Small learning communities or Career Academies

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Small learning communitiesor Career Academies

• At LRTC by Beth Fisher, instructor

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IS it school they love? maybe !
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Keeping kids in school by giving them a reason
to be there

• It has long been known that some students do not
  perform well in traditional school settings
• Career academies allow youth who may have trouble
  fitting into the larger school environment to
  belong to a smaller educational community and to
  connect what they learn in school with their
  career aspirations and goals.

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Team work and integrated learning
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Cohort of students with similar goals

• School of Engineering at LRTC
• Students who want to explore engineering
• Start as sophomores
• Many team projects
• Learn from each other
• Build on prior concepts and relationships
• In classes together for three years
• Common core classes where possible

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Learning from each other
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Research Validated

• Career Academies are organized as small learning
  communities, combine academic and technical
  curricula around a career theme, and establish
  partnerships with local employers to provide
  work-based learning opportunities.
• http//www.mdrc.org/publications/366/overview.html

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Applied math, science, technologyand programming
to solve a problem
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Money talks and kids listen

• The Career Academies substantially improved the
  labor market prospects of young men, a group that
  has experienced a severe decline in real earnings
  in recent years. Through a combination of
  increased wages, hours worked, and employment
  stability, the young men in the Academy group
  earned over 10,000 (18 percent) more than those
  in the non-Academy control group over the
  four-year follow-up period. 1

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1000.00 for civil engineering model
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Medium to High risk students show the most gains
by this approach

• The positive labor market impacts were
  concentrated among Academy group members who were
  at high or medium risk of dropping out of high
  school when they entered the programs.
• The findings demonstrate the feasibility of
  improving labor market preparation and successful
  school-to-work transitions without compromising
  academic goals and preparation for college. 1

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School to Work and/or to College
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Improves salaries and choices

• In fact, Career Academies (small learning
  communities) are one of the few youth-focused
  interventions that have been found to improve the
  labor market prospects of young men.
• It is also a great way to have girls participate
  in non traditional areas

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Equal opportunity team work
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Interact with professionals

• Students need to understand what professionals
  do.
• They need to see a connection between school and
  work
• Having guest speakers who are employed as
  engineers adds perspective
• Going to industrial engineering sights shows real
  world applications

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(Excerpt from student presentation)
Acoustical Engineering

• Career planning and research

Acoustical engineering is the branch of
engineering dealing with sound and
vibration! What does it take to be an engineer?
The answer may be simpler than you think. Some
basic aptitudes combined with interest and a
willingness to work at it and you're there.
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The cohort of students teachers

• The teachers know their students
• The students know their teachers
• The students know each other
• They know professional engineers
• They get comfortable using the nomenclature and
  the concepts involved in the field
• They understand why they are learning math and
  science and can communicate with their peers
  about how and why these subject areas count

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Making it work problem solvinglearning in
context of a career focus
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Project based applied learning

• The focus on a specific career group allows
  curriculum to address specific types of learning.
  These include applied math and science and well
  as English Language Arts and communication skills
• Students are required to document and create a
  portfolio of their work. They can use the
  portfolio for personal reference or for showing a
  college or employer what they have already
  accomplished

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Integrated learning mechanical, electrical,
programming, team work and documentation
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Career and college planning

• A teacher can easily assist the students in their
  career and college programs
• The teacher(s) will have a knowledge of their
  students and the educational choices for post
  secondary schools
• Students can get individual guidance on how to
  pick a school that meets their aptitudes

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A student finds his/her calling and a college
that will help them get there
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Essential features

• A school within a school a cluster of students
  who typically stay with the same group of
  teachers for 2-4 years, forming a close-knit
  learning community that gives students personal
  support.

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Learn from others mistakes!
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And from the evidence of success
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Partnerships with business

• Partnerships with employers who sponsor
• career awareness work-based learning
  opportunities
• provide resources and financial support.

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These elements are intended to result in

• better engagement
• academic performance,
• personal and academic development,
• preparation for college, work, postsecondary
  attainment, and successful employment.

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Integrated with core studies

• When we teach a whole person the student should
  be aware that in a career, they will use a
  combination of the skills from school, from math
  to science, with technology and communication
  integrated throughout

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Benefits

• These small learning communities tend to improve
  attendance, test scores, commitment to post
  secondary education and career success
• http//www.nccte.org/publications/infosynthesis/in
  -brief/in-brief01/inbrief01-careeracademies.pdf

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Learning to be life long learners

• Students gain a lot of self reliance
• They know that although they must learn to work
  with others they are ultimately responsible for
  their own success
• They have found mentors and role models
• They very likely know where they want to go and
  have the knowledge of how to get there