Shift Teaching Forward (eBook)

Advancing Career Skills to Prepare Tomorrow's Workforce

Kelly Cassaro, Dana Lee (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-1-119-90022-1 (ISBN)

Infos

A practical guide to preparing students and job candidates for the demands of the modern workplace 

How can we prepare learners for an ever-changing world and job market? What are 21st century employers looking for in applicants, and how do we coach jobseekers to be ready on day one? Now is the time to rethink and expand how we prepare job seekers for the roles that will launch their careers. In Shift Teaching Forward, Kelly Cassaro gives educators the knowledge, insight, and practical advice they need to prime students for the social, emotional, and behavioral skills they need to thrive in tomorrow's workplace.  

Shift Teaching Forward showcases the ecosystem of elements that characterizes a successful job-training program. As educators, we need to focus not only on standards alignment and technical skills, but also on the soft skills that will make students stand out as job candidates. In today's labor market, being able to do the job is just the first step. We need to prepare students to interact with others, contribute to inclusive workplaces, and become collaborators-whatever their industry or career goals. This book shows the way. 

• Discover why social, emotional, and behavioral skills are so critical for workplace success  
• Get ideas and insight for integrating soft skills into secondary, postsecondary, and vocational training programs 
• Develop training programs that will improve collaboration and inclusivity in your workplace 
• Prepare learners for the future of work by embracing the full range of job readiness skills 

This book is ideal for secondary, postsecondary, and vocational educators and administrators, and it will also appeal to organizations looking to develop in-house talent. 

KELLY CASSARO is Chief of Learning at Generation, a nonprofit that tackles global unemployment. She has spent twenty years in the U.S. K???12 and global workforce development spaces as a teacher, school administrator, staff developer, curriculum designer, board member and strategic leader.

Inhalt

Introduction 1

1 The Jobs Landscape Is Changing 9

Change Is the Only Constant 10

The Pandemic and Everything After 13

Understanding the Future of Work 14

Who Does the Work 16

How the Work Is Done 19

Giving Students the Advantage 25

2 The Connection between Education and Employment 27

The Bridge between Secondary Education and Employment 29

Challenges and Barriers 33

Sage on the Stage, Guide on the Side 34

Evolving Mindsets 38

The Importance of Equity in Education 39

A Sense of Belonging 42

Embedding Employability into the Curriculum 43

Guaranteed Work Experience 43

3 Two Frameworks for Understanding Social-Emotional Skills 45

SEL in the Jobs-Training Landscape 46

What Is Social and Emotional Learning? 49

Which SEL Skills Need to Be Taught? 51

The CASEL 5: Core SEL Competencies 52

Durable Skills Framework 60

What Are Durable Skills? 61

Closing Thoughts on Social and Emotional Learning 74

4 Does Teaching Social-Emotional Learning Work? 77

Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement 78

Links between Moral Reasoning and Academic Performance 80

School-Wide SEL Programming's Impact on Academic Performance 81

School-Wide SEL Programming's beyond Academic Achievement 82

Characteristics of Successful SEL Programs 83

Longevity of Impacts from SEL Interventions 86

Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance 88

The Case for SEL: A Summary 89

5 Evaluating Social-Emotional Learning Needs, Activities, and Outcomes 91

Start with the End in Mind 92

What Does Formative Evaluation Involve? 94

Eight Steps to Support the Formative Evaluation Process 94

What Does Process Evaluation Involve? 98

Exploring the Kirkpatrick Model 99

What Does End-of-Program Evaluation Involve? 102

Best Practices in Experimental Design 104

How Do We Robustly Measure SEL? 106

Ethics 109

6 Overcoming Student-Specific Employability Challenges 115

Increasing Exposure and Igniting Interest 117

Increasing Social Capital 119

Identifying and Overcoming Pressures 120

Identifying Student Strengths 122

Cultivating a Sense of Belonging 123

Challenges beyond the Educator's Reach 125

7 Establishing Common Language for an Employability-Driven Classroom Culture 127

Common Language for Career-Focused Competencies 128

Common Language for a Culture of Learning and Teaching 131

8 Classroom Strategies to Increase Employability 143

Three Strategies for Creating a Supportive Culture 144

Role Plays and Case Studies 150

Bring In the Learning and Take Out the Learning 155

Embrace AI in Your Teaching Practice 158

Micro-Moments for Increased Career Awareness 160

9 Developing Curriculum Where Employment Comes First 169

The Employability-Focused Curriculum Design Process 170

Employment at the Center of Design 188

A Note on Design Thinking 190

Conclusion 193

There Is Power in Community 194

Start Somewhere, and Start Small 195

Everything Begins with Intention 197

Go Forward 198

Resource Guide 199

References 207

Acknowledgments 211

About the Authors 213

Index 215

Rezensionen

"Over the last two decades of observing and implementing education-to-employment programs across the world, I can attest to the transformative impact skills-driven education provides to employment success. This book gives educators and trainers real-life tactics and inspiration to bring these strategies to life and to fundamentally change the trajectory of their students' lives."
--Mona Mourshed, CEO, Generation You Employed

"As an educator myself, I found the book to be an indispensable resource that resonates deeply with the challenges and opportunities we face in the educational realm today. Kelly's dedication to bridging the gap between theory and practice shines through, making this book an essential read for anyone committed to shaping the future of education."
--Gideon Murenga, Senior TVET and Labour Markets Advisor and Education Expert

Textauszug

Introduction

Even as a child, I knew teaching was the most important job on Earth. At age five, I declared that I was going to be a teacher. I never wavered.

As I continued my education, my belief in the power of education to change lives only strengthened. I have found joy and both personal and professional progress through the skills and knowledge that education offered to me: escaping to another place with a good book, overcoming a lack of confidence by learning to crisply defend an argument, building community by working together with peers to accomplish a goal, and opening doors to global travel through my work in supporting career trainings around the world.

Everyone on Earth deserves meaningful education and the transformative impact it has on one's life. As well, everyone on Earth deserves the dignity and security that come from sustaining, satisfying employment. The link between the two is solid—even as the landscape of career opportunities shifts before our eyes, ever more quickly as the speed of technological advancement refuses to slow down. Demand for some of the 20th century's most steady, reliable jobs continues to fizzle out while many of today's in‐demand jobs didn't even exist when I was in school.

The most seasoned educators may find it daunting to connect educational experiences of today with the unknown, often mysterious job and career marketplace of tomorrow. No one has a crystal ball. Yet, educators and trainers must design learning experiences as if they do. This is no small feat, but it can be done.

After all, excellent educators have made the impossible possible for ages. The current moment is no different. Some jobs of the future may not yet exist, but educators and trainers can still make an incredible impact right now on their learners' future employability. Educators and trainers understand the value of education and want doors of opportunity flung wide open for students, especially in our rapidly changing post‐pandemic world. And this means they'll do everything they can to see around corners and guide their learners toward successful careers—both with new strategies and with traditional, tried‐and‐true methods applied in new ways.

That is what Shift Teaching Forward is all about—equipping educators and trainers with the rationale and know‐how to guide their practice so they can better prepare learners for the world of work in which they'll one day thrive.

Shift Teaching Forward offers practical strategies to bridge the gap between education and employment. This book is intended for all educators and trainers who support learners in preparing for a career: teachers, designers, administrators, and nonprofit leaders within a variety of settings, including high schools, vocational schools, community‐based programs, colleges, universities, and corporations.

My teaching journey has spanned early childhood to adult education. The lessons I have learned through those varied experiences throughout the years have had me continuously saying, “I wish I had known that when I was in the classroom.” My first teaching position in the South Bronx, New York, was in a third‐grade classroom with students from Ghana and Gambia, and some did not yet speak English fluently. While we did read amazing books together and learn about history, art, and geography, there was a laser focus on standardized tests; any discussions about the future stopped at high school graduation/college admissions. While the educators sometimes had cross‐grade professional development, the pressure and intensity were on meeting urgent, tested curricular requirements. The immediate application of learnings from other grade levels was not clear. The mandate to cover standards for third grade was, however, abundantly clear.

I continued as a classroom teacher for seven years and added kindergarten and first‐grade teaching to my résumé. I fell in love with teaching and, at the same time, realized the cruel realities facing educators in the United States. I felt compelled to experience other roles within the sector and aimed to position myself to influence change. After classroom teaching, I've held positions ranging from leading professional development for a network of schools, leading recruitment of teachers, driving the overall academic program, creating curriculum for adult education, and leading a global team of educators in pursuit of developing programs and methodologies to support adults into meaningful employment that can change their lives.

Although I have held many roles within the field of education, the first seven years in the classroom were certainly the most challenging. I gave my all to improving my craft to better serve my students. I poured a lot into my students and left little for myself. I know you do the same. I know these are the contexts you bring with you when reading a book like this. You're hungry for ideas, strategies, and inspiration, and you need to be able to bring all that into your own classroom, training center, or virtual video conference. You know the world is changing, and your learners need to be ready for whatever comes next. That doesn't change the reality in which you do your work, day in and day out.

The challenges I faced—the same that I see so many of my peers, friends, and family continue to face—only strengthened my resolve to improve others' lives, especially the lives of teachers. I often consider a speech from Pulitzer Prize winner Anna Quindlen, who's had a long and rewarding career as an author. She noted, “Teachers are the second most powerful group of people in your life. A teacher said to me, ‘You are a writer’ in a way that was undeniable, and it shaped my entire future.” If you are holding this book (thank you!), chances are you hold the same awesome power as that teacher held for Ms. Quindlen—the power to support a student in shaping their life's trajectory. You have the power to ensure your teaching is transformational instead of transactional. You have the power to form partnerships with the community, seize opportunities, and foster the curiosities and talents of students. You have the power to prepare them for a thriving career—even if neither you, nor them, has any idea what shape that career will take.

You have the power to make a powerful mindset shift away from what has long been known and established—that college prep is the core role of K–12 learning, and that the best employment pathways involve predictable and well‐trodden paths. This shift requires opening your mind to the role of career preparation no matter the context in which you teach, embracing the integration of employability and social‐emotional learning skills in daily classroom life, and choosing optimism in the face of incredible uncertainty and technological change. It's a big shift, especially when so much of your role already requires you to go above and beyond any job description in print. Yet it's a needed shift that will bring joy and marketable skills to your learners.

Over the past seven years, I've had the great privilege of traveling the world to see adult training in action. The settings have ranged from employer‐embedded training programs, massive government training initiatives, and smaller, community‐based initiatives. I've sat alongside workers, shoulder‐to‐shoulder, and witnessed a variety of professions in action, including stitching‐machine operators in Pakistan, construction helpers in Texas, and disability support workers in Australia. These hands‐on experiences have offered me an understanding of the day in and day out of many professions, including the common threads that run through roles that seemingly would not have much in common. I have spoken to countless employers about what makes a high‐performing employee and have been able to pull out trends applicable across sectors. I am also fortunate that through these varied experiences, I have learned from the most incredible colleagues. Through these experiences, I've collected learnings and strategies to support educators in the incredible responsibility of preparing learners to thrive in their careers and, more broadly, their lives.

My experiences have given me insights into what students need from their education in order to succeed in our rapidly changing workplace. I have witnessed our current education system transforming student lives, but I have also observed and studied the gaps between what our students' current education offers them and what they need to thrive in the workplace. In 2018, Ralph Wolff and Melanie Booth, then both senior leaders of The Quality Assurance Commons for Higher and Postsecondary Education, asserted how “Employer surveys consistently reveal that more than disciplinary knowledge and skills is needed to be successful in today's workplace—regardless of the field, level of education, or level of work” and that “what have traditionally been called ‘soft skills’ have in fact become essential employability qualities” (Wolff & Booth, 2017, p. 52). In other words, you'll need more than technical skills to land that new job, and the “soft skills” that once were icing on the cake are now undeniably indispensable.

This should give trainers and educators hope. A crystal ball isn't necessary if the actual technical skills needed to succeed are only part of the equation. From my early days teaching social‐emotional skills in...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 13.2.2024
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Bildungstheorie
• Schlagworte: 21st century skills • Berufsausbildung • Bildungswesen • career training • Education • job placement • job-readiness • job-training • modern schooling • modern Workforce • postsecondary teachers • professional development • secondary teachers • Social-Emotional Learning • Soft Skills • Vocational school • Vocational Technology
• ISBN-10: 1-119-90022-0 / 1119900220
• ISBN-13: 978-1-119-90022-1 / 9781119900221