Curriculum

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Course Aims and Assessment Criteria document

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Syllabus for 2022-2023 for College and Career Readiness (Click on link)

Calendar for College Readiness (Click on link)

Rubric Links for College and Career Readiness

College and Career Readiness:

Course Overview, Student Objectives, and Assessment Criteria

Description of the Course

Overview: College & Career Readiness is a 10th grade course that offers a student-centered curriculum where students apply approaches-to-learning skills geared toward their own interests and future career paths. Overall, students will prepare and begin implementing goals towards their long-term college and career plans with a teacher acting as a mentor and a facilitator. The course emphasizes self-awareness, career and college readiness, goal setting and planning using an inquiry- based process through real life applications and scenarios.
Guiding Questions: Students will explore and answer questions such as: What careers interest me? What are my career goals? What do I want to do in college? What are some effective habits for success? What do I need to do to prepare effectively for college?
Career Interests: Students will explore personality and interests in a career exploration learning about advantages and disadvantages of potential careers. Students will also explore colleges based on their interests and learn the fundamentals of the college application process and the overall steps for preparation.
21st Century Skills: Students will gain some 21st Century Skills with technology, presentations, and learning to budget.
Entrance Exams: Students will be exposed to two college entrance exams: the PSAT in the fall and the ACT in the spring as a mock exam.
MYP Personal Project: Students will also be guided through the steps for planning and developing their MYP Personal Project, an independent exploration where students develop a line of inquiry and research and develop their own product and paper. The personal project formally assesses students' Approaches to Learning (ATL skills) for self-management, research, communication, critical and creative thinking, and collaboration.

Student Learning Focus

Criterion A: Knowing, Understanding, and Interpreting Information (Demonstrating knowledge)
Criterion B: Developing & Synthesizing Ideas (Using resources)
Criterion C: Reflecting on Learning (Making personal connections)

Student Learning Objectives

Students will demonstrate a detailed justification of opinions and ideas with a range of examples, explanations, and terminology.
Students will be expected to work through a research plan, use relevant tools and resources in order to effectively gather information and synthesize their understanding into knowledgeable products.
Students will reflect on the impact of their learning by providing relevant connections made through contextual explanations, inferences, and examples.

Approaches to Learning (ATL) Skills

Students will apply approaches to learning as it relates to career & college explorations, budgeting and saving, and 21st Century skills as well the MYP Personal Project.
They will be expected to develop questions for inquiry, engage in the research process, locate sources, and synthesize information for a knowledgeable product. ATL skills, specifically informational and media literacy, provide a solid foundation for learning independently and with others, demonstrating learning, and reflecting on the process of learning.
They help students to become more autonomous, strategic and self-motivated and ultimately prepare students for college and career readiness. Students will show their ability to synthesize media through their analysis skills, giving a thorough justification of opinions and ideas with a range of examples, using accurate terminology.

Connection to Texas Essential Standards Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)

According to English II TEKS for ELA, students will focus on Knowledge Skills, specifically Inquiry and Research.The student will develop questions for inquiry, engage in the research process, locate relevant sources, and synthesize information from a variety of sources.

Studies in College and Career Readiness Aims

The aims in College and Career Readiness are to enable students to:

Identify career interests and potential career choices
Explore potential post-secondary educational options such as colleges and/or technical schools
Identify and prepare for the college application process
Prepare for testing programs such as ACT and SAT
Develop 21st century skills such as business communication and presentation skills-speaking presentations
Demonstrate financial literacy by analyzing personal spending and creating budgets

Objectives

Criteria A: Knowing, Understanding, and Interpreting

Students will justify opinions and ideas, using examples, explanations and terminology making logical conclusions. Students will explore various topics:

information about colleges and careers
necessary preparation for post-secondary education
career pathways that match their interests, strengths, and values
the components of successful applications and interviews in preparation for college and career readiness
use of technology to research and create projects and presentations
understand financial aid options and responsibilities
understand soft-skills necessary for employment
informational texts
personal spending and creating budgets
problem-solving strategies to a variety of relevant career and life scenarios
An understanding and application of ways of writing and presenting in clear, logical, and persuasive ways

Criteria B: Developing and Synthesizing Ideas

Students will work through a research plan, using relevant tools and resources in order to effectively gather and synthesize information.

Students will ….

state a learning goal for a project and explain how the personal interest led to that goal
develop a product based on clearly identified criteria and a plan for achieving product
apply Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills to develop learning and product: Make connections between various sources of information; Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on their appropriateness to specific tasks; Locate, organize, analyse, evaluate, synthesise and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media (including digital social media and online networks)
explain the impact of the project on themselves or their learning
evaluate their product based on assessment criteria
reflect on personal characteristics, values, interests, and strengths

Criteria C: Reflecting on Learning

Student will reflect on the impact of their learning by providing relevant connections made through contextual explanations, inferences, and examples.

Students will reflect on a variety of areas as they ...

Develop new skills, techniques and strategies for effective learning
Identify strengths and weaknesses of personal learning strategies (self-assessment) throughout the states of the learning process
Demonstrate flexibility in the selection and use of learning strategies
Try new approaches to learning and evaluate their effectiveness
Keep a journal to record reflections

Assessment Criteria

Criteria A: Knowing, Understanding, and Interpreting

Criterion A: Knowing, Understanding, and Interpreting

How much knowledge and understanding does the candidate demonstrate through inferences, terminology, and examples?

Student Outcomes

Justify opinions and ideas, using examples, explanations and terminology with logical conclusions

The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors.

1-2

The student makes limited inferences and little evidence to support understanding. The student provides little analysis of the context to make conclusions, and the work rarely justifies opinions and ideas with examples or explanations, using little or no terminology in the product.

3-4

The student makes adequate inferences and uses some evidence to support understanding. The student adequately analyzes the context but may not develop logical conclusions, justifying opinions and ideas with some examples, explanations, and terminology.

5-6

Overall, the student makes good inferences and uses sufficient evidence to support understanding. The student analyzes the context to draw logical conclusions, sufficiently justifying opinions and ideas, using examples, explanations, and terminology.

7-8

The student makes perceptive inferences and uses evidence to support understanding. The student effectively analyzes the context to draw logical conclusions, justifying opinions and ideas, using examples, explanations, and terminology.

Criterion B: Developing Ideas Applying Approaches to Learning (ATL) Skills

Criterion B: Developing Ideas Applying Approaches to Learning (ATL Skills)

How well did the candidate research a plan, use relevant tools and resources in order to effectively gather information and synthesize their understanding into a knowledgeable product?

Student Outcomes

Work through a research plan, using relevant tools and resources in order to effectively gather information and synthesize their understanding into knowledgeable products.

The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors.

1-2

Develops a limited plan and has limited strategies for selecting and using tools to locate resources, gathering little to some information to show a superficial understanding of the implications of the information.

3-4

Develops an adequate to limited research plan and outlines basic steps to follow and selects and uses some appropriate tools to locate resources, gathering some information to show a superficial understanding of some of the implications of the information.

5-6

Develops a sufficient research plan and outlines steps to follow and selects and uses tools to locate resources, gathering information to show understanding of some of the implications & synthesis of information.

7-8

Creates an organized research plan and outlines steps to follow and uses tools to locate resources, effectively gathering information & understanding implications and synthesis of information.

Criterion C: Reflecting on Learning

How well did the candidate reflect on their learning?

Student Outcomes

Reflect on the impact of their learning by providing relevant connections made through contextual explanations, inferences, and examples.

The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors.

1-2

The student rarely identifies or states the impact on themselves and their learning and offers little personal connections through explanations, inferences, and/or examples.

3-4

The student occasionally identifies or outlines the impact on themselves and their learning by offering some personal connections made through explanations, inferences, and/or examples.

5-6

The student often identifies and describes the impact on themselves and their learning by offering sufficient, personal connections made through explanations, inferences, and/or examples.

7-8

The student consistently and independently explains the impact on themselves and their learning by providing personal, insightful and relevant connections made through contextual explanations, inferences, and examples.

Concepts & Major Units

KEY CONCEPTS

Communication: Communication is the exchange or transfer of signals, facts, ideas, and symbols. It requires a sender, a message, and an intended receiver. Communication involves the activity of conveying information or meaning. Effective communication requires a common ‘language’ (which may be written spoken or non-verbal).
Connections: Connections are links, bonds, and relationships among people, objects, organisms, or ideas.
Perspective: Perspective is the position from which we observe situations, objects, facts, ideas, and opinions. Perspective may be associated with individuals, groups, cultures, or disciplines. Different perspectives often lead to multiple representations and interpretations.
Identity:Identity is the state or fact of being the same. It refers to the particular features, which define individuals, groups, things, eras, places, symbols, and styles. Identity can be observed, or it can be constructed, asserted, and shaped by external and internal influences.
Communities: groups that exist in proximity defined by space, time or relationship. Communities include, for example, groups of people sharing particular characteristics, beliefs or values as well as groups of interdependent organisms living together in a specific habitat.
Systems: sets of interacting or interdependent components. Systems provide structure and order in human, natural and built environments. Systems can be static or dynamic, simple or complex.

RELATED CONCEPTS

Evaluation: Evaluation involves the gathering and processing of data to determine an action. Evaluation involves feedback, which can be used to control, revise, or modify.
Perspective: Perspective is the position from which we observe situations, objects, facts, ideas and opinions. Perspective may be associated with individuals, groups, cultures or disciplines. Different perspectives often lead to multiple representations and interpretations
Resources: Resources relate to the supply of a commodity or of information or knowledge about a topic.

GLOBAL CONTEXTS

Identities and Relationships: This Global Context explores identity; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; what it means to be human. It asks students to consider – who am I? Who are we?

Orientation of Space and Time: This Global Context explores personal histories; homes and journeys; turning points in humankind; discoveries; explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between, and the interconnectedness of, individuals and civilizations, from personal, local, and global perspectives. It asks students to consider the meaning and importance of “where” and “when.”

Personal and cultural expression: This Global Context explores the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of aesthetics. It asks students to think about the nature and purpose of creative expression.
Scientific and technical innovation: This Global Context explores the natural world and its laws; the interaction between people and the natural world; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on communities and environments; the impact of environments on human activity; how humans adapt environments to their needs. It asks students to consider how they understand the world in which they live.

Globalization and Sustainability: This Global Context explores the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the relationship between local and global processes; how local experiences mediate the global; the opportunities and tensions provided by world interconnectedness; the impact of decision-making on humankind and the environment. It asks students to ask themselves how everything is connected.
Fairness and Development : This Global Context explores rights and responsibilities; the relationship between communities; sharing finite resources with other people and with other living things; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution. It asks students to ask what the consequences of our common humanity are.