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Contextualized Curriculum Guide. Pat Phillips & Melanie Knier Davidson County Community College Lexington, NC. Research Indicates. Students want to make connections between what they learn and what they experience in real life
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Contextualized Curriculum Guide Pat Phillips & Melanie Knier Davidson County Community College Lexington, NC
Research Indicates • Students want to make connections between what they learn and what they experience in real life • Students do not necessarily view math as applicable to their daily lives • Effective learning requires active application of knowledge, skills, and processes • Learners need to acquire content knowledge and learn how to apply what they have learned
Research Indicates • Transfer of learning is likely to occur when the student understands the facts and the big picture • The learning environment should be community-centered, learner-centered and knowledge-centered • Contextualized learning helps students make these applications
WIA Re-Authorization • OVAE defines contextualized learning as “a conception of teaching and learning that helps teachers relate subject matter to real world situations” • Current information indicates that new WIA Title 1 & Title 2 re-authorization will require closer alignment with work skills and tie learning to those work skills • Contextualized curriculum is one method of making this alignment
Preparing to use contextualized curriculum • Requires a shift in understanding of what it means to develop curriculum • Begins curriculum instruction with tasks learners need in their daily lives; then begins instruction of knowledge and skills required to perform these tasks • Encourages teamwork and collaborative learning. Students often find comfort and success when working with a partner or small group
How we selected career pathways at Davidson County CC • Identified faculty and staff and trained them to develop the curriculum • Developed curriculum in areas of health, transportation and early childhood initially. Added HVAC, Business, Computers and are currently identifying others to add • Identified short-term certificate and diploma programs that could be completed in 1-3 semesters • Met with college faculty and representatives from business and workforce development to determine areas where employment was obtainable
Examples of contextualized pathways at Davidson County CC • Nurse Assistant • Medical Office Assistant • Pharmacy Technology • Early Childhood • Phlebotomy • HVAC • Truck Driver Training • Automotive Technology • Business • Early Childhood Education
Instructional Strategies Used in Curriculum Development • Choose the best answer • Find These Words • What Would You Do? • Complete this Chart • Multiple Choice • Fill in the Blank/Word Bank • Crossword Puzzle • Memorizing/mnemonics • Common Bonds • True/False • Cell Word Chop • Matching • Context Clues • Magic Square • Short-answer question Reading Reading (continued)
Instructional Strategies to Use in Curriculum Development (cont.) • Single-step word problems • Multi-step word problems • Chart/graphs word problems • Hands-on activities using math application, manipulatives, etc. • Students are provided content and write their own work problems • Short answer situations • Topic Sentence placement • Grammatically Correct • Pick 5 key statements and write a summary • Statement re-write • Research and create a 3 minute oral presentation on topic of research Math Writing
Create a Magic Square Good Vocabulary Activity
A few things to think about when creating word problems • Initially, begin with single step word problems until the student becomes more comfortable doing them • Working together often makes students more comfortable and they can solve the problem together • May give the students the answer to the problem in initial stages to lower anxiety in solving the problems • Students get more out of problems that are interactive • Problems that are relevant to their lives are important • Key words, phrases, or topics you want students to use need to be very clear in the problem • Work through the problem as the instructor before giving to students to prevent any surprises
Write your own word problem One single-step and one multi-step problem
How Do We Engage Students as Active Learners? • Use instructional strategies that leverage contextualized learning approaches • Scaffold learning • Use hands-on/active learning • Apply learning in a variety of contexts • Address varying skill levels in the same class • Use group/pair work • Make explicit how class activities develop skills for career paths • Tap into student motivation
More examples from other community colleges: GED Bridge to Health Career Profile Writing Project Reading Curriculum Math Curriculum
Here’s what they are • doing in Illinois: • CNA to LPN class • 3 hours/week X 16 weeks • Contextualized medical vocabulary • Based on National League of Nursing Exam • “Reading Smart” “504 Absolutely Essential Words” • Exit exam – Compass Reading, English, Math • Fast Track Allied Health Class in Arkansas • Contextualize developmental level reading and math • Move students along quicker through career pathway
Where are we going ??? • More hybrid classes – • using Moodle, Blackboard • Use SoftChalk to easily convert contextualized curriculum to engaging, interactive lessons on the web
Sources • sites.wiki.ubc.ca • EFF Research Principle: A Contextualized Approach to Curriculum and Instruction • mcli.dist.maricopa.edu • www.teachforever.com • Contextualized Teaching & Learning: A Faculty Primer developed by California Community College • Breaking Through Contextualization Toolkit
Sources http://www.laguardia.edu/uploadedFiles/T2/pcap/home_content/GED%20Bridge%20to%20Health%20Careers%20Reading%20Curric%20Session%203.pdf http://www.laguardia.edu/uploadedFiles/T2/pcap/docs/Geometry%20Overview.pdf http://occrl.illinois.edu/files/Projects/promising_pratice/2010/Promising_Practice_Oakton_CC_Curriculum.pdf http://www.aatyc.org/about-us/archive-news/181-aatyc-newsletter-july-2010.html
Contact Information Pat Phillips patp@davidsonccc.edu 336.224.4570 Melanie Knier mgknier@davidsonccc.edu 336.224.4584 Jobs for the Future Website: www.jff.org