Dick Jones

Every CTE teacher understands the importance of having an active advisory committee of local employers and community members. Developing relationships with these individuals and working regularly with them is critical to the success of CTE programs. Advisory committees can support programs with recommendations for off-site learning experiences, serve as judges for assessments, suggest state-of-the-art equipment, locate professional development opportunities for teachers to remain current, and also offer student work-based learning sites. To learn more about best practices working with Advisory Committees, use the ACTE CTELearn course Leveraging Community Resources to Energize CTE. 

However, it is the advice of advisory… >>>

Rigorous describes something rigid and difficult, and imposes hardship, such as taking a rigorous hike. Some might avoid rigorous tasks such as weeding a garden to avoid hardship. Others might embrace a rigorous physical workout because the goal of athletic performance drives them. Tasks can be categorized by degrees of rigor, and each person chooses whether to embrace or avoid rigorous tasks based on their goals.

When rigorous is applied in education, the term means something slightly different from difficult, arduous tasks.  Rigorous education is not more physically difficult or necessarily a more extended test or exotic and difficult questions.… >>>

We learn from each other. Share your effective practices in Integrating Academic with CTE among other teachers.  Part of being a professional educator is sharing with colleagues. The CareerEd Lounge is a good tool for posting links and discussions as a virtual way of sharing. Another great tool is Twitter; easy to use and reach colleagues with common interests by including specific topics using hashtags #. Twitter is a form of rapid communication, but by using hashtags, it becomes a searchable database of all related information.

When posting information on a practice related to the Integration of Academics and CTE,… >>>

Much has been posted in education circles on the innovative AI tool ChatGPT. Is it a way for students to cheat? Is it a teaching tool? Should educators ignore it? In five decades of experience, I have seen educators embrace many forms of technology, and some were always reluctant. I took ChatGPT for a spin to try it out. After using ChatGPT, I believe this is an easy-to-use tool to improve writing and save time. Teachers are likely to use this more than students doing tasks such as writing teaching scenarios, content for online courses, and student feedback. ChatGPT and… >>>

Reading is essential for continual learning and career readiness. Dedicated reading instruction occurs in the elementary grades, but there is little formal instruction at the secondary level. Subject teachers must be aware of student reading levels when assigning student work. Students with low reading comprehension often struggle in secondary subjects; this is particularly a challenge for CTE teachers. Teaching reading in the content area improves students’ reading proficiency, and CTE teachers must incorporate reading and vocabulary strategies into their instruction. Reading achievement data can help teachers determine when it is critical to use these strategies. In addition, teachers should use… >>>

The Academic Integration committee is exploring ways to expand the integration of academic standards and instruction with Career and Technical instruction. Academic subjects of Math, Science, English, and Social Studies are separate subjects with separately certified teachers. CTE as well exists as separate subjects with unique teacher certifications. In state regulation, these are separate parts of secondary schools possessing their own curriculum. In practice, there is often instructional overlap. For example, as math teachers seek context for using geometry, they assign students technical problems or when Automotive teachers stress measuring with precision. Yet, states set graduation requirements based on earning… >>>