What is CTE?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Handbook, many of the fastest-growing jobs through 2024 will be in Career Technical Education fields or CTE for short. Instead, many careers in high demand require certifications. Certifications are exceptional for high school students who desire choices and options other than immediately attending post-secondary education. A CTE program in high school has students working toward a certification in a variety of fields like child development, construction, or fashion, to name a few. Students in these programs work simultaneously while also earning their high school diploma. Because of this, students can promptly begin a career right after high school. Certifications like these benefit students because it gives them a substantial advantage over other qualified applicants in the job industries and markets (Ireland, 2018). Education systems and students who do not take advantage of CTE fields are in danger of falling into the skills gap. The skills gap is defined as the skills needed by a possible candidate for a job position and the skills learned by the possible candidate through their schooling (What is CTE?, n.d.). The following video explains what the skills gap is on a deeper level.
A Bachelor's Degree is not Enough
Student engagement is essential for student academic achievement. It is crucial to engage the students and their interests by implementing authentic tasks into the curriculum while creating relevance for them to connect real-world scenarios to their academia. Students can then examine how they can incorporate the information they learn to the requirements and skills needed in the professional industries (Parsons, 2018). While quite the accomplishment, earning a degree in post-secondary education will only take students so far in their careers. Employers are instead looking for exceptional candidates with academic knowledge, life skills, technical skills, and employability skills (What is CTE?, n.d.). Rather than having tasks that are primarily for school purposes, the students complete tasks that can be encountered and utilized daily (Parsons, 2018). They practice their time management, work ethic, and collaborative skills regularly to prepare themselves for employability in the workplace. Authentic tasks also allow students to collaborate with others in a group setting where they can develop the necessary skills to become potential leaders. Therefore, presenting students with the opportunity to experience these real tasks before entering the real world is highly beneficial. While attending the Academy of Art University of San Franciso to pursue a bachelor's in animation, I took a class called Studio X. This class modeled the real production pipelines that professional animation studios use. It functioned as a relevant scenario that gave us an inside look at what we could expect in a real studio. The departments of concept art, storyboarding, modeling, animation, rigging, etc. would collaborate daily and weekly to discuss deadlines and to ensure that our efforts and vision were working together to achieve our shared objective, which was to create animated shorts and films. The long task was broken up into meaningful chunks making the experience engaging, relevant, and realistic.
College-Ready vs. Career Ready
In traditional assessments, testing professionals develop a series of tests to rate students based on their performance and results. The objective of these assessments is to evaluate how much the student has learned after a set period of instruction. These assessments hold the students, teachers, and schools accountable (McNamee, 2005). However, these assessments are ineffective because they provide limited results on enhancing classroom teaching and curriculum development. Traditional tests like these can be referred to as assessments of learning (McNamee, 2005). Assessments for learning, though, improve teaching by showing teachers each students' developing abilities concerning standards, key concepts, and fundamental skills. Accommodating learners with assessments that have a slight distinction to what they are already learning will create better learning environments. Therefore, implementing tasks that have meaning will enhance and create value in students' learning that goes beyond getting the correct answer (Reiser, 20170110, p. 300). Students should also be allowed to reflect on their individual and social performances (Reiser, 20170110, p. 287). For my students' final in my CTE graphic design course, they must create a website demonstrating the techniques and principles they have learned throughout the year. More importantly, they must post all of the projects they have completed from the beginning of the year to the end. They must also write a short description of each project, explaining what each project was, how each project made them feel, and how they would change or enhance each project. My students can visually see their growth and progress unfold before their eyes. They have learned academic knowledge by studying the principles of graphic design. They have learned life skills by responsibly managing their time in my class while balancing their other classes and projects. They have learned employability skills by attending class on time, meeting their deadlines, and collaborating well with others. They have learned technical skills by observing and practicing the skills of their graphic design software over and over again. My students are not only college-ready, but career-ready.
Self-Exploration and Career Exploration
According to the choice theory, all behaviors are chosen based on the five basic needs of survival, power, belonging, freedom, and fun (Hinton, 2011). As a result, all behavior choices originate from within, which means that people are motivated internally and not externally by the world (Hinton, 2011). The needs of these people are better met by internal motivation than external control (Hinton, 2011). With CTE courses, students can discover who they are as people and identify an area that appeals to their interests. Before enrolling in classes and deciding what they want to do in life, they first need to endure self-exploration and analyze their talents and strengths. Secondly, they need to experience career exploration and research and understand the jobs available, their income ranges, and what skills they require (DyersburgState, 2014). Once they align their abilities and interests with their classes or career choice, they can continue to stay engaged and motivated (DyersburgState, 2014). For my CTE graphic design courses, my students can obtain a sense of belonging and academic control. My classroom is their "office" because of how I run my classroom, similar to a real job environment. After I teach and practice the lesson with my students, I assign them a related project, remind them of the due date, and let them utilize their time however they see fit. During this independent work time, I will check in on them every day to answer questions and make sure that they know what is expected of them. What I will not do is walk them through the entire project. They learn how to problem solve and collaborate with others. They have the opportunity to teach themselves about internal motivation and personal responsibility through this process and my classroom environment.
Conclusion
In my CTE classes, I strive to help my students build the skills they will need in their futures and careers. Before they pick and choose what their next classes are going to be, they need to ask themselves what they care about, what they are passionate about, and what excited them every day. By identifying this, they will continue to stay motivated and engaged while becoming lifelong learners in their careers.
Resources
DyersburgState. (2014, December 8). Success in the New Economy by Kevin Fleming [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=541&v=OHEI_gZibSE&feature=emb_logo
Hinton, D., Warnke, B., & Wubbolding, R. E. (2011). Choosing Success in the Classroom by Building Student Relationships. International Journal of Choice Theory & Reality Therapy, 31(1), 90–96.
Ireland, A. (2018, May 16). Graduating High School with CTE Certifications. Retrieved from https://blog.edmentum.com/graduating-high-school-cte-certifications
McNamee, G. D., & Chen, J.-Q. (2005). Dissolving the Line Between Assessment and Teaching. Educational Leadership, 63(3), 72–76.
New World of Work. (2016, August 24). The Insufficient Degree [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=334&v=k4nwQYuR-JM&feature=emb_logo
Parsons, S. A., Malloy, J. A., Parsons, A. W., Peters-Burton, E. E., & Burrowbridge, S. C. (2018). Sixth-grade students’ engagement in academic tasks. Journal of Educational Research, 111(2), 232–245. https://doi-org.oclc.fullsail.edu/10.1080/00220671.2016.1246408
Reiser, R. A., Dempsey, J. V. (20170110). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology, 4th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf 9.2.1]. Retrieved from vbk://9780134237015
What is CTE? (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2020, from https://www.ukiahhigh.uusd.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=782977&type=d&pREC_ID=1304043
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in CTE
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a way of teaching where students be problem solvers in a setting that looks like problems they might face in the real world (Barrows, 1996; Reiser & Dempsey, 2017). In Career Technical Education (CTE), project-based learning (PBL) helps students learn how to think critically and solve problems, and it gets them ready for the tasks they will face at work. For example, in a CTE engineering class, students might be asked to design a transportation system that is good for the environment. This method forces students to use complex ideas in real-life situations. This allows them to understand and remember the skills they need to be successful in their fields for a longer…
According to Chapter 9 of the book, Trends, and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (4th ed.), by Robert A. Reiser and John V. Dempsey, John M. Keller and Markus Deimann (2018), instructional designers must understand and integrate capability, opportunity, and motivation into their programs and learning environments. Career and Technical Education (CTE) classrooms are a perfect example of where these three components can come together to easily produce learning opportunities that last a lifetime. CTE students, especially upper-level students, are intrinsically motivated to learn more because they genuinely enjoy the content of these elective classes in their academic programs.
Gap Closure in CTE
Students in CTE classes (and their corresponding CTSOs (Career Technical Student Organization)) can explore a wide…
Curious CTE
Humans are curious creatures. Some more than others. Secondary education has finally found the limitless potential that CTE, or career and technical education has. One of, if not the most, powerful driver of intrinsic motivation is curiosity. Now, through CTE programs in schools, students are able to learn about careers and skillsets they have always been interested in. Even better, many get qualified and find a passion within these subjects. Most students will make the choice themselves in what CTE course they take. This alone boosts learner engagement because you have given the student choice in what they learn.
Certification
In the “Why you should be interested in CTE classes” case study, there are many mentions of accreditation…
CTE is becoming more important
Career Technical Education or CTE is becoming as important, or in some cases more important than formal education. The skills that we need to properly perform jobs are not taught in a formal educational setting. Skills are also not universal, they are job specific, possibly even position specific. What works for one position is not necessarily a skill that you would need for another position within that same company. While formal education is still important to gain the knowledge we need in order to get a higher paying job, skill sets are just as important and we should be looking at the skills that we need in order to get the job that we want…
Concept 1 - Students curiosity in careers are piqued with CTE.
Career and Technical Education is always expanding, promoting, and finding ways to make students and faculty aware of the benefits of its program to students. CTE starts student introductions to careers at an early age. With Perkins V, students connect to careers as early as fifth grade with “feeder” schools having career fairs, classroom visits (career days), and community college tours. Students' interest in CTE courses has increased due to the increased due to early career exploration, growth in technology usage and skills knowledge, economic changes, and relevance. In the past, it was taught by parents, if they graduated from a four-year college, a successful career would be waiting.…