At Boston’s Fenway Middle College High School, students learn early to assess all work against the “percs” habits of mind, which (like Central Park East Secondary School’s oft-quoted standard) considers how the work demonstrates Perspective, Evidence, Relevance, Connection, and Supposition. In their culminating exhibitions of Senior Projects and work internships, seniors defend their work before an audience that assesses it
Students at Central Park East Secondary School use five “Habits of Mind” as a framework for class discussions, assignments, exhibitions, group activities, and community inquiry. Now Anne Purdy, who coordinates the weekly community service all students undertake, has drafted a guide that shares those habits with workplace supervisors so they can use them with students on the job. Some excerpts
Portfolio assessment can be used not only to assess traditional academic work but also to demonstrate student mastery in work-based learning experiences. A model “career preparation portfolio,” comparable to that in an academic field, might include the following elements, suggests Daniel McLaughlin at WestEd, the U. S. Department of Education’s West Coast regional educational laboratory: Personal Statement. Students outline their
American Youth Policy Forum has publications for educators interested in youth development and school-to-work issues. 1001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 719, Washington, DC 20036; (202) 775-9731 (202) 775-9731 . Changing the Subject: The New Urban High School is a demonstration project of the Big Picture company and the U.S. Department of Education. 118 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA 02139; (617) 492-3133 (617) 492-3133 ; www.bpic.org.
To increase the success of a field study, narrow its scope so that the problem can be addressed completely, suggests Charles Jett, an educational consultant in Wheaton, Illinois. “The level of sophistication of the field study must not be beyond the students’ ability to succeed in the process of conducting it,” he says. He presents the following examples in a
Authenticity Does the project emanate from a problem or question that has meaning to the student? Is it a problem or question that might actually be tackled by an adult at work or in the community? Do students create or produce something that has personal or social value, beyond the school setting? Academic Rigor Does the project lead students to
“The challenge in school to work programs” says Adria Steinberg of Jobs for the Future in her new book Real Learning, Real Work, is to create something that does not look like school, as teenagers now know it, or like work, as most of them experience it.” The Best work based learning strategies let students try on different work identities,s
Situating learning in real-world contexts can breathe new life into academic explorations and new rigor into work-related studies. In the process, some of the deepest issues of whole-school change will come to the fore. All during the spring of 1967 I watched boys and the classroom clock, enduring Moby Dick and history textbooks while I waited in a virtual coma