Contextualizing Curriculum:

1. Contextualizing Curriculum: Combining ABE/ELL and Technical Learning Objectives Contextualizing Curriculum: Combining ABE/ELL and Technical Learning Objectives by Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

2. Presenters • Shawn Jensen • ELL Instructor • shawn.jensen@nwtc.edu • (920) 498-6241 or (800) 422-NWTC ext. 6241 • Karla Sampselle • Medical Assistant Instructor • karla.sampselle@nwtc.edu • (920) 498-5535 or (800) 422-NWTC ext. 5535

3. True or False • Students do not need strong reading, writing, math, or language skills as long as they are competent in their specific occupational skills. • Students who haven’t earned a HS diploma, GED, or other HS equivalency exam cannot be successful in higher education and/or occupational training. • The only way an ABE or ELL student can be successful in occupational training is to remediate first.

4. Agenda Part 1 8:45am – 10:15am Part 2 10:30am – 12:00pm Contextualizing Curriculum Activity Present ideas/lesson plans/activities Feedback, Q&A Open Discussion • Overview of Career Pathways and Team Teaching • What is AUTHENTIC contextualized curriculum? • Why is it so important? • Contextualizing Professionalism • Contextualizing Technical Skills

5. RISE / Career Pathways

6. RISE / Career Pathways • Regional Industry Skills Education • Combining basic education/soft skills with a trade • Involves • Team teaching • Contextualized curriculum • Creating pathways to facilitate and target high risk students.

7. Driving Forces INDUSTRY! 90% of industry is facing a shortage of skilled workers especially in manufacturing and healthcare. • 7.3% National Unemployment Rate • 7.0% Unemployment in Wisconsin • 8% National high school dropout rate • 6.4% in Wisconsin • The average of individuals without a high school diploma or its equivalency for all counties in our local area is 16% of the population age 25 or older. Statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics and the US Bureau of Labor

8. Goals • Expand Wisconsin’s skilled work force and help low income workers secure good jobs and careers by increasing the number of adults who earn postsecondary credentials in high demand occupations. • Create Career Pathways with Bridge Programs • Wisconsin Career Pathways http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua2Z87Vvyjg

9. Career Pathways: Team Teaching • ABE/ELL instructor and Content instructors working together to provide instruction • Proactive vs. Reactive • Stand alone vs. Together

10. Career Pathways Programs at NWTC • Accounting • Nursing Assistant • Medical Assistant • Sustainable Farming • General Studies Bridge Courses • Office Professional • Human Resources • Healthcare Business Services • Welding Where do you fit in?

11. Contextualized Curriculum

12. What is it? • Contextualized curriculum helps students learn language skills by teaching the skills using the authentic contexts in which students must use those skills in the real world. • To contextualize curriculum, instructors use authentic materials, activities, interests, issues and needs from learners’ lives to develop classroom instruction. Utech, J. (2008). Contextualized curriculum for workplace education an introductory guide. Retrieved from http://www.umass.edu/roundtable/projects/Integrated%20curr_guide%20p1.pdf

13. Why is it so important? • The ability to build a “learning community” in the classroom • The ability to transfer basic skills to real world learning • Saves Time

14. Before & After Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 GED Program Benchmarks MA Program MA ELL and Support Instructors Content Level 4 Phase 1 HCSR Phase 2 Phase 3 MA Program MA GED/Benchmarks Team Teaching Content

15. Contextualizing Professionalism

16. Modeling Responsible Behavior/ Core Abilities/ Professionalism • Behaviors determined by community and business members and NWTC as beneficial skills needed by all graduates. • New grad with strong professionalism vs. experienced grad lacking professionalism • Required in all courses • Assessed in all Medical Assistant courses

17. The Medical Assistant Program is committed to producing excellent Medical Assistants who not only have the knowledge and technical skills needed to perform in a healthcare environment, but also display the core abilities necessary to be successful in the workplace. In order to successfully pass this course a minimum of 85% of the total “Modeling Responsible Behavior” (MRB) points must be obtained. A student who does not obtain the minimum of 85% will not pass the course and a “D” will be issued. Upon reaching 90% of the possible MRB points the student will be notified by the instructor. Upon reaching 85% a contract would be implemented with no more allowable absences or points lost. Any further points lost would constitute failure of the course. Please refer to the attached “Modeling Responsible Behavior” rubric that will be used to assess behavior/attendance. Notification of the instructor is necessary for any unavoidable absence. You must notify your instructor via voicemail or e-mail. Failure to notify the instructor will result in an unexcused absence. No student is in danger of not passing due to a weather-related absence.

18. Core Abilities / Professionalism • Communicate Effectively • Think Critically and Creatively • Work Cooperatively and Professionally • Solve Problems Effectively • Value Individual Differences and Abilities • Demonstrate Personal Accountability • Demonstrate Community and Global Accountability

19. Promptness • Demonstrate Personal Accountability • What is “on time?” • Start times • End times • Due dates • Communication • Absences

20. Participation • Think critically and creatively • Communicate effectively • Solve problems effectively

21. Professionalism • Work cooperatively and professionally • Demonstrate personal accountability • Value individual differences and abilities • Demonstrate community and global accountability

23. Contextualizing Technical Skills

24. Contextualized Curriculum • Course content is not “watered down” • Preparation time is essential • Teaching the course more than once helps to contextualize the curriculum

25. Getting Started • Identify strengths and weaknesses? • Dream activities? • What makes sense?

26. Technical Skills – Medical Assistant • Medical Terminology • Flashcards, worksheets, pronunciation • Human Body • Written paper, oral presentation with visuals • Medical Law, Ethics, and Professionalism • Debate

27. Technical Skills – Medical Assistant • Introduction to Healthcare Computing • Computer Basics • Pharmacology • Drug flashcards • Math • Dosage calculations, QC, metric conversions

28. Technical Skills – Office Professional • Windows/Word -Computer Basics • Information Processing Principals -Readability 12 grade/Reading Academy • Proofreading and Editing -ELL Writing Course online

29. Technical Skills - Welding • BluePrint Reading -Math conversions from imperial to metric -Ability to read a tape measure -Weld Symbols/Demonstrate Note Taking -Skills • Welding Safety -Poster presentation

30. NWTC’s Career PathwaysSuccess Statistics

31. NWTC’s Career Pathways Success Statistics • Office Professional Persistence Rate = 90% • Fall 2012 – 11 Enrollments • Fall 2013 – 10 Enrollments (1 student jobbed out) • Course Completion Rates – Proofreading & Editing Essentials • Spring 2012 – Traditional Program students, 17 weeks • 35% fail rate • Summer 2012 – Career Pathways students, 12 weeks • 0% fail rate

32. NWTC’s Career Pathways Success Statistics • Citizenship (1) • GED/HSED (14) • Completed GED (4) • Actively working on GED (2) • Actively working on HSED (welders) (8) • Medical Assistant (48) • Healthcare Customer Service Representative Certificate (Phase 1) (32) (7, Dec Grad) • MA Technical Diploma (9, December Graduation) • Welding Certificate 1 (20) • Office Professional Certificate (10) • Nursing Assistant (25) • Certified Nursing Assistants (20) • Haven’t taken exam yet (5)

35. Activity Contextualizing Curriculum

36. ABE / ELL Employment Skills Literacy Skills Study Skills Competency: Develop and apply study skills to complete contextualized program coursework. Learning Objectives: Practice notetaking strategies Practice annotation strategies Employ time management strategies Apply test taking strategies • Competency: • Develop and apply employment skills necessary for successful transition to the workplace. • Learning Objectives: • Create a professional resume • Participate in an interview • Participate in a Career Services presentation regarding current standards for employment search • Apply expectations for professionalism in the workplace Competency: • Develop and apply literacy skills to complete contextualized program coursework. Learning Objectives: • Assess current reading level • Practice active reading strategies before, during, after reading • Employ textbook strategies • Acquire academic vocabulary • Acquire specialized/contextualized vocabulary • Summarize academic readings • Paraphrase academic readings • Employ fix-up strategies to aid comprehension