PREPARING TODAY'S STUDENTS FOR TOMORROW'S WORKPLACE

THE DOCUMENT "LEARNING A LIVING: A BLUEPRINT FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE" (SCANS, DEPT OF LABOR) IDENTIFIED THE WORKPLACE COMPETENCIES AND FOUNDATION SKILLS TODAY'S STUDENTS NEED TO POSSESS WHEN THEY ENTER THE WORK FORCE. THIS PROJECT WILL BUILD ON THAT RESEARCH BY EXTRACTING THE CORE TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT AND ADAPTING THEM TO THE FUTURE JOB TASKS OF TODAY'S STUDENTS. THE APPLICATION OF THESE CORE TECHNOLOGIES WILL BE SIMULATED USING COMPUTER-BASED TOOLS AND CAPTURED FOR THE STUDENT IN AN INTERACTIVE TUTORIAL. THESE TUTORIALS WILL BE USED TO GUIDE THE STUDENT THROUGH TYPICAL PROBLEM SOLVING SITUATIONS LIKE THOSE THEY WILL ENCOUNTER IN THEIR FUTURE WORKPLACE. EACH STEP OF THE TUTORIAL WILL BE DESIGNED TO HELP THE STUDENT OBTAIN SPECIFIC WORKPLACE COMPETENCIES AND TO PRACTICE THE FOUNDATION SKILLS IDENTIFIED IN THE SCANS REPORT. THE COMPUTER-BASED TUTORIALS WILL USE A SPIRALING CURRICULUM MODEL ALLOWING THE STUDENT PRODUCTS TO BECOME PART OF THEIR PORTFOLIO TO BE BUILT ON FROM YEAR TO YEAR. THE TUTORIALS WILL PROVIDE A BRIDGE FOR THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO HELP SHAPE THEIR FUTURE EMPLOYEE'S EDUCATION. ADMINISTRTORS, TEACHERS, SCHOOL PERSONNEL, AND PARENTS WILL BE ABLE TO USE THE TUTORIALS FOR I-SERVICE TRAINING AND TO GAIN WORKPLACE COMPETENCIES.