Contextualized Curriculum Guide Basic Skills Conference August 3

Contextualized Curriculum Guide Basic Skills Conference, August 3, 2010 Pat Phillips & Melanie Knier Davidson County Community College Lexington, NC

Research Indicates � Students do not necessarily view math as applicable to their daily lives � Students want to make connections between what they learn and what they experience in real life � 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

Key Questions to be answered in Contextualizing Curriculum � How do you infuse contextualized content? � Which instructional strategies work best? � How do we engage students as active learners? � How do we sustain the effort? � What are the implications of contextualization on curriculum design?

How did we infuse contextualized content into our curriculum? � Methods ◦ Contextualization using career fields or clusters (Toolkit, page 4) ◦ Contextualization using specific occupations (Toolkit, pages 4 & 5) ◦ Contextualization Using Career Exploration (Toolkit, page 5)

Common Charatceristics � Page 15 of Contextualization Toolkit

Planning Stages � Met with appropriate staff and instructors to begin planning � Achieved buy-in from key people (administrators and those developing the curriculum and those teaching it) � Set up advisory team to review curriculum and give feedback � Piloted the first few lessons with a group of students and solicited their feedback for curriculum improvement

Steps to Develop Contextualized Curricula � Identify career pathways in which the curriculum is needed � Identify credit staff & faculty who will work with you in the areas curricula will be developed � Interview faculty to determine key concepts and teaching and learning objectives needed to be taught in each subject in the pathway � Identify subjects and skills needed to be taught based on feedback from faculty in the area

Steps to development (continued) � Identify faculty & staff who are interested in developing the curriculum � Identify resources needed to develop the curriculum � Do a readability level for credit textbooks � Determine number of units to be developed in each pathway � Develop lesson plan for each lesson to be developed and begin curriculum development

How we selected career pathways at Davidson County CC � 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 � 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

Examples of contextualized pathways at Davidson County CC � Nurse Assistant � Medical Office Assistant � Pharmacy Technology � Early Childhood

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 Reading (continued) � � Cell Word Chop � Matching � Context Clues � Magic Square

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

A few things to think about when creating word 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 � 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 �

How Do We Engage Students as Active Learners? � Make explicit how class activities develop skills for career paths ◦ Tap into student motivation � Develop a screening process to determine skill level ◦ Lower assessment barriers to enrollment � 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

Learners Can Be Engaged By… � Identification of the student’s learning style and making sure that instruction touches on each student’s learning preference � Conducting a Career Aptitude/ Interest Inventory and connecting the results to each student’s learning � Varying activities in the classroom (example: Use 4 -MAT Learning Wheel to design lesson plans) � Using problem-based learning

Learners Can Be Engaged By… � Participating in activities such as projects, solving real world problems, conducting interviews, creating charts and graphs, creating presentations and other activities that reinforce real-life situations � Increasing the student’s motivation to learn and fostering student independence in learning � Use of MECA or other hands-on activities

How do we sustain contextualized learning? � Implement processes designed during the planning phase � Use management or advisory team for review and program improvements � Support and retain faculty � Implement data and cost-tracking systems � Promote contextualization throughout your programs � Assess the costs benefits of contextualization

Implications of Contextualization on Curriculum Design � Does integration of contextualized content change the scope and sequence for academic skills that are being taught? � How can we insure that students are learning the underlying concepts? � Can students apply the skills outside of the context? � What are resources that you can use for curriculum development?

Lesson Plan Template

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 Soft. Chalk 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/uploaded. Files/T 2/pcap/home_content/GED %20 Bridge%20 to%20 Health%20 Careers%20 Reading%20 Curric%20 Sessio n%203. pdf http: //www. laguardia. edu/uploaded. Files/T 2/pcap/docs/Geometry%20 Overview. pdf http: //occrl. illinois. edu/files/Projects/promising_pratice/2010/Promi sing_Practice_Oakton_CC_Curriculum. pdf http: //www. aatyc. org/about-us/archive-news/181 -aatyc-newsletterjuly-2010. html

Contact Information Pat Phillips patp@davidsonccc. edu 336. 224. 4570 Melanie Knier mgknier@davidsonccc. edu 336. 224. 4584