A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

APPLICATION NO          :       R215J40012 APPLICANT NAME          :       Oregon State University ADDRESS                 :       Education Hall, 220                                 Oregon State University                                 Corvallis, OR  9733-3502 CONTACT PERSON          :       Dr. Dale Parnell TELEPHONE               :       (503) 737-5058 AWARD TO DATE           :       $415,000 PROJECT PERIOD          :       1/1/95 - 12/30/96 

Contextual teaching and learning involving the integration of academic and vocational education (applied academics) is a major, yet largely undeveloped component of education reform. Contextual learning (hereafter the term contextual learning and applied academics will be used interchangeably) is widely recognized for its powerful contribution to student achievement. Goal number four in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act states that the "Nation's teaching force must be provided with the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to instruct and prepare all American students for the next century," yet models to train or re-train teachers in contextual learning pedagogies are missing from most education reform plans. Few high schools have faculty with the technical expertise to implement innovative contextual learning programs that integrate academic and vocational/career education.

The School of Education at Oregon State University, in collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams from urban high schools, urban community colleges, and employers, will train teachers, to develop models of innovative contextual learning programs in urban high schools. Through the highly-collaborative format of the Contextual Learning Consortium and Institute (CLCI), the project will combine the resources of high schools, community colleges, a state university, and the employer community to train teachers in innovative contextual learning pedagogies and implement applied academics courses in urban high schools.

The CLCI will be a national model for teacher inservice development, field testing, evaluating and implementing contextual learning pedagogies. The innovations learned by participants have excellent potential to help all students reach higher standards of achievement. But even more importantly, this kind of action research holds large potential for the training and re-training of teachers in contextual learning techniques and practices.

National Institute on Student Achievement, Curriculum and Assessment

This page last updated on December 4, 1996 (MA)