Question 35
I am looking for resources, strategies, and examples for including gifted
learners in school-to-work opportunities. Anything that can be provided,
whether a curriculum, a journal article, examples being used in your own
STW initiative, or just your thoughts and ideas. Commentary regarding your
viewpoint on this would be extremely helpful. I am working with a colleague
who does not believe that school-to-work is for "his kids" and
I am trying to open up some dialogue by showing him how it is working for
others across the country. Anything you can share would be welcome! Thanks!
STW Wizard Strategies
We received quite a few strategies for this question. To make the
information more managable, the strategies have been grouped into three
categories: General; Program Examples; and Personal Examples.
GENERAL
Strategy 1
I have been working for the past year on an effort to foster closer collaboration
with gifted education and STW. On the National School-to-Work Information
and Learning Center's Web site [no longer in existence] there
are 11 examples of models linking gifted and talented students with STW from
across the country. Each model is described and contact information is provided.
It sounds as though your colleague believes STW will not be academically
rigorous enough for "his kids." You might want to refer him to
the book, "College Planning for Gifted Kids" by Sandra Berger,
The Council for Exceptional Children. Its a wonderful book that lays out
the diverse needs of GT learners, with strategies to nurture those needs
-- and STW tenets run throughout the book. The book identifies two types
of gifted students who are well-matched for STW: (a) "early emergers"
who have a passion/interest at a very early age. These students run the
risk of boredom and underachievement because they lack opportunities to
deeply explore their area of interest. For these students, a mentoring experience
in the senior year of high school, for example, is way too late; and (b)
students with "multipotentiality," who have more than one area
of passion/interest and would benefit from an opportunity to delve into
and experience at least one area of interest to help guide college planning
and career development. These kids have trouble making decisions because
they are multi-talented.
May I point out that there are a lot of parallels between GT and STW
-- mentoring, internships, and open-ended, real-world discovery classroom
learning.
One of the benefits of STW for the gifted community is the opportunity
for STW to broaden the identification of unique talents and gifts of students
who may not fit the more traditional form of identification for these programs,
due to reasons such as cultural barriers. I'd also stress STW's flexibility
and richness in developing local STW partnerships that not only meet the
needs of all learners, but help them to develop to their full potential.
It sounds like your colleague doesn't see STW as an approach for high
academic achievement for high achieving students. May I suggest he examine
the Rigor and Relevance model, which applies Bloom's Taxonomy of knowledge
skills (RIGOR) to the application of skills (RELEVANCE). I believe this
model was developed by the International Center for Excellence in Education
(Dagget and Jones). The collaborative contributions of GT and STW to this
model are very exciting.
There are a lot of myths about GT kids. One is that they are so smart
they will be just fine if left alone. Quite the contrary. We ought to view
these kids as "at-risk" -- if left unchallenged and not motivated.
STW can be a valuable strategy for challenging and motivating GT learners.
Strategy 2
The following strategies were extracted from the Web site of the National
School-to-Work Office.
MYTH 2: School-to-Work is something for the "non-college-bound,"
or for "somebody else's kid" -- not for all students.
FACT: Years ago, non-academic, vocational classes were only for those
students who did not plan to go on to college. However, today's high-skill
job market demands that all high school graduates have both advanced academic
knowledge and workplace skills and training. The school-to-work, or school-to-careers,
movement aims to improve the way students are prepared for college, careers
and citizenship.
The goal is to improve learning through more interesting and relevant
experiences that integrate school-based and work-based learning and foster
real-world applications of principles and concepts. School-to-work experiences
are designed to develop young people's competence, confidence, and connections
that can ensure successful careers and citizenship. These result in multiple
options -- four-year college, two-year college, technical training, skilled
entry-level work on a career path, and pursuit of ifelong learning.
MYTH 4: School-to-work programs continue to track kids into inferior
programs of study with low academic standards and dead-end, low-skill jobs.
FACT: At the heart of the school-to-work approach are the twin goals
of improving the quality and relevance of education for all students and
improving young people's knowledge of and access to career opportunities.
School-to-work programs break down the barriers between academic and vocational
learning and infuse each with the best aspects of the other. School-to-work
programs prepare students to meet high academic standards, and academic
knowledge that is not taught in the abstract. Classroom instruction focuses
on cognitive and occupational skill development.
High-quality programs incorporate new teaching methods, including inter-disciplinary
team teaching, block-scheduling students, project-based instruction, and
other instructional and site-based innovations. They are consistent with
and supportive of mainstream education reform movements.
Strategy 3
There's been school to work programs for at least 30 years. Whether it's
been called cooperative education, internships, apprenticeships, mentoring,
or post-secondary ed, school to work has always applied to all students,
including gifted and talented. There's certainly always been a class bias,
with voc ed and community colleges low on the social stratification--until
people saw how much money plumbers made. Schools like Antioch and Northeastern
integrate work experiences with academic credit. The major criticism of
some programs is that they treat school as only a steppingstone to work
(for people of all talents and socioeconomic groups)--rather than education
for the sake of being an educated person--and there are periodic discussions
of what it means to be educated. There's also been a periodic backlash against
the commercialization of educational values, through the back to the land
movements, the arts, voluntary simplicity, and right livelihood movements.
Gifted and talented students do have access to a huge range of school to
work programs and opportunities, from experiential education to study abroad
exchanges, from jobs to driver's ed, from lifeguarding to music, dance and
theater, from environmental field study through youth camps on racial dialogue.
Strategy 4
I have nothing specific to respond to your request but do have a comment
for your colleague who does not believe that STW is for "his kids".
STW is a part of a total education in that what we strive for is student's
who can make educated decisions rather than opinions based on narrow or
tunnel vision information. The more one knows prior to making decisions
the better the decision is likely to be. STW broadens the horizons, expands
the choices and provides some new ways to view the options in the students
world and new perspectives. It has been my experience that those who educate
sometimes feel that they hold the rights to knowledge rather than some of
the keys which the student can use to find and use knowledge. It is our
responsibility to as well as our privilege to share every possible bit of
information with whomever we can.
PROGRAM EXAMPLES
Strategy 5
The situation of having gifted students might be addressed with a similar
technique used in our local Career Center (or JVS). The center offers a
"preprofesional" class to high school students who know they are
headed for post-secondary schooling but haven't set their sights on a particular
major or school yet.
They are provided segments of time where they can shadow a professional
for up to six weeks (up to three half days per week). They then report opn
their experiences to the rest of the class and prepare for their next shadowing
experience in a different field. I personally hosted a young man who spent
time in the Extension office. It was an opportunity for him to really see
what went on on a long term basis and even allowed him to help plan and
conduct programs and evaluations.
Strategy 6
I have 2 examples which are both at the elementary school level but I
believe could easily be adapted at any level.
At the Mary Hogan Elementary School in Middlebury they run a Challenge
Program for gifted students. There is a teacher that is designated just
as the Challenge teacher. There are many different students who participate
in Challenge depending upon what the "challenge" is - so it may
be around those gifted in math, science, etc. The challenge program is run
from a trailer next to the school building so they do not have running water
out there and often times the kids are thirsty or they need water for an
assignment.
One Challenge Program involved the students figuring out how to run water
out to the trailer. They brought in local business people to help them figure
out the problem. The students came up with a plan and presented it to the
school board. I did not work with the teacher on this program so I do not
know all of the details.
I did work with the teacher on an entrepreneurship challenge. The students
wanted to start a school business that would hopefully make a profit for
their student council. Instead of just starting a school store, five 5th
and 6th grade students spent all of last year talking to local entrepreneurs
about how to start a business, what to look for, how to market, etc. They
also visited some school stores in other districts. They surveyed teachers
and students, gathered the data and analyzed it. They received information
from the Chamber of Commerce on starting a business and have put together
a business plan including a training program. This semester the 5th graders
who are now 6th graders, are presenting to students, teachers, administration
and the school board about their research, how the store will work, etc.
With buy in from the school board the school store will open this Spring.
Strategy 7
In Richardson Independent School District we have a program which is
called Management Internship Program. This is for senior students who have
a high class ranking. Most of these students have carried at least 6 to
7 credits a year and many have had to go to summer school to get ahead in
order to participate in the program. There is an application process which
includes an interview. The students work in management training for doctors,
lawyers, architects, and other professionals. It is considered an honor
to participate and the progam is run through the talented and gifted program
in the district.
PERSONAL EXAMPLES
Strategy 8
It is my opinion that all students would benefit from a school to work
program. I have a daughter who is ranked in the top ten in her school of
2,000 and has an interest in the medical field. She has scored well in all
of her college entrance tests and has taken Advanced Honors classes through
out her elementary and secondary school years. She will have over 24 hours
of college course work when she graduates from high school. The STW program
is very important to her. She will be graduating a year early and her work
experiences have become very important to her regarding real life experiences.
She doesn't have the slightest idea about the practical aspects of getting
and keeping a job, but put two pages of physics or chemistry problems in
front of her an she will be able to complete them with very little fan fair.
As part of her experience, she has found a temporary job as a pharmacy assistant.
She fills prescriptions (with a pharmcist's oversight) and assists in talking
with doctors about their patients issues. She will move on to other work
experiences in hospitals and doctor's offices.
Strategy 9
When my daughter was in third grade in District #77 (Mankato, Minnesota)
the students identified as "gifted" were provided with a number
of after-school activities for which they could sign up. Parents were responsible
for transportation. Among the activities offered was a job-shadowing experience
that would be arranged for each student in his/her area of interest. My
daughter signed up to shadow a veterinarian, and spent several Saturdays
with a local vet as his "helper". This experience directed her
life for the next ten years. She was so excited about becoming a vet that
she "keyed in" on all related topics, entered science fairs, and
chose classes with this goal in mind.
This year my daughter is a senior at Gustavus Adolphus College in St.
Peter, Minnesota, and actively involved in the Vet Club. She is majoring
in Biology and Chemistry. She is still considering Vet School next year
after graduation, but may apply to medical school instead. Still, the third
grade school-to-work job shadowing experience gave her a reason to study
and a focus for all of these years. As a parent I will be forever grateful
that she had this opportunity to give meaning to her educational life.
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