Higher Order Thinking for the Future Workforce

April 2009

Dedicated to program improvement in Career and Technical Education

NAWI promotes the exchange of ideas and acquaints its members with significant developments and trends in workforce education program and improvement.

Higher Order Thinking

• “The Case for Comparative Institutional Assessment of Higher Order Thinking Skills,” Roger Benjamin. Change (Nov/Dec 2008).

• “Experiential Education in the Classroom and Academic Outcomes: For Those Who Want It All,” Robert Ives and Kathryn Obenchain. Journal of Experiential Education, 2006, vol. 29, Issue 1.

• “Knowledge for Whose Society? Knowledge Production, Higher Education, and Federal Policy in Canada,” Amy Metcalfe and Tara Fenwick. Higher Education, Feb. 2009, vol. 57, Issue 2.

• “Call for Key Workplace Skills to be Taught,” Alan Thompson. Times Educational Supplement, 3/27/2006, Issue 4832.

Bloom’s New Taxonomy

HIGHER ORDER SKILLS

Creating: Can the student create a new product or point of view? Evaluating: Can the student justify a stand or decision? Analysing: Can the student distinguish between the different parts? (http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm)

It Takes a Team

• Elementary school• Secondary school (academic and CTE)• Postsecondary college or university• Family and friends• Business and industry

Virginia’s CTE Resource Center

• Grant project established in 1982 with Perkins funding; staff of 12

• Assists VDOE with curriculum development– Facilitation of technical panels and CD teams– Editing– Online production

• Maintains Web and library resources• Assists VDOE with state and local CTE projects

(e.g., CanDo system, WPRS)

Workplace Readiness Instruction in Virginia: An Evolution

• 1997 Statewide B&I survey of employers• 1999 Development of mandatory WPR

competencies • 2001 CTE-developed WPR lessons and

student competency records (print) • 2004 CTE-developed lessons, activities, SCR,

and Web resources (online) • 2006 WPR skills incorporated into all CTE

course competency lists (online) • 2009-10 Statewide revision of WPRS (U. Va.)

WPRS Revision Process 2009/10

• Partners: CTERC, VDOE, U. Va., VTECS• Research (Foundation, Technology, Professional)• Development of draft skills list

– Financial literacy, wellness, safety, cross-cultural awareness, lifelong learning, research and synthesis

• B&I employer survey and list revision• Teaching resources for CTE teachers • Online for 2010/11 school year

Current WPR in Virginia CTE • Reading • Work ethic

• Mathematics • Positive attitude

• Writing • Independence/initiative• Speaking and listening • Self-presentation • Computer literacy • Satisfactory attendance• Reasoning, problem solving, decision-making (Higher Order Thinking)

• Teamwork

•“Big picture”

Higher Order Thinking (HOT) in K-12

Levels• Elementary School• Middle School CTE• High School CTE

Teaching Strategies• Activities/projects• Scenarios• Design briefs

HOT in Elementary School CTE

Children’s Engineering• Activity: Ancient Construction (grade 2)

Work with a group of two or three classmates to design and build a model of a step pyramid, [Model; oral explanation of construction process]

• Activity: Shipping Across the Centuries (grade 3)Design and build a model of a ship from either ancient Greece or ancient Rome. [Model; oral report on challenge faced and surmounted]

HOT in Middle School CTE

Make It Your Business• Scenario: What Would You Do If …?

Toni and Max are considering a new business service called Helping Hands to assist senior citizens with chores and errands, and to provide companionship. [Written feasibility study]

• Scenario: Thinking Fast on Your FeetYou are the weekend manager for a local fast-food restaurant and must hire, train, and evaluate new employees. [Help-wanted ad; job description; training plan; written evaluation form]

HOT in Secondary CTE (Generic)

Activity: Observation Journal on Work Ethic Observe the work ethic of employees at a variety oflocal stores and offices. Keep a journal of yourimpressions and thoughts on any aspect of employeework ethic. [Class discussion; essay]

Activity: B&I Involvement in the CommunityAssign students to work in teams to interview parents, neighbors, and/or community leaders to determine why and how the companies they work for are involved with the community. [Team oral presentation]

HOT in Secondary CTE (Technology Ed.)

Advanced Manufacturing Technology

Scenario: Design for Recycling Create a recycling plan for a given financial office. Your plan should include ways that the financial office can recycle and reuse standard office and computer products. The plan should show how much money could be saved through recycling efforts. Use office supply catalogs and the Internet to research office supply prices. [Research documentation; written recycling plan with rationale]

HOT in Secondary CTE (Technology Ed.)

Geospatial Technology I (Technology Education)

Scenario: We Must Get to WorkHurricane Elvira has struck, causing major road and tunnel damage in Virginia's Hampton Roads area. You have been hired as a GIS consultant to find an alternate route for a company’s commuter bus. [Map of all routes; visual presentation of the differences among routes]

HOT in Secondary CTE (B&IT)

Business Law

Scenario: Better to Have Loved and LostJuan, 17, enters into a contract to buy Leeza an engagement ring and makes a down payment, telling the jeweler he is 18. Leeza is initially thrilled but then decides she’s not ready to commit but refuses to return the ring. Does Juan have to continue making payments to the jeweler? [Legal research; role plays; mock trial; advice column letters; essay]

HOT in Secondary CTE (B&IT)

Principles of Business and Marketing

Scenario: Making Teamwork WorkStudents teams are given a problem-solving scenario (e.g., developing a slogan or logo for a business or product). [Team oral report on their solution; individual written analysis of the team dynamics]

Teaching WPR and HOT in Virginia Schools

Revised curriculum scheduled for 2010• Updated WPR competencies• New activities and scenarios• Online access via the CTE Resource Center:

http://www.cteresource.org/verso2

STAY TUNED!

Arizona State University

• Public university• One of three in state• One Board• NCA• 65,000 enrollment, 9500 FTF• Five campuses• Research university• Some applied degrees• Many students underprepared

Content Specific

• Curriculum maps provide assurances and building blocks for higher level skills as well as content

• Courses move from knowledge to application and evaluation

Measures of Skills/Learning

• Capstone courses• Portfolios• Licensing exams• External accountability

– HLC of NCA– Various rankings

• Exiting seniors• Alumni surveys• NSSE• Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA)

CLA

• Developed by Council for Aid to Education and RAND

• Demonstrate value added by institution• Measures/describes

– critical thinking – analytic reasoning – written communication – problem solving

Two Formats

• Analytical Writing – Evaluate students’ ability to articulate complex ideas, examine claims

and evidence, support ideas with relevant reasons and examples, sustain a coherent discussion, and use standard written English.

– Make an argument, break an argument.

• Performance Task– Students must complete a “real-life” activity (such as preparing a

memo or policy recommendation) by using a series of documents that must be reviewed and evaluated. Completion of these instruments does not require the recall of particular facts or formulas; instead, the measures assess the demonstrated ability to interpret, analyze, and synthesize information.

ASU Sample

• Currently, universe of freshmen, controlled through course registration site, linked to First Year Writing

• Seniors from capstone or otherwise identified by faculty course

Increasing Faculty Awareness

• Ongoing assessment efforts• Specialized accreditation tasks• Prep for HLC visit (2011)• General Studies Council• Faculty Development

– Online resources on developing, describing learning outcomes at program and course levels

– Online and face-2-face coaching on specifics by providing models

Defining Outcomeshttp://universityevaluation.asu.edu/fmi/iwp/cgi?-db=LCE_tools&-

Online Tutorialshttp://toolbox2.asu.edu/moduleList.php?&toolID=1

Critical Thinkinghttp://toolbox2.asu.edu/Tutorials/Critical%20Thinking/Writing%20Arguments/

index.php?modID=1

Analytical Summaryhttp://toolbox2.asu.edu/Tutorials/Critical%20Thinking/Analytical%20Summary/index.php?modID=2

Face-to-Face

ChallengeEntering the 21st Century Marketplace

Resources

• http://cteresource.org (Click Verso for curriculum)

• http://clte.asu.edu • http://cae.org/content/pro_collegiate.htm • http://21stcenturyskills.org • http://www.nga.org• Mary Grattan: mgrattan@cteresource.org • Judy Grace: judy.grace@asu.edu