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Teacher in the Workplace
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Introduction
What is the best way to prepare our youth to be productive employees in an increasingly competitive and technological workplace? If students are ever to be successful, traditional approaches to learning need to be put aside in favor of those that are relevant and real. Experiences outside the classroom make learning authentic, challenging and fun. Students learn more, understand better, and retain what they learn. There are equal benefits for teachers. After all, it is ultimately in the hands to shape our emerging workforce. They are admittedly isolated in their work environment, budgets are limited, training is sparse and in education, like other industries, people are expected to do more with less.
Over the course of the last year, more than 100 Central New York teachers have participated in the "Teacher in the Workplace"program. The program consists of a two day workshop for teachers, the essence of which is to place them in job shadowing experiences, have them write plans/learning units based on the job shadowing experiences, and then to deliver them to their students with the assistance of their business partners.
Objectives
The objectives of the program are to provide teachers with an opportunity to experience first hand the skills, abilities and knowledge that their students will need to be successful at work, to gain a greater understanding of the practical applications of classroom concepts and an appreciation of the learning potential of work based activities for students; and to apply those experiences into the classroom to enhance instructional strategies and to incorporate applied academics into a work-based curriculum in accordance with the SCANS skills and the CDOS standards.
Experiences
Some of the job shadows included:
Architect
Computer Network Administrator
CPA
Criminal Investigator
Newspaper Reporter
Physical Therapist
Stock Broker
Television Producer/Director
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