Contextualized Curriculum Guide

Basic Skills Conference, August 3, 2010 Pat Phillips & Melanie Knier

Davidson County Community CollegeLexington, NC

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

Research Indicates

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

WIA Re-Authorization

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

Preparing to use contextualized 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?

Key Questions to be answered in Contextualizing 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)

How did we infuse contextualized content into our curriculum?

Page 15 of Contextualization Toolkit

Common Charatceristics

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

Planning Stages

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 Develop Contextualized Curricula

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

Steps to development (continued)

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

How we selected career pathways at Davidson County CC

Nurse Assistant Medical Office Assistant Pharmacy Technology Early Childhood

Examples of contextualized pathways at Davidson County CC

Instructional Strategies Used in Curriculum Development

Reading Reading (continued)

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

Instructional Strategies to Use in Curriculum Development (cont.)

Math Writing

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

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

A few things to think about when creating word problems

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

How Do We Engage Students as Active Learners?

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

Learners Can Be Engaged By…

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

How do we sustain contextualized learning?

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?

Implications of Contextualization on Curriculum Design

Lesson Title: Medical Assisting Math I

Subject:_Math/ measurement__Prepared by: Pat Phillips__________________

Overview & Purpose Teach math skills needed to succeed in a medical assisting program

Competencies addressed: Measurement of ounces and gallons Math to prepare specimens

Teacher Plan Student Plan Objectives (Specifi c skills that will be learned) Multiplication and division of ounces to gallon

Guide students through math problem, modeling the proper procedures to calculate the problem. Then have students create their own word problems related to medical assisting and practice hands-on activity

Practice math calculations needed to complete the math problems. Practice measurement until the concept is mastered

Materials Needed Gallon of water Measuring cup pan calculator paper/ pencil

I nf ormation (Give or demonstrate necessary inf ormation)

Demonstrate math calculations and model the steps in determining the necessary inf ormation to solve the problem

Other resources (ie. Websites, books, wikis, games, etc)

Verifi cation (Steps to check student understanding)

Monitor student accuracy in solving problems

Have students do a self -check f or accuracy of solving problems

Lesson Plan Template

More examples from other community colleges:

GED Bridge to Health CareerProfile 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

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

Sources

Pat Phillipspatp@davidsonccc.edu336.224.4570

Melanie Kniermgknier@davidsonccc.edu336.224.4584

Contact Information