1. Contextual Teaching and Learning

2. Some Questions
What is the purpose of the educational system today and in the future?
Will lecture-and-test teaching increase student achievement?
Will classical content-centered teaching lower the high school dropout rate?
Will theoretical teaching help students become better connected with real-life problem-solving issues?

3. Student Feedback How would you like your students to say:
This makes school fun and it is easier to learn
There is more interaction and stuff you can use later
I tried to never be late for this class
I enjoyed learning in this class
I think I learned more in this class
I made a special effort to attend this class

4. Teacher Feedback How would you like to say:
Students tried harder and were more interested in their studies
Students behaved better
Absenteeism and tardiness were down
Students seemed to accept more responsibility for their learning
Students seemed to enjoy class more

5. Contextual Teaching Way individuals learn best
Students connect life with knowledge
Brain connects knowledge and application
Brain connects knowing and doing
Brain connects content and context
Brain is limited in dealing with material that does not connect
Contextual teaching is the way individuals learn best—helping students make connections between their lives and the knowledge and information they are discovering.
This ability to make connections gives the student a touchstone of reality upon which to build solid and meaningful learning.
The brain is designed to perceive patterns and make connects and resists having meaningless information thrust upon it.

6. Try This
Memorize the following:
Cre
Bli
Ret

8. Now memorize these:
Chair
Water
Light

10. And these . . .
Money
Shopping
Bargains

12. And finally . . . Zachary went shopping for bargains.
Each group is easier to remember than the one before it. There is little inherent meaning in instructional material alone.
Meaning comes from making a connection and the more instructional material can be made meaningful for the student, the more easily the information can be assimilated into the brain.
For more students to achieve higher levels of learning, they must be motivated to acquire the content of knowledge along with the context of application, and thus develop the ability to solve problems and to assimilate and associate that knowledge in a way that can be useful in new situations.
Unfortunately, the current political rush to statewide standardized testing will in too many cases push students to use their short-term memories and allow their thinking brains to rest.

14. Development vs Teaching
Child development
Handle things
Explore
Knock down, set up, put together
Crawl, walk, talk, imitate
Teaching process
Passive learning
Look, sit, listen, memorize
If teachers can consistently help students see meaning in their education via contextual teaching, I think we will be astonished at the increase in the achievement of more students.

15. Contextual Teaching Framework
Learning for acquisition of knowledge
Learning for application
Learning for assimilation
Learning for association
Acquisition – Students acquire knowledge and, to retain it sufficiently, they apply that knowledge to some real-life situation.
Application – Students are actively engaged in the processing of knowledge and performing authentic tasks to gain an understanding of how to use knowledge.
Assimilation – Students demonstrate sufficient understanding of knowledge, and the application of that knowledge, to make the connections to new learning and new situations.
Association – Students learn to transfer acquisition, application, and assimilation of knowledge to new problem-solving situations.

16. Study Results Students tried harder and more interested
Students behaved better
Students accepted more responsibility
Greater learning progress
High schools participated in a study that’s purpose was to experiment with contextual teaching methodologies in a variety of subject matter settings.
Students tried harder and were more interested in their studies.
Students behaved better.
Students seemed to accept more responsibility for their learning.
Students in the contextual classes made greater learning progress over the course of the school year than similar students in traditional classes.

17. CTL Approaches Problem-based learning
Collaborative/cooperative learning
Project-based learning
Service learning
Work-based learning

18. Service Learning
Combines community service with structured school-based reflection
Emphasizes connection between service experiences and academic learning

19. Work-Based Learning
Experiences and activities based on and in some type of work setting or simulated work setting
Examples: apprenticeship, internship, co-op, on-the-job training, career academies, school-based enterprises, job simulation

20. Functional Skills Reading – technical information Writing Speaking
Listening
Reasoning
Computation
Computer literacy – WP & SS software
Employer needs are focused on specific capabilities required to support mission of employer. Needs of companies grouped as functional skills, soft skills, and technical skills that impact and influence return on investment

21. Soft Skills Interpersonal skills Attitudes Project management
Negotiation
Decision making
Team skills

22. Technical Skills Task-specific skills
Collect, graph, analyze and program data
Recognize alternative solutions
Computer-related technology
Math and science skills
Programming, database management, and Internet usage

23. Questions???