I like to keep blogs shorter... I consider them small gems to ponder on when you can...
Education has become a necessity, even a government mandate in some countries, making it illegal to withhold your child from attending school.
Education is also an ever-evolving system that is supposed to propel us toward achieving our highest potential. This being the case, education should be relevant and have a supportive system at the end of the day.
Today, one aspect of educational design that is meant to support learners in their pursuit of success is specialized programs. These programs take place outside of core class content in social studies, math, science, and ELA...
21st-century educational organizations are now tasked with creating and implementing specialized programs that support various needs, standards, and realities...
Some Needs students have
Socio-economic
Academic
Behavioral
Career-focused - exposure to the realities of specific careers they have an interest in
21st-century skills - the industry demands that are continually advancing
Some Standards placed on organizations
National
Regional
Institution-based
Affiliation-based / cultural
Some Realities the education industry must face
Industry
Budget and Finances
The pressure of special interest groups
Keeping the focus on relevant education... and relevancy changes with the times, doesn't it?....
How are relevant programs chosen and/or designed for your institution?
Are the programs that your organization creates determined by:
Stakeholders (definition varies region to region, usually several different groups)
Leaders and/or Owners
Families of students
Government
Staff
Governing or Industry-leading organizations
A combination of these elements
Research shows that programs that support core classes while introducing and exposing learners to new skills increase their chances for success.
Many programs provide ways for learners to
deepen their content knowledge without pressure for a grade
practice skills that lessons teach but often don't provide or have enough time for application outside of the text
expand their self-knowledge
participate in opportunities they do not get from classes
Research shows a positive correlation between Supplementary Programs and Student Achievement.
But if you feel your school lacks in this area...
Do you have the necessary tools for creating or designing the most relevant programs for your audience?
Do you have ideas and an interested audience but lack resources or leadership support?
What are you going to do about it?