Teach English in Qi Zhen - Baoji Shi

In my capacity as a Career & Technical Education (CTE) Teacher, I developed a 660-page Career Readiness curriculum and would like to share the course design and development process used. Career Readiness was created to provide a sequential, comprehensive and engaging curriculum for secondary high school through adult literacy students to prepare them to be career-ready! Its design takes students on a four-unit, nine-chapter journey through the career development process. Career Readiness is a great opportunity for collaborative, cross-curricular education of vocational, high school and adult literacy disciplines with integrated cooperative and multiple intelligences learning. The first step in developing the course curriculum required a working definition of career readiness. The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) provides the following definition; to equip students with: • core academic skills and the ability to apply those skills to concrete situations in order to function in the workplace and in routine daily activities • employability skills (such as critical thinking and responsibility) that are essential in any career area • Job-specific, technical skills related to a specific career pathway. The next step involved brainstorming sessions between the CTE Teacher and Project Coordinator to discuss course content, focus, materials, methodologies, teaching strategies, audience, addressing standards and assessments. This initial brainstorming then developed into periodically scheduled meetings to evaluate and refine the process. From these initial sessions and the working definition, the CTE Teacher and Project Coordinator developed the aforementioned parameters for course development:  State-of-the-art non-fiction writings, blogs, research and statistics  Eye-pleasing informative visuals and graphics  Personal reflection and critiquing activities  Real-life functional application assessments  Real-life scenario and case study assessments  Cross-walked NYS CDOS Commencement Level Learning Standards  Embedded CDOS Universal Foundation Skills Standards  Embedded Common Core ELA Literacy and Mathematics Fluency Standards Next a draft Scope and Sequence was created to provide direction for content subject matter and organizational sequencing. This involved much online research for non-fictional topic-related content, project- and scenario-based assignments, activities and assessment resources. The potential projects or assignments resources focused on real-world application with project-based learning (resume writing, career plan, self-assessments) and scenario-based learning (skill-, problem-, issue-based, speculative).  Unit 1: Students discover the world of work, their personality, skills and preferences and create their Career Plan.  Unit 2: Students develop an understanding and application of the Universal Foundation Skills (CDOS 3a) which are essential in today’s workplace.  Unit 3: Students demonstrate their knowledge of Units 1 and 2 with real-life application to regional and local job markets and job search process.  Unit 4: The pinnacle of career readiness: actual employment! Students will delve into the practices of successful employment and lifelong learning. Course Scope and Sequence Unit I: Career Exposure Chapter 1: Introduction to the World of Work-Why do we work? Lessons 1.1: What is Work? 1.2: Why Do People Work? 1.3: What are My Work Values? Chapter 2: Self-Assessments-What skills do I have? Lessons 2.0: What is the purpose Self-Assessments and Interest Inventories? 2.1: What is My Learning Style? 2.2: What is My Personality Type? 2.3: What are My Work Interests? 2.4: What are My Skills? Chapter 3: Career Exploration-What do I want to do? Lessons 3.1: Career Clusters & Pathways 3.2: Career Options 3.3: Career Planning Unit II: Career Essentials Chapter 4: Universal Foundation Skills—Part I Lessons: 4.1: Basic Skills 4.2: Thinking Skills 4.3: Personal Qualities 4.4: Interpersonal Skills Chapter 5: Universal Foundation Skills—Part II Lessons: 5.1: Managing Information 5.2: Managing Resources 5.3: Managing Systems 5.4: Managing Technology Unit III: Career Engagement Chapter 6: Job Market Lessons 6.0: The Labor Market 6.1: Geographic Profile: National 6.2: Geographic Profile: New York State & Southern Tier Region 6.3: Industry & Company Profiles Chapter 7: Job Search Lessons: 7.1: Job Postings 7.2: Resumes 7.3: Job Applications & Cover Letters 7.4: Job Interviews & Follow Up Unit IV: Employment Chapter 8: Job Onboarding Lessons: 8.1: Job Expectations 8.2: Job Orientation 8.3: Job Operations 8.4: Job Health & Safety Chapter 9: Job Future Lessons: 9.1: Lifelong Learning 9.2: Job Promotion 9.3: Job Change 9.4: Job Separation The following are examples of some online teaching strategies resources that were incorporated into the lesson development: • 7E Instructional Model • Using Case Studies to Teach • A 5 Step-Plan to Create Your Own Scenario-based eLearning Course • Types of Reflection Activities • 53 Ways to Check for Understanding • Case Study Teaching The next step in the process was to narrow and refine the resources and organize them into a standardized format: Unit, Chapter, Lessons and Assessments. The first lesson took the longest to develop but once the “prototype” was complete the development process increased in efficiency. The final piece in the lesson development process was the incorporation of the High School Level CDOS Lesson Plan format cross-walked to the CDOS Learning Standards. Due to the close proximity of course development and grant completion the course has no plan for implementation and feedback. However, the curriculum does present many potential opportunities for the course. The curriculum was designed for ease of implementation within four educational programming areas: General Education, Special Education, Career & Technical Education and Adult Literacy. With the goal of mastery learning in mind and recognizing the diversification of the educational audiences, the curriculum affords learners the opportunity to receive credit based upon course completion rather than cohort year. For instance, a student could complete the course in one semester, one academic year, or 2, 3 or even 4 academic years depending on the requirements of their program of study. In addition to the multiple programs the curriculum can service it also provides for multiple instructional platforms including: Traditional or Flipped Classroom, Team Teaching, Interdisciplinary Teaching, Online Platforms and Integrated Instruction. One key issue with this curriculum is the assignment and awarding of CDOS credit hours. At present all instructional platforms must be taught by a CTE certified teacher for the assignment and awarding of CDOS credit hours. In many districts this would require hiring additional CTE-certified teachers and place a financial burden on the district.