Rationale
GEAR UP staff have been asked to serve on selected workgroups to assist in the development of program strategies by recommending program syllabi in a number of areas. The charge of the workgroup is to develop a syllabus (course plan) that addresses the program strategy[1] assigned using research-based findings to suggest topics to include, methodologies to use, resources to provide and activities that school personnel and parents may use to reinforce the skills addressed in the selected program strategy or area.
Why ask staff for input?
Based on staff development activities and practices at the various sites, there appears to be agreement that certain strategies are essential if the GEAR UP program is to be successful in moving the students with significant challenges from where they are, to enter into a postsecondary institution or a career. In particular, the May 2010 staff retreat ended with significant consensus on the skills students must master by ninth grade, and which skills are most important for students to maximize their learning skills.
What is more, staff have already recommended that there must be more consistency in the manner in which GEAR UP serves students. To do so, suggests that a program strategy comprises a set of actions that are documented and uniformly implemented across the project from one site to another. Although sites currently report successful implementation of certain program strategies, most have yet to document the action steps (there is no syllabus); and there is no evaluation nor validation of the results. Furthermore, there is no indication that implementation procedures are the same even when the same strategies are employed. The design workgroups, therefore, will provide a structure within which to standardize all critical practices across GEAR UP Kentucky and the evaluation of results.
Research and Experts
GEAR UP staff in a workgroup will research and develop the rationale for the topics (syllabus) selected to cover an assigned program strategy and will consider the assessment tools necessary to be included to evaluate results. When appropriate and cost effective, outside experts may be invited to join workgroups and present arguments for including a variety of resources or tools. Additionally for certain committees; existing GEAR UP Kentucky practitioners may be invited to present reports that describe implementation practices, discusses data gathering and results, and detail what needs to be changed.
Additionally, experts from (potential) partner organizations also may be invited to present information in discussions with the executive director and or the central staff. Preliminary plans suggest that experts and practitioners will present information to inform the design of the following strategies: College Readiness Assessments (including EPAS), Mentoring-4A-Focus, Summer Enrichment Programs and GEAR UP-2-College & Careers. (The GEAR UP-2-Learn and Freshman Institute are transition programs and this workgroup is led by an expert facilitator. It is currently comprised only of GUK staff—with a representative from each region.)
Purpose
The main purpose of this effort, then, is to gather information from a variety of perspectives to inform the design of a new GEAR UP project. Specifically, the purpose of the committees is to inform and advise the executive director and central staff on recommended course of actions (syllabi) to implement the five new program strategies identified in the diagram below. These recommendations must focus on standardization across the project and how to measure results (data collections). The work of each workgroup or committee shall include consideration of the audience served as it is broadly defined in the GEAR UP regulations, and further defined below by GEAR UP Kentucky. The committee, however; is not charged with recommending and shall not consider how staff is assigned nor how the project is organized.
Charge to Workgroup/Committee
Review the research and common practices in the area (program strategy) assigned, and develop a syllabus (course plan or curriculum) informed by the need in Kentucky and most promising practices. Each workgroup must develop/recommend:
- A detailed syllabus (curriculum or course plan) to achieve specific learning goals, that is, write a complete course outline.
- The core competencies students will achieve upon completion of the program strategy and each of its components.
- The most critical learning objectives of the syllabus, and rank them.
- The assessments required to measure desired outcomes, and rank them.
- The optimum duration for the completion of the syllabus (time frame required to present all critical topics in the syllabus)
- Activities for school staff and parents to use to reinforce student learning.
Whom Will GEAR UP Serve
Workgroup Design Areas
[1] Program strategies referenced here are the five strategies that will become the core work of the new GEAR UP grant. The strategies are: (1) GEAR UP-2-Learn and The Freshman Institute; (2) College Readiness Assessments; (3) GEAR UP-2-College and Careers; (4) Summer Enrichment, and (5) Mentoring-4A-Focus.
No comments:
Post a Comment