SECTION FOUR INSTRUCTIONAL RELATED ACTIVITIES

SECTION FOUR INSTRUCTIONAL RELATED ACTIVITIES Special Note The contents of this document are subject to constant change and revision. Please refer to the latest version of this document found on the website for the most accurate and up to date information. July 2012 Page 4-0

Standard 4: Instructional Related activities in The Career Technical and Agricultural Education class promote an understanding of the business and work environment and help students develop employability skills. Exemplary 3 Meets Expectation 2 Does Not Meet Expectation 1 Evidence Include all criteria from "meets expectations plus the following: Student entrepreneurship projects is a high priority. Numerous exemplary business plans for student entrepreneurship projects exist. A healthcare program exists with clinical experiences for students. School-based enterprises teach a comprehensive business model and are operated as outlined in the curricula of the Georgia Performance Standards. Non-traditional delivery models for employability skill training exists and exposes practically all CTAE students. Some instructional related activities are present in the curriculum. Students include evidence of instructional related activities in their portfolios and/or individual career plan. Business plans are required for student entrepreneurship projects. School-based enterprises are operated as outlined in the curricula of the Georgia Performance Standards. Many CTAE teachers incorporate employability skills into their program and Work- Based -Learning Coordinators assist in the delivery of employability skill training. Limited opportunities, programs or instructional related activities are available to students. No school-based enterprises exist. A Marketing program exists without a school store. Student entrepreneurship enterprises are rare or absent. School-based enterprises are confused with fund raising events. Teaching employability skills is not a priority of CTAE teachers. 1. CTAE teacher lesson plans. 2. Extended day program of work for CTAE. 3. Business plans from student entrepreneurship activities. 4. Operation of School- Based Enterprises 5. Schedules of clinical rotations and lists of students involved. 6. Lessons/presentation on employability skills. 7. Delivery plan for employability skills. July 2012 Page 4-1

INSTRUCTIONAL RELATED ACTIVITIES Instructional Related Activities in the Career Technical and Agricultural Education class are those that promote understanding of the business and work environment and teach employability skills. Activities that integrate academic skills learned in the classroom with skills learned on the job provide the bridge for transitioning from school to work and/or postsecondary education. By integrating job instruction and career exploration with a program of study based on high academics and skill standards, the following School Based Activities are vital components of the school-to-work continuum. These include: Entrepreneurship Projects School Based Enterprises Teaching Employability Skills Assisting Students with Job Placements Clinical Experiences School-Based Activities are appropriate in grades 6-12 and should be an integral part of every Career Related Education Program. The Work-Based Learning Coordinator should work with related instructors, counselors, administrative personnel and business partners in planning and conducting these activities. All CTAE instructors should appreciate the importance of such activities in the process of a student s career development. Following is some information and suggestions about each of these activities: Entrepreneurship Projects An Entrepreneurship Project is an activity where an individual or group of students becomes a business owner and as such, plan and operate an enterprise or business to produce goods or services. Involvement in such a project will help students develop the competencies needed to own and manage enterprises. Students must maintain complete and accurate records as well as manage materials needed to produce a product or service. Entrepreneurship Projects are excellent examples of applied learning. Students must develop and implement a business plan by operating and assuming the financial risk of a business that distributes good and/or services. This activity will provide students with the opportunity to develop skills needed to become established in their own business or will be valuable in employment. July 2012 Page 4-2

School-Based Enterprises (SBE) A school-based enterprise involves students producing goods and services as part of their educational program of study. School-based enterprises assist students in developing the competencies needed to own and manage entrepreneurial businesses. The students plan, implement, conduct, and evaluate the operation of the business, including the production and distribution of goods and/or services. Examples of enterprises include building houses, running restaurants, managing school stores, publishing periodicals and newspapers, conducting marketing research studies for local business and industry, or engaging in small-scale manufacturing. Some benefits of SBE s include: For the student: The development of leadership and management skills. The opportunity to build on skills and attitudes vital to career success. The opportunity to perform actual business functions. The chance to apply principles and concepts in an actual business environment. For the Instructor: The ability to actively demonstrate business management concepts (verses lectures). The availability of current technology for student training. An opportunity to involve the local business community. An opportunity to develop relationships with local highly effective business leaders. SBE s are an excellent recruiting tool. For the School: A source of income to fund materials, equipment and supplies. The opportunity for inter-curricular partnership. An avenue through which to involve local business leaders. School-Based Enterprises often involve public and private partnerships. In such partnerships, the private business provides the equipment and materials necessary to establish and operate the business, while the local school district provides faculty and staff for instructional and supervision purposes. A community development approach can be very effective in designing student-run enterprises. Students can assess and research their community s resources and develop an economically viable business such as a childcare center or housing rehabilitation business. School-based July 2012 Page 4-3

enterprises and related programs allow students to assume highly responsible roles that would not be accessible in the adult workplace. An important consideration for all SBE s is the Mission Statement. A mission statement identifies the role of SBE business and the audience to be served. It provides the beginning of expectations and desired results from both the instructor s and the student s perspective. Similarly, the Business Plan is a critical component of the SBE endeavor. Business plans clearly define what the Enterprise will do, how it will accomplish desired goals, why the venture is important, and what timelines or benchmarks are to be met. Ultimately, the Business Plan will identify whether or not the ideas for an SBE venture are realistic and financially sound. As with entrepreneurial ventures in the business community, a Business plan is the foundation of all SBE projects. CTAE instructors need to be fully aware of the difference between a School-Based Enterprise and the seemingly ongoing series of fund rising activities that are so much a part of the educational landscape today. While the well planned SBE venture will almost certainly generate profits, the emphasis must always remain on the educational facets of the Enterprise. SBE s are on-going and co-curricular, not one-time, short term events focused almost entirely on money. School Stores The most widely practiced form of a School-Based Enterprise (SBE) is the operation of a school store. A school store is an example of a SBE designed to provide a real-world marketing educational environment that lets students practice marketing fundamentals and skills needed for running an actual business. Students gain valuable business operational skills such as managing a small business, determining inventory requirements, developing financial models, and working together as a business team. This SBE model allows students to embark on a marketing journey that will increase productivity, help them create new ideas about how a SBE functions, and learn how an entrepreneur provides superior customer service in order to establish an all-important competitive edge. An excellent guide for developing SBE s in general and school stores in particular can be found at http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/passwd/trc/ttools/attach/marketing/sbemanual.pdf. This School-Based Enterprise Manual will guide instructors step-by-step through the process of creating, developing and managing SBE s, including sample Mission Statements and Business Plans. SBE s are one of the most effective instructional tools in schools across the nation. Each CTAE instructor should examine the possibility of including such activities into his or her curriculum. July 2012 Page 4-4

Teaching Employability Skills Involving students in learning activities that result in skill development is the essence of what CTAE instructors are hired to do. It is true that the philosophy of teaching students, not subjects is certainly admirable, and all CTAE programs do follow a model that emphasizes the three interrelated components of class/laboratory, CTSO participation and SAE/CRE participation. Yet the fact remains that the core component of any CTAE curriculum is focused on student mastery of the skill-set critical to that particular concentration area, and the majority of time and effort during the school year will be spent in the pursuit of that goal. Instruction in the CTAE classroom is driven by the detailed, sequential curriculum, which has been painstakingly developed through the efforts and insight of experienced professional educators and other experts in those concentration areas. Instructors are mandated to follow these curricula. Each individual will deliver the material in a unique way according to his or her background, personality, and talents. It is through these personal efforts that the process of educating students becomes as much art as science, and students will be motivated and empowered to achieve mastery over the subject matter. Another core component of the CTAE program is teaching students skills vital for employment. Often referred to as soft skills, many employers cite employability as the most crucial part of a student s skill set. For example, many younger students have trouble making eye contact with adults or strangers; their body language is not appropriate for interviews or other business situations; or they may not be aware of what constitutes appropriate business dress. One role of the Work-Based Learning Coordinator is to prepare lesson plans which cover these topics and present them in CTAE classes. Section 10 includes detailed information and strategies related to teaching employability skills. Assisting Students with Job Placements Career-Related Education is designed to culminate with work-site placements for qualified students. The goal is to place students who have mastered skills in CTAE programs at an appropriate work site, one that represents the career concentration you teach and provides the work experience that will help the student develop a successful career in that area. The Work- Based Learning Coordinator at every school will be presenting lessons to CTAE students that will help prepare them for the more generic, across-the-curriculum types of skills such as how to prepare resumes or how to complete a job application. More refined and area-specific information, however, may need to come from the CTAE instructor in each discipline. Because instructors in any particular area have the background, knowledge and expertise to communicate effectively with employers in that field, they are more likely to be able to build the trust that will open doors to opportunities for students that might otherwise go undeveloped. For example, because a construction teacher might understand the culture and July 2012 Page 4-5

vernacular of the workplace ( talk the language, so to speak), he may have more success in convincing a local construction company or the electrical worker s union to consider a student placement than the WBL-Coordinator who may not have that experience in his or her background. Therefore, the CTAE instructor is uniquely positioned to help prepare a student in his or her concentration area for an interview with a business partner or potential WBLplacement. Counseling with a student on how to dress, what questions to expect, the culture of a particular workplace, and other insider-type information may be the difference in a successful interview or one where the student does not make the right kind of impression. While work-site placements fall primarily under the auspices of the WBL-Coordinator, the CTAE instructor can often provide the fine-tuning that will make the difference between success and failure. Clinical Experiences A Clinical Experience is structured student learning that takes place in a community-based healthcare setting. It is an integrated part of the student s Healthcare Science program of study and is supervised and evaluated by the healthcare teacher. These are different from other structured Work-Based Learning programs because they require on-site supervision at all times by a certified teacher, school-based personnel with a medical or social work degree (e.g. R.N. or MSW), or a related work-based instructor with these same qualifications. The amount of time to be spent and areas of experiences (clinical rotations) are also generally stipulated. Clinical workbased learning is correlated with the academic and occupational curriculum and provides students with opportunities that are considered an extension of the curricula and are, in most instances, non-paid experiences for the students. It is important that all partners be aware of the responsibilities to provide a successful experience. Please note that the Work-Based Learning Coordinator does not place or supervise students on clinical job sites. The clinical instructor assumes the role of designing and implementing the clinical experience. The Work-Based Learning Coordinator may assist the clinical instructor to assure the program is administered in accordance with the Standards and Guidelines found in section five of this manual. July 2012 Page 4-6

Fifteen Tips for Instructional Activities 1. When developing a School-Based Enterprise project, be very clear about where fundraising ends and learning begins. 2. Remember that students learn better by doing than by listening and watching. 3. Base School-Based Enterprise projects on real needs of the students, teachers and community such as school items, snack items, school spirit gear, seasonal items (Christmas wreaths, Valentine flowers, and candy), etc. 4. Rotate students who are involved. Don t just include the same clique. 5. Entrepreneurship projects are usually also an opportunity to enter CTSO competitions. 6. Junior Achievement, community/school mentoring, leadership programs, etc., are excellent resources for surveying project ideas. 7. Be sure to correlate entrepreneur and school-based learning projects with the curriculum. 8. Consider using bilingual students to serve as translators and have them available in the welcome centers of your schools. 9. Have students develop a Power Point to present and advertise items, instructional projects, items for sale, and programs for ninth and tenth graders. Use students to answer questions, and recruit ninth and tenth graders. 10. Publicize the great activities and projects in your school and local newspapers. Take pictures for billboards and articles so student s skills are showcased for the businesses and communities. 11. Have students learn and showcase their skills through demonstrations during middle school visits, parent nights, registrations, parent conference nights, etc. 12. Require neat, complete and accurate financial records for School-Based Enterprises and Entrepreneurial projects. Keep accurate records of students who worked the books and handled the currency in case of any discretionary questions. 13. Survey your community about what they believe is missing from their local economy such a movie theaters, places for teens to socialize, etc. Have parents and business partners contribute ideas as to how to fill the gaps for meeting the needs of their community. July 2012 Page 4-7

14. Get local religious communities involved in your school enterprises. Ask them to announce key dates and activities in their church bulletins. 15. Recruit mentors from local police and fire officers to visit classes and address school safety measures when sponsoring project presentations and demonstrations. Refer to Appendix D CRE Related Websites for more information and resources about conducting Instructional Related activities. July 2012 Page 4-8