to other students. • They know their own strengths and weaknesses as a writer. • They know their STRENGTHS as a writer … so they don’t get discouraged right away.

32. College and Career Readiness 2. They Know the Criteria Cont. • They expect their teacher’s comments on a piece of writing to do the following: • identify weaknesses in a way that emphasizes revision (with suggestions and explanation to help) • consistently identify strengths; show a positive personal reaction to the ideas or language; show respect for the writer’s attempt

33. College and Career Readiness 3. They have a sense of Authorship • Audience: They imagine a real reader; they write to communicate • Authentic Voice: They’re not just writing to the vague academic void by imitating the boring, lifeless voice they’ve read in so many textbooks and essays (Ken Macrorie’s “Engfish”)

34. College and Career Readiness 3. They have a sense of AuthorshipCont. • Topic Choice: The writing tells a truth • Comes from a real curiosity or passion (This writer does not want to choose a topic from the teacher’s list) • Rhythm: The writing has the rhythm of real language • Individuality: The writer has a sense of play, or a freedom to express ideas in a unique, personal way (even in 3rd person)

35. College and Career Readiness 4. Mature Reading Skills • Analysis of Reading Material • They can take it apart and put it back together again in an outline • They explore the writer’s methods and rationale • They’re used to asking “Why this? Why here?”

36. College and Career Readiness 4. Mature Reading Skills Cont. • Evaluation of Reading Material • They know how to talk about a piece of writing • They are critical of what they read • They ask, “Is this part effective? Am I convinced?” • They know that all writing is similar (because they’ve read all kinds of writing) • (The poetic language in a piece of non-fiction can tell a dramatic story).

37. College and Career Readiness • 5. Punctuation and Grammar • (It is NOT hopeless!) • The best students are used to dissecting language (Daily Grammar Dabble) • They know basic grammatical terms (“independent clause,” “comma splice”) • They’ve had LOTS of punctuation drills with feedback • They’re not afraid (Punctuation is not dark magic – the rules are written.)

38. College and Career Readiness • Break-Out Questions • (20 Minutes) • 1. Do your high school curriculum and the Core Standards align with college faculty expectations? Why or why not? • What gaps exist? • Please discuss and be prepared to report to the group.

39. College and Career Readiness • Part IV: What’s Next?

40. College and Career Readiness • 4 Domains

41. College and Career Readiness • College and Career Readiness English Think Tank (WordPress Blog) • Feedback Reply Requested • Online Discussion: Defining College Readiness • H.S./College Survey of 4 Domains • Relationships with Local Media • Fall 2012 Meeting • District-wide Report: College and Career Readiness: Helping Our Students Succeed Beyond High School

42. College and Career Readiness • Thank You.