Transcript SEG Pub Plan Meeting

Work Skills
Going for GOLD!
Career Readiness Preparation for
Adult Learners
Month ####
Contemporary/McGraw-Hill
What Are We Talking About?
• Identify the New Workforce: Why are we ill-prepared?
- Current dropout rates
- Adults beyond the reach of the K–12 system
- Causes and impacts of this situation
• Research calls for a shift in ABE with a focus on career
readiness and contextualized learning
• Identify how career pathways provide a model
• Explore how the Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) provides
a framework for skills that should be contextualized
• Model how contextualized instruction can be implemented to
help learners develop applied ABE/ASE skills while building
workplace competencies within a contextualized setting
Going for CRC Gold!
Reality Check:
Current and Future
Realities
Current and Future Realities
Current and Future Realities
Workforce Needs vs. Realities
• Workforce needs have changed and will continue
to change on a global basis
• There are both worker shortages as well as skills
gaps that must be addressed in the U.S. and
internationally
• Over 61% of U.S. employers say it is difficult to
find qualified workers to fill their vacancies
• The economic impacts are severe and a
fundamental issue that must be addressed at
several levels
Current and Future Realities
Job Demands Are Shifting
85%
Skilled Jobs
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Unskilled Jobs
80%
2000
2010
Current and Future Realities
Trends in U.S. Job Task Content
Key Shifts Underway
• Boomers are retiring,
leaving manager gaps
• Service jobs now
dominate (60% today
up from 36% in 1960)
and make up 85% of
income
Source: The Conference Board: The Ill Prepared U.S. Workforce (2009)
Current and Future Realities
1 Million High School
Dropouts Each Year…
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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18
19
20
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22
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28
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007
Current and Future Realities
The U.S. is the only highly
developed democracy
where young adults are
less educated than the
previous generation.
Current and Future Realities
Current and Future Realities
What does this mean?
WORKER
SUPPLY
=
EMPLOYER
DEMAND
More than 18 million adults without
a high school credential are in the
labor force today.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007
Current and Future Realities
Alabama College Graduation
Rates
StateSpecifi
c Slide
Source: National Center for Education Statistics (2007)
Current and Future Realities
Overall Preparation of
New Workforce Entrants
Source: The Conference Board, 2009
Current and Future Realities
High Need “Soft-Skill” Gaps
Source: The Conference Board, 2009
Current and Future Realities
High Need “Hard-Skill” Gaps
The Achievement Gap Is Economically Crippling
• Only 15% low
income students
are proficient
on NAEP Reading,
Math only 17%,
Writing only 15%
Source: The Conference Board, 2009
Current and Future Realities
21st Century Skills
• Critical Thinking
(Problem
Solving)
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
Source: Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Current and Future Realities
Current and Future Realities
The Impact? Economic
• Alabama spends over $24M each year to provide
community college remediation for recent high
school graduates who did not acquire the basic
skills necessary to succeed
State-in college or at work.
• Remedial classes cost
community colleges an
Specifi
estimated $2 billion a year
c Slide
• Developmental education is fastest growing sector
in education market.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
Current and Future Realities
The Impact? Unemployment
Current and Future Realities
The Impact? Earnings
• Job seekers currently
outnumber jobs by 6:1
• 79% of U.S. large companies
identify significant skill gaps vs.
their strategies
• Closing the high school dropout
rate worth additional $350
billion per year
• Worth another $540 billion with
2-years of college training
Source: The Conference Board, 2009
Current and Future Realities
The Impact? Unemployment & Earnings
Source: Business Round Table, Springboard Project, 2009
Current and Future Realities
The Impact? Health
StateSpecifi
c Slide
Current and Future Realities
The Impact? Alabama
• More than 25,100 students did not graduate from
Alabama’s high schools in 2009; the lost lifetime
earnings in Alabama for that class of dropouts
alone totals more than
$6.5B.
State• Alabama would save more than $245M in health
care costs over theSpecifi
course of the lifetimes of each
class of dropouts had
they earned their diplomas.
c Slide
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
Current and Future Realities
The Impact? Alabama
• If all of Alabama’s high school graduates and GED
recipients were “college-ready,” the state would
save $53M a year in community college remediation
costs and lost earnings.
•
StateAlabama’s economy would see a combination of
Specifi
savings and revenue
of about $125M in reduced
crime spending and increased earnings each year if
Slide rate increased by
the male high schoolcgraduation
just 5 percent.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
Current and Future Realities
Jobs of the Future
Of the 30,000,000 new and replacement jobs
between now and 2018…
63% will require
some college
45%
45% will require a
Bachelor’s Degree
or higher
63%
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2009
Current and Future Realities
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2009
Current and Future Realities
88 of 150 Million Adults in Labor Force
with at Least One Educational Barrier
High School Diploma
No College
No High School
Diploma
18,229,340
51,365,340
8,226,214
5,005,943
Speak English
“Less Than Very Well”
5,177,127
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Current and Future Realities
Job Obsolescence
• Compared to 2006, by 2016 there will be:
– 131,000 fewer store clerks
– 118,000 fewer cashiers
– 114,000 fewer handpackers
• Many jobs that remain will require newer
skills that require an increased knowledge
and skill base
Source: United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009
Current and Future Realities
The Need
• More than 93 million adults score at the lower
levels of national assessments of functional
literacy skills and are unprepared to enroll in
postsecondary education or job training.
• While school reform hopes to curb our nation’s
workforce problem, an estimated 65% of our
nation’s 2020 workforce is already beyond the
reach of our educational system.
Current and Future Realities
The Problem
Current adult basic education can’t meet
current needs because of
• Inadequate funding
• Levels of service
• Program focus
Current and Future Realities
Problem: Inadequate Funding
• In 2008, total funding for Adult Education
and Literacy programs in the U.S. equaled
$2.1 billion, with only $540 million of that
coming from the federal government.
Source: OAVE
Current and Future Realities
Workforce Investment Act
• Authorized in 1998
• Reformed federal employment, adult education, and
vocational rehabilitation programs to create an integrated
“one-stop” system of workforce investment and education
activities for adults and youth
• Five titles
– Title I: Adult, Dislocated Workers, Youth
– Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
– Title III: Workforce Investment-related activities
– Title IV: Vocational Rehabilitation
– Title V: Incentive grants, unified plans, etc.
Source: www.clasp.org
Current and Future Realities
WIA Title I:
Adult, Dislocated Workers, Youth
• Grants to states and local areas for
employment and training services
• State and local workforce investment
boards—responsible for planning,
partnerships, and oversight
• One-stop career centers—provide access
to services provided by WIA and partner
programs
Source: www.clasp.org
Current and Future Realities
WIA Title II:
Adult Education & Family Literacy Act
• Grants provided to states to fund local programs
providing adult education and literacy services,
including workplace literacy services, family literacy
services, English literacy, and GED prep
• For adults and out-of-school youth age 16 & older
• Multiple goals for the program, including gaining
knowledge and skills necessary for self-sufficiency
Source: www.clasp.org
Current and Future Realities
Students’ goals are economic, postsecondary
credentials key for reaching them
• WA state survey—86% of adult ed students have
employment goals.
• For low-skilled adults, the largest economic payoffs are
in postsecondary. One year of college = 10% increase in
earnings (as true for GED grads as for HS grads)
– Getting a GED alone does increase earnings, but by less than a
high school diploma. (Only pays off significantly for dropouts with
lowest skills and for immigrants.)
– Vocational certificates and degrees pay off more than academic
ones at the Associate level and below.
• Up until now, assumption by programs and by adult ed.
students has been that GED is the best route to good
jobs and postsecondary education.
Source: www.clasp.org
Current and Future Realities
Current and Future Realities
Problem: Limited Levels of Service
• More than 18 million adults lack a high
school diploma or credential and 90 million
adults scored at the lowest levels on
National Assessment of Adult Literacy
(NAAL).
• Yet, the federal program serves only
3 million adults a year.
Current and Future Realities
For lower skilled adults, the basic
skills disconnect looms largest
• Adult ed is focused on the GED, but a majority of
students don’t earn one, and few GED grads
ever complete postsecondary credentials:
– Most adult ed students stay for 30 to 80 hours of
instruction (100-150 = 1 grade level)
– Only 12% complete >1 year of college in first decade
after earning GED. 3% earn at least AA degree.
– Bottom line: Over several decades, of 100 adult ed.
students, about 8 go on to postsecondary and 2 get a
BA. Very few ELLs transition.
Current and Future Realities
The Goal?
20 Million by 2020
Source: Reach Higher, America
Current and Future Realities
The Goal?
Substantial Increase in Outcomes
Source: Reach Higher, America
Current and Future Realities
The Outcomes? Economic
• A 1% increase in graduation rate for
associate and bachelor degrees would
produce a cumulative
increase in national
Stateincome of $291 billion by the year 2030
Specifi
• Alabama households would have nearly
c
Slide
$1.6B more in additional collective wealth
if all heads of households had graduated
from high school.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
Current and Future Realities
How will we achieve this?
Career Pathways—A Sensible Solution
• Research shows that students who put a
career path in place during their high
school years are 47% more likely to
complete postsecondary education
• Pathways include developing career goals
combined with the education needed to
attain those goals
Current and Future Realities
What are Career Pathways?
• Linked education and training services that–
– “enable students, often while they are working, to advance over
time to successively higher levels of education and employment in
a given industry or occupational sector. Each step on a career
pathway is designed explicitly to prepare students to progress to
the next level of employment and education.”
~ Oregon Career Pathways initiative
• Greater alignment: Ideally career pathways are not a separate
program but a framework for weaving together adult education,
training, and college programs that are currently siloed and
connecting those services to employers’ workforce needs.
Source: www.clasp.org
Going for CRC Gold!
Key Changes:
Adult Education
for Work
Adult Education for Work
Adult Education Today
Educators and policy makers have long
believed that our Adult Education system
for teaching basic skills should serve many
goals, including:
•
•
•
•
personal enrichment
language and life skills
increased civic participation
improved parental responsibilities
Adult Education for Work
Adult Education Tomorrow
“…a Career Pathways system that moves
low-skilled adults through a continua of
workforce oriented AE programs on to
postsecondary (degree and non-degree
certificate) programs that lead to family
sustaining employment and careeradvancement.”
Source: National Center on Education and the Economy, 2009
Adult Education for Work
Greater Alignment between Titles I and II
is on the Horizon
• Administration’s Workforce Investment Act
reauthorization recommendations emphasize
closer alignment
– Maintain focus on educational goals in adult ed, yet
greater focus on moving all students along a trajectory
ending with postsecondary and career success
– Establish consistent performance measures and
definitions
• Career pathways movement
• American Graduation Initiative
Source: www.clasp.org
Adult Education for Work
American Graduation Initiative
• Introduced by President Obama at Macomb
Community College (Detroit, MI), July 14, 2009
• Goal: An additional 5 million community college
graduates by 2020 (degrees and certificates)
• Reflects emerging themes of Administration and
Congress:
– Focus on community colleges
– Emphasis on persistence and completion
– Integration of education and workforce needs through
career pathways including adult education
– Evidence-based innovation
Source: www.clasp.org
Adult Education for Work
The Specifics of Career Pathways
• Learners receive extensive and ongoing
career guidance in how to navigate the
education and labor systems
• Curricula is contextualized to include
application of job-related skills
• Instructional methods are designed to
teach work readiness skills and skills are
taught within vocational contexts
Adult Education for Work
Source: National Center on
Education and the Economy, 2009
Adult Education for Work
What is the purpose of
a career pathway?
• Transitions between levels clearly
articulated
• ABE/ASE teaches skills required to enter
postsecondary certification or degree
programs without need for remediation
• GED prep offered but end goal is
readiness for career or postsecondary
without remediation
Key Changes: Adult Education for Work
Benefit of a Career Pathway
Length of stay shortened because of
• Accelerated advancement
• High-intensity programming
• Dual enrollment
• Integrated curricula
• Bridge courses
Key Changes: Adult Education for Work
What are career pathway bridge programs?
• Career pathway bridge programs typically cover “soft skills,”
pre-college academic skills, and specific job skills, ideally one
that is part of a career pathway.
• Career pathway bridges tailor and contextualize the adult
ed/ELL content to general workplace needs and to the
knowledge and skills needed in a specific occupation.
– e.g., bridge programs in manufacturing cover blueprint reading,
statistical process control. Those in health care cover intro to
human biology, vocabulary and math for health careers.
• Partners in bridge programs can be employers, unions,
community-based organizations, community colleges, and
others.
Source: www.clasp.org
Key Changes: Adult Education for Work
Types of Partnerships
• Partnerships with One-Stop Center to provide labor market
information and career information to adult education
providers.
• Partner with One-Stop to provide adult education services at
One-Stop
• Referral arrangement to One-Stop and from One-Stop to
adult ed providers
• Contextualizing basic skills/literacy content to
occupations/sectors
• Co-enrolling individuals in Title I and II
• Integrated basic skills/literacy and training.
Source: www.clasp.org
Key Changes: Adult Education for Work
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Quality Elements of a
Career Pathway System
Program Design
Curriculum and Instruction
Assessment and Credentialing
High-Quality Teaching
Support and Follow-up Services
Connections to Business Community
Monitoring and Accountability Systems
Key Changes: Adult Education for Work
The “New Basics” of Adult Education
Customer
Goal of
curricula
Content
focus
Current
Future
Student is the primary
customer
Students and employers are
the customers
Life skills are the
primary goal
Work readiness skills and
preparation for post secondary
education are the primary
goals
Applying literacy,
numeracy, and English
language learning to
everyday life tasks
Literacy and numeracy and
English language learning as
well as thinking and reasoning
skills such as problem solving,
teamwork, and following
instructions
Source: National Center on Education and the Economy, 2009
“New Basics” for Adult Education for Work
Might include some
employment-related
tasks like filling out a
job application
Teaches basic skills in a work
context and stresses good
work habits such as
punctuality, diligence,
communication, and
appropriate dress and behavior
Program
focus
Driven by students’
personal goals, needs,
and interests
Driven by students’
employment goals, the skill
needs of family-sustaining jobs
and the entry requirements for
postsecondary education and
training
End goal
Most Adult Education
students never achieve
a GED, much less a
postsecondary
education that is the
key to success in
today’s economy.
Most students achieve a high
level of basic and workforce
readiness skills and are
prepared to enter
postsecondary education and
training and family-sustaining
jobs.
How work
readiness
is taught
“New Basics” for Adult Education for Work
Academic Skills at
the Heart of Career
Pathway Success
To employment in high-demand field
Being “career-ready” includes
demonstrating:
• Personal competencies
• Academic competencies
• Workplace “soft” skills
• Career focus
Source: Adult Career Pathways: Providing a Second Chance in
Public Education
From unemployment/underemployment
Going for CRC Gold!
Establishing a Standard:
Career Readiness
and the CRC –
A Model Framework
Career Readiness Preparation and the CRC
Jobs Come, Jobs Go
• 700,000 different certificates are awarded
each year, but many are not transportable,
transferrable, and stackable—that is, able
to be combined with others.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2009
• Between the ages of 18 and 42, today’s
worker can expect to hold an average of
11 different jobs.
Source: United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006.
Career Readiness Preparation and the CRC
The Need for a Common Language
• Employers need to know their workers’
levels of trainability for rapidly emerging
technologies and careers of today.
• Career Readiness Certificates are
designed to be a portable skills credential,
based on a common language, that can be
easily understood by employers and
educators.
Career Readiness Preparation and the CRC
Career Readiness Certification
• ACT WorkKeys® is a job skills assessment
• Foundational skills assessments measure cognitive
abilities for 18,000 jobs
– Communication—Business Writing, Listening,
Reading for Information, Writing
– Problem Solving—Applied Technology, Applied
Mathematics, Locating Information, Observation
– Interpersonal—Teamwork
• Core battery comprised of 3 tests: Reading for
Information, Applied Mathematics, Locating Information
• Core battery scores confirm competency levels for
Career Readiness Certificates (CRCs)
Source: ACT
Career Readiness Preparation and the CRC
Top 10
Issuing
States
Source: National Career Readiness Certificate
Consortium
South Carolina
Georgia
Michigan
Indiana
Florida
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Alabama
Virginia
113,688
100,542
74,982
66,023
49,500
40,439
37,000
35,920
24,265
24,104
Career Readiness Preparation and the CRC
Career Readiness Certificate
Consortium
CRCs deployed statewide
CRC deployment in progress
Interested in deploying CRC
Source: National Career Readiness Certificate Consortium
Career Readiness Preparation and the CRC
Linking Skills to Occupations
Source: ACT
Career Readiness Preparation and the CRC
Skill Profiles/Gap Analysis
• Pre-assessment identifies learner skill levels.
• Career interest profile assessment identifies potential
careers. Competency levels for each occupation help
identify target skill attainment levels.
• Skill gaps help identify
Skill Profile: Nursing Aides
where instruction
should begin.
44
33
33
Occupational
3
Skill Levels
2
2
Skill Gaps
Learner
Skill Levels
Applied
Mathematics
Locating
Information
Reading for
Information
Career Readiness Preparation and the CRC
CRC Levels
Bronze
• Used by employers for skills
screening, hiring and
promotion, and targeting
employee training and
Silver
development
• Credential levels indicate
percent of jobs qualified for in
the ACT occupational
Gold
database
• Provides a common measure
for employers to determine
workers’ skill levels based on
Platinum
standardized assessments
• Skills outlined on back of CRC
Score at least Level 3 in all core
areas. Foundational skills for 35%
of jobs in the ACT database
Score at least Level 4 in all core
areas. Foundational skills for 65%
of jobs in the ACT database
Score at least Level 5 in all core
areas. Foundational skills for 90%
of jobs in the ACT database
Score at least Level 6 in all core
areas. Foundational skills for 99%
of jobs in the ACT database
Source: ACT
Career Readiness Preparation and the CRC
Clear
Pathways,
Benchmarks,
and Goals
Source: NAM-Endorsed Skills Certification
System. The Manufacturing Institute.
Career Readiness Preparation and the CRC
So, do I teach to the test?
• Core CRC skills align to ABE skills
• Key difference is teaching the skills while
applying the skills to workplace situations—
TEACH TO THE TASK!
Teaching to the task promotes
relevance and provides the ability
to combine ABE/core competencies
with technical training
Going for CRC Gold!
Teaching to the Task:
Strategies for
Contextualized
Instruction
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Reading for Information—Goals
• To measure the skills people use when
they read and use written text in order to
do a job.
• Written texts include memos, direction,
signs, notices, bulletins, policies, and
regulations.
• Sometimes these written communications
are not necessarily well-written or targeted
to the appropriate audience.
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Reading for Information  TABE
Reading for
Information Skills
Identify main idea and details
TABE Skills
Words in Context—Same &
opposite meaning, correct word
Choose the correct meaning of
everyday and workplace words Recall Information—Details,
Apply technical terms & jargon sequence, stated concepts
Understand & apply instructions Construct Meaning—Main
idea, summary, conclusion
Identify implied details
Evaluate/Extend Meaning—
Identify & explain principles of
Apply elements, generalization,
workplace policies
author intention
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Contextualized Reading Instruction
If you are required to enter a confined space, your supervisor is
required to instruct you as to:
– What kinds of hazards you may run into and why those hazards
are dangerous.
– The necessary precautions to take for each type of hazard.
– The use of any protective and/or emergency equipment and
instruments required.
Although construction people are not required to follow the permitrequired confined space entry program that those working in general
industry are, many of the requirements of the construction regulations
fit nicely into the program. And, it is a way to maximize your safety.
Your participation in the development and implementation of a permitrequired confined space entry program is encouraged.
Source: Keller’s Official OSHA Construction Handbook
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Contextualized Vocabulary Instruction
To:
Re:
All medical assistants
New software
In an effort to quickly transfer patient records into the new software
system, please review the following important features:
• How to complete personal information for every patient
• How diagnoses are added to a patient’s chart via the software
• What medications the patient is taking and how these are correlated,
or matched, to the diagnoses by the software
• How to recognize software alerts warning of actual or potential
danger from medications that should not be combined
• How to recognize software alerts warning that a drug is not
recommended due to a condition that makes the medication
unsuitable or dangerous for a particular patient
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
How do I provide this for my students?
Provide real workplace documents:
• E-mails
• HR forms and documents, such as policies
and procedures
• Guidelines documents
• Career OneStop/Bureau of Labor Statistics
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
From:
Rosin, Mitch
To:
All Employees
Subject: Dress Code Policy
Date: Tue, 18 May 2010
With the warmer weather approaching it’s a good time to remind
employees about our dress code.
All employees and contractors should dress appropriately for a
professional work environment, whether they choose to wear
traditional business (i.e. suit & tie) or business casual attire
(Dockers and golf shirt). Full compliance is expected
As a reminder, appropriate dress includes
- Slacks or khaki-style pants - Collared or dress shirts
- Sport jackets or blazers
- Casual Skirts (knee length)
- Dress Shoes
- Jeans (permitted on Fridays)
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Locating Information—Goals
• To measure the skills people use when they
work with workplace graphics.
• Workers must find information and insert
information into graphics, as well as compare,
analyze, and summarize information found in
related graphics.
• Workplace graphics include charts, graphs,
tables, forms, flowcharts, diagrams, floor plans,
maps, and instrument gauges.
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Locating Information  TABE
Locating Information Skills
Find information in graphics
TABE Skills
Interpret Graphic Information
Understand how graphics relate
to each other
• Signs
Identify and compare trends
• Dictionary usage
Summarize information from
graphics
• Reference Sources
Draw conclusions from graphics
Use graphics information to
make decisions
• Maps
• Graphics
• Forms
• Consumer Materials
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Contextualized
Summarization of
Workplace Graphics
• Find information in
graphics
• Summarize the
information from
straightforward
graphics.
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
How do I provide this for my students?
Provide real workplace graphics:
• Break rooms and common areas
• Manuals for office equipment
• Workplace forms
• Career exploration sites
Menu of career information
(careeronestop.org)
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Applied Mathematics—Goals
• Measure the skills people use when they
apply mathematical reasoning, critical
thinking, and problem-solving techniques
to work-related problems.
• Applied mathematics skills needed include
basic and advanced computation, using
percentages, converting and calculating
measurements, and finding the best deal.
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Applied Mathematics  TABE
Applied Mathematics Skills
Convert simple money and
time units
Calculate averages, ratios,
proportions, and rates
Put information in the right
order before calculating
Calculate using mixed units
Find area & volume of shapes
Find the best deal
TABE Skills
Mathematics Computation
Number and Number
Operations
Computation in Context—
whole numbers, decimals,
fractions, percents
Measurement—Calendar,
appropriate unit, area, rate,
convert measurement units
Problem Solving / Reasoning
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Contextualized Computation
• Based on the
diagram, what
length will you
need to cut the
wood for Rail A
if this side will
contain 4
balusters?
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Contextualized Measurement
As a nursing attendant at a
nursing home, you must make
certain that patients take their
medication. One of your
patients needs medication
every 4 hours. You gave the
patient his last does at 10:30
AM. At what time should you
give him the next dose?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
2:00 AM
2:30 AM
10:34 AM
1:30 PM
2:30 PM
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
How do I provide this for my students?
Use existing problems and change the subject:
– Susan buys $47.63 worth of groceries and hands
the cashier $60. How much change should
Susan get back?
– You are a cashier at a specialty food store. A
customer’s total comes to $47.63, and she
hands you $60. How much change should she
get back?
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
How do I provide this for my students?
Consider common mathematics concepts
that span different careers/clusters —
timesheets, budgets, taxes, etc.
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Workplace Skills Series
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Contemporary’s Workplace Skills
• Develops core contextualized skills for:
– Applied Mathematics: Mathematical reasoning and critical
thinking skills through realistic workplace scenarios
– Reading for Information: Effective reading comprehension
and synthesis skills through documents such as letters, emails, directions, regulations, and policies
– Locating Information: Retrieve and use information
communicated through graphic sources (flow charts,
diagrams, forms, and tables)
• Provides consistent problem-solving approach in testing and
workplace scenarios
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Contextualized
Practice
• Instruction and skill practice
covering CRC Levels 37 in
each book
• Builds core CRC competencies
from lowest to highest level
• Practice and assessment of all
skills learners encounter on
CRC tests
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Basic Skills
Instruction
• Instruction in TABE aligned
basic skills
• Builds core competencies from
lowest to highest level
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Models Skill
Application
• Model skill application and
test-taking strategies through
the Plan for Successful
Solving
• Learners are better prepared
for test-taking situations
• Consistent modeling builds
learner confidence for
problem solving in workplace
and test-taking situations
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Model Skill
Application
Consistent problemsolving approach
modeled for every
skill in all three titles.
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Contextualized
Practice
• Provide practice applying skill in
realistic workplace scenarios
• Robust content and problemsolving skill development
• Real-world scenarios link skills
with actual jobs
• Applied scenarios increase
learner motivation
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Comprehensive Career &
Industry Coverage
• Contextualized problems for
over 800 careers across the
16 DOL Career Clusters
• Provides real-world problemsolving practice across a variety
of careers, including green
sectors
• Relevant problem-solving
practice establishes a purpose
for learning, regardless of career
goals
Strategies for Contextualized Instruction
Workplace Skills Series