Create a Career Pathway Experience: Making Learning Relevant for All Students
College was once seen as steak while CTE as seen as hamburger. Today, college is still steak, but CTE has become lobster. In the ideal K-12 school setting, all students would be engaged in high quality surf & turf.
– Michael Armbruster
INTRO
Academies not only have the potential to give students strong content knowledge, but they also give students opportunities to develop other skills essential for both college and career – collaboration, critical thinking skills, time management, and goal setting skills – all of which promote hands-on learning and are needed to meet the demands of today’s economy.
THINK skills and behaviors are often grounded in critical thinking and inquiry. Examples include: ideation, creativity, innovation, and design thinking. Ultimately, THINK is about approaching situations and ideas with versatile and intentional thinking patterns.
OBJECTIVES
- Brainstorm and start planning for how your school can create/expand CTE/career pathways schoolwide
- Ensure your plan is as inclusive and benefits as many students as possible
ACTIVITY
Create CTE or career pathways schoolwide so that every student experiences project-based learning throughout their school experience.
Check out Valley High School in Santa Anna California for a Career Academies success story.
TIPS
- Big Plays are more substantial efforts that take 6-18 months to fully accomplish.
- Like this activity? Check out Inflexion’s full-page THINK document for more ideas.
Responses