Successful Schools | Origin: LC101
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Role of CTE in High School Improvement --> Successful Schools
In what ways can CTE contribute to overall school improvement?
Take a few minutes to post your response and learn more from your peers.
In my position as an Early college Transition Coordinator, I see how students in CTE programs are more motivated and able to apply the knowledge they are learning to real world situations.
Career Technical Education allows school districts to bring in various business models that illustrate how the business world measures success. Through these processes, academic teachers learn from CTE instructors, thus allowing a more collaborative approach. This collaboration leads to a stronger team as both groups learn how to integrate theoretical learning with application. The students benefit as a result of the collaboration making them better prepared for the future opportunities.
Research indicates that student partiipcation in CTE coursework has a direct impact on some of the most traditional student perfromance indicators. CTE particpation increases student attendance, graduation rates, and in many cases overall assessment scores. Perhaps more imporatant than these fundamental metrics, particpation in CTE coursework allows students the opportunity to apply academic skills across a variety of real life industries a ways that are simply more relevent than what the traditional classroom environment can offer.
I guess for me the question would be why would you NOT integrate CTE courses with core academics? Knowing that CTE courses provide the relevancy and hands-on learning that students crave, providing options to earn math or English credits through CTE classes seems like a win-win, especially when so many schools are seeking credit recovery options for students.
Academic intigration when done right works, but we still struggle with getting it right every time.
CTE programs with thier hands on learning increases engagement, improves graduation rates, allows students ownership in the process, allows for greater networking within a community and increases a sense of belonging for students. CTE programs bring relevance to the school and build students in order to build our future communities.
CTE can contribute to overall school improvement by showing administrators, teachers, students, parents, community members, businesses, and universities how students can engage in real world learning through the multidisciplinary approach with each teacher finding ways to teach on a common theme in their different dischiplines, through the intradisciplinary approach where CTE teachers help students link their learning to real world situations through numeracy and literacy, and through fusion where students can enhance their knowledge, skills, and attitudes using technology and research and learning how to use the computer programs and software to produce evidence of their learning experiences.
Integrated curriculum in CTE coursework helps the students not only learn, but have the ability to apply what they have learned. This makes real-life sense to children about how a routine math problem can help them in their career. It is easier to teach through live examples and hands-on experience than with just a book. The more integrated the CTE students are in their education, the more likely they are to attend school and graduate.
Integrating core academics into CTE coursework makes sense! It gives relevance to the math/science/LA and also builds the rigor of the curriculum being taught in the programs.
At our school, our CTE services over half the overall population in some form. It is integral in introducing students to careers and skills that they wouldn't necessarily learn in the academic world. This has helped reduce the dropout rate, increase our percentage of students attending either a 4 year, 2 year or technical school and for our local community, it provides a stepping stone to jobs.
CTE integration bouys attendance rates with our students, particularily in our males 9th grade students. We also see decreases in drop out rates among our CTE students.
