Luke Driver is the career and technical education curriculum coordinator at the Academy for Career Exploration in Providence, a public charter school with a focus on tech skills training and competency-based learning.
Driver, along with ACE Principal Mario F. Cirillo, spoke with Providence Business News about ACE’s unique model for modern tech education and how their curriculum intends to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.
PBN: How does ACE balance classroom learning and practical application?
DRIVER: Practical application is in fact part of the sequence of learning. It is a key element in how learning happens in the brain. At ACE we use the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, a respected measure of cognitive complexity, which provides six levels of thinking while learning. These range from simple to complex: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating.
Employers will recognize that today’s workplace demands proficiency in all six thinking levels, and values employees who can think nimbly, moving among these cognitive levels as situations demand. Entrepreneurs think this way. They know how to learn, become self-directed in their learning and are able to “think on their feet” in unfamiliar situations. We are finding that our students, even ninth-graders, are capable of performing at these levels.
PBN: What does “competency-based learning” mean in terms of ACE’s curriculum?
DRIVER: At ACE we are working toward fluency using a number of strategies, including problem- and project-based learning, narrowing curriculum breadth by choosing “anchor” standards, personalizing learning so students find relevance and blending the best of face-to-face teaching and online learning. The Highlander Institute has been providing effective applied on-the-job training by co-planning and modeling lessons. Rather than synchronize teaching, learning and testing, students move at different paces.
By integrating ninth-grade physics and algebra subject matter, students learned formulas in math class and then immediately applied the formulas in physics class. The algebra class made consistent double-digit gains across the year. Since the students had already demonstrated competency – consistently over time – we decided to hold a design/build bridge competition rather than a final exam. Students practiced physics and math over the length of the competition.
PBN: How does ACE borrow from the 18th-century apprenticeship model of education? Why is it an appealing model for tech education?
DRIVER: My best learning happened as a stone mason’s apprentice. The master’s instruction was given on the job, in context, was simple and direct. The master would say, “Watch me, I’m going to show you how to lay brick.” He expected undivided attention for a few minutes and then said, “Now you show me how. I’m going to watch you while we work together. I may correct you to make sure you do it properly.” After an hour he said, “When you are ready, you go lay brick on your own.” This is the essence of apprenticeship: in a 3:1 ratio – “I do, We do, You do.” Note that the responsibility for learning and practice is released quickly from the master to the apprentice.
Unfortunately, the 26:1 student-to-teacher ratio is too high for apprenticeship to work in school classrooms. Interestingly, however, digital technology is beginning to allow a resurgence of “cognitive” apprenticeship through Blended Learning. By rotating students through stations where students apply learning either individually online or [through] hands-on activities in small groups, ACE reduced the ratio to 8:1. We are excited to be moving in this direction.
PBN: What are the “big picture” consequences if today’s students aren’t prepared to meet the evolving needs of the tech industry?
CIRILLO: In keeping with national predictions, it’s fair to say this generation of Rhode Island students will likely be unemployable, and not just in the tech industry. Although we live in a post-industrial economy, our schools still largely function the way they were designed for a bygone era: assembly lines of students by grades intended to become semi-skilled factory workers.
One hundred twenty-five years ago the advent of the public school system was indeed revolutionary, offering universal free public education. But the model has changed little since its inception, and the lack of change may be a factor in the widening “skills gap” in Rhode Island. The captains of industry championed the birth and growth of the manufacturing model of public schools with enormous political influence. I wonder if the captains of the information economy could bring a similar depth of change today to reshape the model of public education.
PBN: Do you think the ACE model can work for traditional public schools, or is it only viable in the context of a charter school?
CIRILLO: A primary responsibility for charter schools is to share best practices. It’s probably too early to say whether our model can be taken to scale, but that is our aspiration. We do have some solid preliminary results to share however. Fifty percent of our student body – 100 students, including ninth- and 10th-graders – earned 4 Computer Science 101 college credits from URI [University of Rhode Island] last year, at an estimated cost of $200,000 in cost savings to ACE families. Tuition costs were paid for by Gov. [Gina M.] Raimondo’s Prepare RI fund. Student portfolios were independently validated for credit by URI students. Special thanks to Dr. Victor Fay-Wolfe, Jessie Barrett and a small army of URI computer science majors.
This year students are beginning to earn industry-recognized credentials in all four grades, including certifications in information technology, physics in technology and in 21st Century Skills. The last two credential types were actually earned in academic classrooms, which we believe to be a first in Rhode Island. Stay tuned, [as] we have lots planned for next year.
Kaylen Auer is a PBN contributing writer.
