Career Clusters, Common Core and More: I’m Supposed to do What with My Curriculum?

Career Clusters, Common Core and More: I’m Supposed to do What with My Curriculum?

January 26, 2011Careers Conference, Madison, WisconsinRobin Nickel, Ph.D.Associate Director, Worldwide Instructional Design System

How are standards documented in curriculum?

How do we balance consistency vs. organic development?

Drivers

Secondary and postsecondary•develop a process for measuring technical skills that lead to an industry-recognized or state-recognized credential or locally-developed credential

•develop valid and reliable assessments

Carl Perkins IV Drivers

“Assessment of student learning is a participatory, iterative process that:

• Provides data/information you need on your students’ learning

• Engages you and others in analyzing and using this data/information to confirm and improve teaching and learning

• Produces evidence that students are learning the outcomes you intended.”

From “Student Learning, Assessment and Accreditation: Criteria and Contexts”, presented at Making a Difference in Student Learning: Assessment as a Core Strategy, a workshop from the Higher Learning Commission, July 26-28, 2006. 

Drivers

Comprehensive Standards 3.3.1 “institution identifies expected outcomes … assesses whether it achieves the outcomes; and provides evidence of improvement based on analysis of those results.”

3.4.1 “establish and evaluate program and learning outcomes”

Drivers

Advantages of StandardsThey provide…

• Guidance in teaching skills and subject matter

• Tools to make sure learning is valid

• Guidelines for defining competence

Pearlman, Kenneth. National Skills Standards Board

Challenges

• Staff development

• Public communication

• Reporting out (grading, records)

• Accountability

ASCD Raising Achievement Through Standards

• They vary widely in format and level/generality

• Must be interpreted and adapted so they can be taught and assessed

• May represent a mixture of instructional design components: goals, core abilities, competencies

Challenges

How are standards documented in curriculum?

© 2011, States' Career Clusters Initiative.

• Agree to use a common curriculum design framework

Common Framework• Provide a general road map of

all courses and programs• Ensure skills are being

addressed• Simplify articulation• Increase efficiency

• List in Program• Link to Program Outcomes

• Link to courses• Link to course competencies

How do we balance consistency vs. organic development?

SyllabiLearning Plans

Assessment Tasks

SyllabiLearning Plans

Assessment Tasks

SyllabiLearning Plans

Assessment Tasks

• Ensure a systematic, consistent implementation of skill standards

• Connect teaching and learning to the intended results

• Implement targeted performance assessment

Robin Nickel, Ph.D.Associate Director, Worldwide Instructional Design Systemnickelr@wids.org