1996-97
School-to-Career Certificate Training Program
Tony DiMauro
1) Please describe the work you have accomplished on your Resource Teacher project so far this year?
I have conducted a preliminary needs assessment to determine what the proficiencies should be for these modules. This was done through many job shadowing opportunities that were made available through many business connections.
I have established an authentic assessment tool that will aid in the acquisition of employment by students. This computer program based on a Filemaker Pro database is a complete and effective method for student assessment and reflection. All my students are on digital video and can be accessed quickly and effectively. Students are required to give mini-oral presentations on digital video that will help them with future Senior Projects at Santana.
I have piloted two of the School-to-Career Certificate Modules. This first Certificate is in the area of Mechanical Engineering. Many performance-based activities are provided for the student. No certificates were awarded. The curriculum and the proficiencies documents have been written in a second draft form. [Final form is expected by next year.]
I have investigated the possibility of applying Academic Innovations Career Choices Curriculum to my program by doing a School-to-Career Career Guidance and Development Workshop. I have obtained the information and manuals from this company. I have also attended the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco in January. MacWorld conferences were very helpful. I also bought mTroplolis, a multimedia software package, to program five-minute vignettes for some of my Physics units.
I have Job Shadowed at Hallmark Circuits with Tom White, at Behring Diagnostics with Chip Ross, and at Laser Power Optics with Paula Hoffman in an effort to establish proficiencies and business connections. I have made an appointment to Job Shadow at UCSD Medical Center in April.
I have started a speaker schedule for this year and next. Professors from SDSU Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, and Industry people from Firestone, Hallmark Circuits, Laser Power Optics, and SAIC will speak to my students.
I have developed a strong connection with the SDSU Engineering Department and the Physics Department through Dr Milton Torikachvili and Dr. William Guentzler. Santana will begin to build an electric vehicle to be ready for competition next year. This electric car competition will require the cooperation of the business community, the school, and our parents.
I have established the Sultan Science Newsletter at Santana and distributed copies to students and teachers at Santana. This newsletter informs the students of our current restructuring efforts in the Science Department. I will provide copies to the district for dissemination to other schools in the district. I have created class brochures for the students, parents, and the counseling office to explore. I have been reading and copying and disseminating articles from educational journals about the transition from traditional to school-to-career curricula.
I have applied to be a speaker this summer at the GUHSD Summer Institute. I have also applied to teach Clarisworks Presentation Skills and Filemaker Pro Database programming for the classroom. I believe that I will be able to get the word out about my School-to-Career Modules via the demand of our teachers to learn how to use the computer in the classroom.
3) Did you work with new teachers? Yes
Santana had to hire three new science teachers in August of 1996. We were lucky to get three very good people, who are a great help to our department. We are currently restructuring our science program for the third straight year! As a department we have been in constant collaboration with one another. With the help of Dale Teschler and Bill Homik we are beginning to find a unique path that our students will be able to traverse. We are piloting many new classes next year, which include; Conceptual Physics, ChemCom, and Anatomy and Physiology. As a department, we are all very busy with writing curriculum and developing new lab activities. We recently worked together to clean up our Chemical ‘Waste Dump’. We also worked together to raise money for a telescope and scholarships. As a department, we meet quite often with other departments to discuss curriculum and student needs.
4) Please describe any differences between the work you did, and
the work proposed in the original project description.
I have been doing quite a bit of work in developing my Database Program.
I really believe that I have created a tool that many teachers in the
District could use in their classrooms. With real text, pictures, sounds
and videos, I am able to ‘see’ my students in three dimensions.
These databases are very user-friendly and quite charming in their presentation.
I created these databases to download on to videotape for the students
to take to their prospective employers. I am discovering that these digital
portfolios are quite attractive and deliver an accurate ‘snapshot’
of the students progress. I feel that the database programs are taking
on a life of their own. These programs will be useful to many more teachers
in the district.
5) How have you disseminated this project to other teachers?
This is a two-year project. I want to disseminate my project via the Summer
Institute and the Science Newsletter. Next year when the school-to-career
modules are more definitive and the students are performing actual Job-shadowing
there will be more to disseminate to the other teachers in the district.
I am also planning to attend the District School-to-Career Counsel with
Rick Gaylen. It’s important to have student success as testimonials
to other teachers. I expect to hold two seminars next year. One will be
in March and the other in the summer of 1998.
6) How much more work do you have to do before you complete the
work for this 1996-97 year?
I have to complete the curriculum for the school-to-career modules. They
are in draft form right now.
I also want to complete the proficiencies before the beginning of next
school year.
I want to set up as many job-shadowing opportunities for students next
year, so I have to make more business connections.
I want to establish a schedule of speakers from industry and college for
next year.
I want to create a newsletter that can be distributed to other teachers
in the district before June 7, 1997.
7) My original project is for two years. What will I do next year
to complete my project?
I want to have my school-to-career curriculum in a final form along with
the proficiencies.
I want to have established a solid business, community, and college support
structure for this program to work. I want to have established a monthly
newsletter that will share student job-shadowing and the school-to-career
modules experience with other students and teachers.
I want to have established a credible certificate program that will allow
any prospective employer to evaluate our students with a very neat video
database.
I want the students to experience a science curriculum that relates to
their finding a job or career after graduation.
8) This question does not apply to my project?
9) What other information do you want the Selection Committee to know?
This project has been extremely complicated. Writing curriculum around
school-to-career modules takes many hours. At Santana, we are finally
on a path that should bring some stability. As a department, we were torn
by the Coordinated Science bandwagon. We are currently picking up the
pieces and developing a very good science program for our students. We
want to keep many of the Integrated or Coordinated concepts as well as
collaborate more often with each other. At Santana, we are starting 5
new Conceptual Physics classes, 8 new ChemCom classes and a few third
year courses. With the change to a quarter system a few years ago and
a WASC evaluation this year, we have been tested to the brink. Even after
all of these changes and interruptions, Santana has an excellent Science
Department.
I feel that I have taken on a bigger project than necessary. I really
believe that my computer applications that I programmed are enough for
my project. I will pursue my school-to-career modules concept. I think
it will take longer than two years to fully develop and evaluate this
project. I would like to continue this project past the two years. I don’t
want to artificially end the project development after two years because
of a few deadlines.
10) What did you find successful about this year as a Resource
teacher?
As a resource teacher, I found that I like to collaborate with other professionals
in education. I really believe that I am pushing myself. I have discovered
many new ideas and have dispelled of many unproven notions. I like the
challenge to create new pathways and clear old pathways. I have found
much guidance from our seasoned teachers. I really like working with my
principal, Terrie Pennock, she has been extremely valuable. She is a constant
reminder of why I want to do extra work for our District. What is really
rewarding is working around new teachers because they bring many new ideas
to the table.
11) What would you have changed?
I like the way the resource teacher program works. I like the administration
and I enjoy the collaboration within the district. I feel bad that I missed
a few of the resource teacher get togethers. I have gleaned a lot of ideas
from past resource projects. I can’t think of anything to change.
12) Did you attend any conferences this year using RT funds?
I did attend the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco in January. It was quite
an event. I never thought I could learn so much so quickly. I want to
attend the Boston MacWorld Expo in August, if possible. I have talked
with many of the technology teachers about uses for certain programs.
Tom Eklund and I both bought a multimedia package and have tentatively
agreed to develop units in Physics and share it with other teachers in
the district. I have collaborated with Lloyd Kaster at our school to become
the Web.
13) Approximately what percent of your RT hours were spent:
a. working directly w/new teachers? 20%
b. working directly w/veteran teachers? 10%
c. working on your individual project? 60%
d. on professional development? 10%
