Job Corps Builds a Bridge Between
Technical
and Academic Knowledge
Since 1964, Job Corps has been providing economically disadvantaged youth with vocational and academic training designed to help them learn a trade, earn a high school diploma or GED, find a good job, and continue their education. To continue meeting its goal of placing skilled workers directly into the workplace, Job Corps hired Coffey Consulting, LLC, to find a way to better connect the technical and academic aspects of its program.
Over the past two years, McREL, as a sub-contractor to Coffey Consulting, has analyzed and evaluated Job Corps' standards documents to identify academic knowledge and skills in the areas of English language arts, mathematics, science, and critical thinking. Specifically, the McREL team focused on three outcomes: 1) identify the academic underpinnings of technical tasks, 2) find commonalities among professions, and 3) determine pre-requisites that students must meet to enter their chosen professions.
According to McREL Senior Director John Kendall, the team "introduced the idea of unearthing the critical thinking that students must do in order to accomplish real-world tasks, which Job Corps found to be especially useful." This, he added, meant finding language that successfully translates the world of training into academic standards.
Take the task of building a wall. After poring through such books as NCCER Carpentry Fundamentals and the Official OSHA Construction Safety Handbook, McREL Consulting Associate Amitra Schwols determined that, unsurprisingly, building a wall involves a variety of technical tasks. In order for a student to be able to describe and demonstrate how to set up a wall, he or she must 1) read the contract, blueprints, specifications, and standards and codes specific to the contract, and 2) estimate the materials needed, check figures, and order equipment and materials. Those two skills sound like they'll get the job done, but will they?
Schwols found that the chances of successful completion of the task increase when we add a third skill, described in this academic standard: "Uses text organizers to determine main ideas and to locate information in a text." Together, these three skills (technical and academic) more fully express what the student must know and be able to do in order to describe and demonstrate how to set up a wall. In the final analysis, the student must be able to use critical thinking skills and to anticipate needs, spot potential problems, and make decisions in addition to knowing technical skills.
When the first phase of this work is completed, Job Corps will have a database containing findings from an examination of the 11 industries (ranging from automotive and construction to renewable energy and homeland security) currently targeted for completion, 73 specific training areas, and 1,444 skills or tasks, in addition to access to 110 newly created lesson plans. This database will give Job Corps a tool to achieve the systemic change they desire in order to ensure their students have a solid foundation for success.
In reflecting on the success of this work, Lester Coffey, President of Coffey Consulting, said: "We are truly fortunate to have McREL as a partner with us in this meaningful work. The innovative thinking of John Kendall and his staff and their commitment to quality has produced products and procedures beyond our expectations."
Learn more about McREL's standards services and publications.