How To Use The Ontario Skills Passport To Add A Skills Focus And Career Connections

1. How To Use The Ontario Skills Passport To Add A Skills Focus And Career Connections To Classroom Activities And Courses Chantal Locatelli Subject Association Meeting, May 25, 2011

2. The Ontario Skills Passport (OSP) • The OSP Is a web-based resource that provides clear descriptions of Essential Skills and work habits and includes videos and tasks that show how people use these skills in everyday life and on-the-job. It contains a range of tools and resources designed to help learners assess, build, document and track their skills and transfer them to further education, training, the workplace and everyday life. • The Front Matters section of each revised curriculum document includes a section on using the OSP to enhance the relevance of classroom learning , strengthen school-work-life connections, and engage learners. • Focus today is using the OSP to add a skills focus and career connections to classroom learning activities and courses to help students understand and value their Essential Skills and work habits and see how they relate to their goals and interests.

3. Curriculum-Essential Skills Linkages (CESL) Action Research: 2009 - 2011 Hypothesis: Making stronger connections between course content in academic subjects and Essential Skills increases: • Students’ perceived relevance of classroom learning; • Student engagement; and • Students’ ability to make decisions re their courses, programs, postsecondary pathways and careers.

4. Action Research Methodology Action: • Teachers used Guide to Linking Essential Skills and the Curriculum and the OSP to identify the Essential Skills and work habits in existing/new classroom learning activities and give students feedback on their skills demonstrations; and • Teachers contributed to the CESL database of learning activities. Information and Findings: • Collected through teacher and learner surveys administered between September 2010 – January 2011; and • Teacher comments posted in the e-community discussion forum.

5. Participating Teachers and Students 2009-2011 totals: • 35 Anglophone teachers • 23 Francophone teachers • 1744 Anglophone students • 666 Francophone students Subject areas: Mathematics/Mathématiques, English/Français, Special Education/Enfance en difficulté, Adult Credit/Éducation des adultes, Supervised Alternative Learning for Excused Pupils (SALEP), Technological Education, Career Studies, Sciences/Sciences, Business/Affaires en commerce, Geography, Physical Education

6. Teacher Feedback Highlights 100% of all the teachers who participated in research reported that: • learners liked classroom activities that are linked to Essential Skills and work habits because they are relevant; • the feedback helped learners in a number of ways, particularly in making decisions regarding courses, programs, postsecondary pathways and careers; • the CESL Guide and OSP were very useful to learn about Essential Skills and work habits and to link them to the curriculum; and • they would continue to track and give learners feedback on their skills demonstrations.

7. Learner Feedback Highlights Learners were asked to respond to the following survey question: I can see how I can use what I have learned in my life or the workplace.

8. Key Findings 2009 – 2011 Making explicit reference to Essential Skills and work habits in students’ learning: • helps teachers connect classroom activities to a range of tasks in school, in the community, at home, and at work; • enhances learners’ perceived relevance of classroom learning and their engagement;; • allows teachers to give learners feedback on their skills demonstrations, help them understand the skills that they have and those that they need to develop to meet their goals, and that their skills are transferable to further education, training, the workplace and everyday life; and • helps learners make decisions regarding courses, programs, postsecondary pathways and careers.

9. Handouts and Practical Resources • Sample Classroom Activity – Gr. 9 Applied Math Course • Sample Classroom Activity – Gr. 11 University/College Preparation Health Care Course • Guide to Linking Essential Skills and the Curriculum • “The Tips For Classroom Teachers – All Subjects“ resource • “Track Your Essential Skills and Work Habits in Learning Activities” – student-focused resource

10. OSP and SkillsZone Websites http://skills.edu.gov.on.ca www.skillszone.ca

11. Next Steps • Give feedback on the DRAFT copies of “Tips for Classroom Teachers – All Subjects” and the “Track Your Essential Skills and Work Habits in Learning Activities” (student resource); • Promote to your members the CESL Guide and the OSP website as practical easy-to-use resources that can add a skills focus and career connections to classroom activities and courses; • Encourage teachers to use the CESL database of classroom activities that have this skills focus as well as post new ones on the OERB; and • Offer workshops at subject association conferences to share strategies, classroom activities, and success stories associated with this teacher practice.

12. Thank you very much! Chantal.locatelli@ontario.ca