Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dan Gonzalez from District C.

Dan starts with the need for students to come together to solve real world problems through District C’s Teamship process.

Dan says that students are motivated by solving real problems for real people that add value to organizations and the lives of others. This moves from individual compliance to adding value to the world.

He says that too many students graduate from high school without having solved “real,” “meaningful, or “urgent” problems.

Industry partners are eager to use District C to help solve problems because they often bring forward problems that they can’t solve internally, and students bring creativity and new thinking to problems that organizations are struggling to solve.

Don’t miss the story that Dan tells about a solution that students came up with that was totally unexpected by the business owner.

Dan says that they intentionally don’t allow students to pick their project because they want the purest outcomes from team-based problem solving skills that can be transferable to other projects.

Don’t miss what Dan says about helping students get better at the work. Just by being on a team doesn’t mean that their skills improve. Students need a coach.

Dan tells listeners that students need tools that they can use to facilitate their teamwork. He explains two tools–questioning and take-five–that any educator can use in WBL or classroom instruction.

Mitch Weather’s focus on durable skills, in particular executive functioning skill, came up on the show in terms of the skills-based movement versus knowledge acquisition.

Team internships follow a process that includes individual research and the strategy is very close to what a jigsaw does when it comes together well.

It’s important to understand the work of the coach in teamships. Dan explains how that has evolved, and how they train their coaches.

Dan ends with a sense of urgency around the need for work-based learning for all students in every school.

If you want to learn more about supporting internships and other work-based learning experiences, book a time to see a demo of the MaiaLearning.

If you want to talk to the host of the show about college and career readiness, book a time to meet.

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Christopher Nesmith.

The episode starts with a conversation about trust between schools and industry partners, and Dr. Nesmith is candid about the need for schools to understand what the partner needs and not just what the school (and students) can get from a partner. This was a reminder of our episode with Kristy Volesky.

Chris says that the best case scenario is when the schools and the industry partners are united on a clear and common vision for what they’re seeking to accomplish.

He says that many partners will get involved simply based on philanthropic efforts, and starting with philanthropy is fine but that can’t be the end-point.

Don’t miss what he says about the two-way relationship regarding what students need to be work-ready. If there’s a mechanism for feedback, partners can tell schools how to better prepare students at the individual level.

Christopher says that we can capitalize on students’ skills and abilities in the workforce, including product development in a way that drives the future of a company using high school students and their creativity.

You’ll want to hear what he says about the pathways that his district supports and the details of what students earn as graduates.

He gives some really practical advice about governance and how to cut the red tape of work-based learning at the same time connecting students to the organizations that will credential their skills anyway.

Chris says that the fundamental reason why pathways, credentialing, and WBL aren’t scaling is because the money is funneled through grants and the grant awardees–whether school districts or nonprofit organizations–don’t understand the bureaucracies of the individual industries.

Listen to what he says about the problems with isolation. Higher education, K12, industry partners, and accreditation agencies need to come together for work-based learning to flourish.

Christopher explains what he learned in Switzerland and Germany about the divide between college and career and what they did to make sure it was a binary decision for students.

Dr. Nesmith says that one of the solutions is "permeability." In other words, career and technical education (CTE) shouldn’t just lead to a credential or a job, it should lead to a path into a 2- or 4-year university as well.

Chris describes what mastery-based learning and even credit acquisition can look like, and he calls for CTE teachers to lead the way in this work. We refer to ACTE several times in the show.

Christopher leads an AASA group called Redefining Ready, which studies state examples of work-based learning and pathways.

If you want to discuss work-based learning, industry partners, and other aspects of college and career readiness, book a time with the host of the show with the host of the show here.

If you want to see a solution for working with business partners and tracking WBL for students, book a demo here.

The guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Matthew Woods.

Dr. Woods starts by telling the audience about his children’s book series, which is dedicated to helping K-5 students understand and explore careers that they might not otherwise learn about.

Not only did he want students to see a representation of different careers, he wanted them to see representations of themselves in the characters.

Don’t miss his line of thinking around how he designed each book to be able to help students uncover the language regarding careers and career exploration.

The books started as a gift for his son, and then others were asking for them because of the need to help young people explore careers in early grades.

We discuss the power of work-based learning and getting kids into internships and other work experiences where they get to see diversity beyond their school and community.

Listen to what he says about selecting careers for the books and using his son’s interest to drive future stories. The idea is to ensure that young readers are never limited in what they believe they can be and do in life.

Dr. Woods talks about imaginary boundaries that we place on ourselves based on what we see and experience in school and life.

Matt explains why career exploration has to start early in life rather than the typical experience in middle and high schools. It’s important to begin the conversation when students are still curious and before they make up their minds about life’s possibilities.

He tells a heart-wrenching story about a parent who didn’t want their child to have career exposure because it might mean that they leave the community and not return.

He ends with a call-to-action to be more candid with students about career paths and what it takes to reach their goals.

The more you pour into students at a younger age, the more they gain the confidence to grow into beautiful adults. ~ Dr. Matthew Woods.

If you want to learn more about supporting K-5 students with career exploration, book a time to see a demo of the MaiaLearning games that teach students both career awareness and financial literacy.

The guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Tyler Love from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

The show starts with Tyler explaining the pathways for non-traditional teachers, including CTE teachers, to become certified to teach. He describes the types of courses that CTE teachers take in the State of Maryland.

Tyler talks about the value of a state wide program that supports CTE teachers so that they can learn from one another regarding the different initiatives across the state rather than just in the districts local to them.

Dr. Love discussed the teacher shortage and what it means to find and hire teachers from industries like computer science.

He talks about the supports that are in place at the university level so that second career teachers don’t burn out, especially as they go back to school at night to earn their credential.

Tyler discusses a study about teacher preparation when it comes to CTE teachers. First, the quality of the preparation program matters. Second, teachers who go through traditional programs feel more prepared than those who go through these alternative routes.

He talks about the efficacy of career coaches and counselors who have to help students with making college and career choices. He explains some of the problems with hiring teachers to be career coaches who don’t have a CTE background.

Tyler discusses the difference between R1 schools and schools like UMES and other historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). He mentions a documentary published by PBS.

His call to action to end the show is to ensure that 4-year institutions are at the table for the K-12 pathway, WBL, and general college and career readiness conversation.

If you want to discuss CTE with the host of the show, book a time here.

If you want to see a solution that supports career exploration for the career coaches that Tyler mentions, book a demo here.

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Kristy Volesky.

Kristy starts by defining work-based learning and explaining why other definitions might be too broad, limiting the outcomes of a specific WBL experience.

Don’t miss what she says about the “before, during, and after” of WBL that educators and business partners should be clear about to prepare students for the experience.

She says that we ought to implement WBL in elementary schools, and she gives some detailed examples of how to do that.

Project-based learning in schools is a great scaffold for WBL. It’s not just about sending kids to work; they need preparation ahead of time. Kristy describes some of the durable skills that students can learn before they go to work.

She says that anyone who wants to start a WBL program should find the easiest entry point. We don’t need to scale it until some of the partnerships are operating without a lot of support.

Listen to what she says about using a current CTSO to apply a project to a local business.

One of the outcomes that Kristy explains is the social capital that students gain from WBL, including their network that they’re building on-the-job and the growth they experience for further upward mobility in the future.

She talks about missed opportunities associated with “fake” WBL experiences versus real internships and solid placements. We call this “the network effect of WBL.”

Kristy provides examples of how WBL can unfold at every level–elementary, middle, and high school.

She redefines what a middle school career fair can be, providing them exposure before they make their four-year academic plans.

Her final thoughts about the support that schools need to do this work are important. We have to overcome the barriers to WBL to progress the work for students.

If you want to discuss work-based learning with the host of the show, book a time here.

If you want to see a solution for working with business partners and tracking WBL for students, book a demo here.

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Sylvester Chisom.

Sylvester says that experiential learning is the future of career and technical education.

He tells listeners that interest assessments are critical to help students think about career options, and using assessments and other exploration tools should start in elementary school.

Sylvester brings up the concept of skills-based hiring, and schools can train and verify students in skills that they can use in their career path. The answer is not the grading system but rather a portfolio of work and competency-based learning.

Don’t miss what he says about portrait of a graduate (PoG) and grading changes associated with the skills on the PoG.

Listen to the conversation about measuring skills and earning badges in all disciplines.

Sylvester says that we need to highlight the durable skills that students are gaining so that everyone understands when they’re using certain skills, what they are, and how to transfer them in the future.

He reveals some of the key uses of AI in education, and tells listeners that we can’t be so loyal to some of the old ways of teaching in schools.

He gives an entrepreneurial example of how students can use AI to help them with their business development. And, he says that AI can help free up more time in the curriculum.

Sylvester says that as industries progress, education has to change too. We have to prepare students for a future world, not today or yesterday.

Don’t miss what he says about building curiosity and learning to ask really good questions.

Sylvester references the College & Career Readiness Radio episode with Adam Welcome where Adam talks about schools blocking important tools and the need to be more progressive with technology.

He shares several great examples of using project-based learning and notching it up to entrepreneurialism.

His notion about building students’ confidence through authentic projects is incredible.

A highlight from the conversation is the benefit of having students travel for work-based learning, which was a finding in a dissertation published by Principal-EL.

Book a time to discuss college and career readiness with the host of the show, Dr. T.J. Vari.

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Don Wettrick.

Don starts the show by giving credit to Dan Pink, who was one of the pioneers of the motivation movement–exploring what motivates people to learn new things.

He explains the 20% theory in terms of giving students time to work on things that they care about that might not necessarily be aligned to a school-based unit of study.

Don’t miss what he says about school getting in the way of learning and the difference between how C and D students respond to freedom versus A and B students.

Don says that the freedom to learn whatever you want isn’t just a personal project. It comes with learning new skills and presenting to an audience beyond the classroom.

He’s reframing the concept of “innovation” at the high school level to be more about an “entrepreneurial mindset.”

Don dives deep into the definition of motivation: autonomy + mastery + purpose = motivation.

He tells a story about a student who challenged his thinking about 20% time in schools and that it should be 100% of the time dedicated to interesting problems to solve versus the curriculum.

Don has incredible examples of work-based learning, including two students who worked together to solve a fast-fashion waste problem with dog toys.

He says that a teacher’s most precious resource is their network. One of the best things we can do is to share what our students are doing and creating on social channels and more.

Don explains the type of durable skills and outcomes that students gain from identifying a problem and developing a solution for it.

Don’t miss what he says about community engagement with the local chamber of commerce and the concerns that mayors have with talent retention.

Listen to the difference between the traditional model where students get a problem to solve versus the skill of identifying the problem.

Don talks about an innovative teacher fellowship, and he describes a best case scenario when departments are working together on the same problem.

One call-to-action from Don is that teachers should have more conversations with employers: “what are you looking for in our graduates?”

Book a time to discuss college and career readiness with the host of the show, Dr. T.J. Vari.

Our guests for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl.

Alli starts by talking about what it means to disrupt education, which she says is all about how to reach learners in the 21st century.

Peter says that innovative schools are changing the narrative of what schools are and what they can provide for students.

Don’t miss what Alli says about the work-based learning program that Jason Van Nus runs in Georgia.

Peter says that “durable skills” should be taught “K through gray.”

Alli tells listeners that the best school leaders are the ones who get out of the way of really innovative ideas, and they facilitate innovation by removing any red-tape.

Peter talks about his admiration for Don Wettrick’s work, and Alli mentions Sylvester Chisom as someone who is really doing innovative things, including building houses as work-based learning.

Alli says that all teachers need coaches, and we often need a precipitating event to get us out of our own way when it comes to change. Listen to her connection with skydiving.

Peter tells listeners that LinkedIn is the space to go if they want to share or learn. Please connect with all of us there. He says that we should all be telling stories about the great things that are happening in our schools and classrooms, especially innovative teachers and CTE programs.

Alli ends the show by saying that there’s no better way to invest in the community than to expose students to all of the wonderful things that are happening in it. “Get them out of the school and into local businesses and organizations.”