Career and Technical Education

This discussion is an opportunity for you to evaluate how the purposeful integration of technology in instruction and assessment supports student acquisition of 21st-century skills and more importantly career and technical education (CTE). In the past few weeks, you have had the opportunity to consider the inclusion of technology in teaching and learning as well as the principles of UDL in practice. Now, we consider how UDL supports the acquisition of 21st-century skills as these relate to career and technical education. To prepare your response for this discussion, you will review Chapter 5 from the Edyburn text (2013), the 21st-century skills videos, and the ACTE website section on career and technical education and then evaluate them in relation to the principles of UDL. As always, reviewing the Instructor Guidance for the week is strongly encouraged for intellectual elaboration on the topics for the week and additional assistance for all assessments.

When contemplating 21st-century skills, associations must be made with respect to creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and metacognition and a host of relevant life skills. Keeping in mind your knowledge gained thus far on UDL and 21st century skills. You will review three sources to inform your initial response to the discussion including the ACTE website on Career and Technical Education (CTE), a short video by Inside Schools titled High School: What is Career and Technical Education?, and your own state's Department of Education website or local school district website, specifically, information pertaining to Career and Technical Education (CTE).
Initial Post: Create an initial response that addresses the following areas.

a. Analyze in a paragraph Career and Technical Education (CTE) by giving a succinct summary of your understanding of this area of education.

b. Evaluate in a paragraph how the principles of UDL support career and technical education.

c. Summarize in a paragraph the relationship between the goals of CTE, learner motivation, and acquisition of 21st-century skills.

d. Describe in a paragraph, or by using a table or some other visual, what you learned by reviewing your state's Department of Education webpage on CTE and/or your local school district's utilization of CTE.

Creating a UDL Instructional Plan

This assignment is another opportunity to apply the principles of universal design for learning (UDL) in the design of instruction and assessment. In this assignment, you develop a lesson plan that incorporates UDL and effectively leverages educational technologies in the classroom. Specifically, using the Cast UDL Lesson Builder (2011) website (see instructions below on how to access this website), you will create a lesson in either English/language arts (ELA) or mathematics that includes the components listed in the content expectations, below.

Create your assignment using the content and written communication instructions below. Use the Grading Rubric to review your assignment before submission to ensure you have met the distinguished performance for each of the components described below. For additional assistance, review the Week Five Instructor Guidance page and, if needed, contact the instructor for further clarifications using the "Ask Your Instructor" discussion forum.

There are two parts to this assignment: Part I is an actual instructional plan and Part II is a final summary.

To prepare for Part I, you must first log onto the CAST UDL Lesson Builder (2011) website. Create a free account. Next, click on "Create, Save & Edit My Own UDL Lesson Plans" and begin constructing single lesson for a specific grade level focusing on either reading/language arts or math only. Each respective portion of the plan is inserted by selecting "Edit" and are detailed below in the Part I Content Expectations. For more information on each part of the lesson plan, click on the "More Information" button located in the lesson plan builder.

Note: Not all parts of the lesson plan will be used. Read the Content Instructions below to ensure you complete each component that is required.

Content Instructions

• Lesson Overview: Include the title, author, subject, grade level(s), and duration of the lesson. (Lesson should be 30 to 90 minutes long, depending on your population.)

• Lesson Description for the Day: Include a brief description of the essential learning to be experienced by students and practiced during the lesson. Include the approximate duration of the lesson (30 to 90 minutes total).

• State Standard/s: Include the state grade-level standard this lesson aligns with. Include the whole standard rather than just its label (see Instructor Guidance for an example). You may use a standard from the Common Core State Standards or your own state standards.

• Lesson Goals: Also known as the lesson objectives. Construct one to two content-specific objectives for lesson. The objectives should be written in student terms and contain a single, observable, and measurable verb indicating the skill in students will be assessed for during instruction.

• Teaching Methods:

o Describe the anticipatory set
o Address how you will introduce and model new knowledge
o Describe the guided practice
o Describe the independent practice
o Wrap-Up (Closing): Explain how you will close the lesson and in what manner students will debrief from the learning experience.

• Assessment: Describe what you will assess during the lesson (formative assessment) as described in either or both the guided practice and/or independent practice stages of the lesson.

• Save your instructional plan as a doc. file and upload it along with Part II to the classroom for evaluation.

Written Communication Instructions

• Syntax and Mechanics (1 point): Display meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar.

Part Two - Analysis/Summary Content Instructions

• Reflection: In a separate two-to-three page Word document, include a reflection in which you address the following questions:

o How does your lesson serve as motivation for learners?
o How does your lesson stimulate critical thinking in your students?
o How does the lesson model a non-threatening environment providing differentiated learning opportunities without isolating students?