Prompted by requirements of the 1990 Perkins Act and a growing dissatisfaction among employers with college graduates’ skill levels, many schools have undertaken curricular reform through tech prep and school-to-work, with most of the efforts working toward the integration of academic content into vocational programs. In general, however, tech prep implementation has been more active at the K-12 level than at community colleges. Research on curriculum integration in community colleges has revealed eight main approaches: general education requirements; applied academic courses; the incorporation of academic skills into occupational programs; the incorporation of academic modules into occupational courses; multidisciplinary courses combining academic and occupational concerns; tandem courses or learning communities; colleges-within-colleges, where students take all of their classes together; and remedial programs with an occupational focus. Benefits of curriculum integration include an improved ability to meet the needs of occupational and transfer students; bridge isolated sectors of the college; and form industry partnerships; while the considerable barriers include problems in articulating courses; faculty reluctance to change; and lack of expertise, leadership, and resources. In Michigan, a statewide curriculum integration project was undertaken to develop new courses and identify barriers to integration. Pilot projects were funded at four colleges, with the Wisconsin Instructional Designs Systems (WIDS) framework being used for curriculum writing. Lists of future directions and recommendations for further integration are included. Contains 17 references. (AJL) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Curriculum Models: Integration of Academic and Occupational Content Roberta C. Teahen Northwestern Michigan College Traverse City, MI 49686 Telephone (616) 922-1151 Fax (616) 922-1142 e-mail: [email protected] April 19, 1996 Ln U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION 1:::.) CENTER (ERIC) y:sfhis document has been reproduced as ,) ece.ved I rom the person or organization onginating d j3 0 Minot changes have been made to .mproye reproduction quality Points of view or opinIons stated In INS docuL__C…..) ment do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE “PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC).” Curriculum Models: Integration of Academic and Occupational Content Introduction The 1990 amendments to the federal Carl Perkins Applied Technology Act, commonly called the Perkins Act, require that federal money be spent on vocational programs that “integrate academic and vocational education . . . through coherent sequences of courses, so that students achieve both academic and occupational competencies.” (Section 235) Since 1990, many schools across the nation at the secondary and postsecondary level have struggled with how to accomplish the intended outcomes. Most have settled for course requirements, for example requiring separate and distinct courses in English and Drafting, to meet the requirements. Others have felt that the outcomes would be enhanced if the contents were better integrated, believing that English integrated with Drafting may provide a more powerful learning experience. Accomplishing integration within courses and programs has been a difficult challenge. As we approach reauthorization of the federal legislation in 1996, along with anticipated dramatic reductions and funding program consolidations in the current Congress, the impetus to make progress on this agenda has increased. The purpose of this paper is to explore the following questions: 1. What rationale or justification exists to support the benefits of an educational approach that would integrate academic and occupational content? 2. What are the barriers to integrated curriculum implementation at the community college level? 3. What models exist for curricular integration? 4. What are the approaches in use in Michigan’s pilot integration projects? 5. What recommendations should be made to community college instructional leaders regarding how they can accomplish curricular integration? In “Reflections on Course Planning: Faculty and Students Consider Influences and Goals,” by Joan S. Stark et al, it is reported that the primary course planning influence is Discipline, which is followed at a distance by Student Characteristics and Instructor Background. James Davis, in the chapter on “The Subject” in Better Teaching, More Learning defines discipline as “a specified academic domain with agreed-upon rules for discovering and transmitting knowledge.” He continues: While the disciplines may serve well the “academic priesthood,” most of life’s problems in the information age, both in the world of work and in the society atÂ
