Coordinating Cooperative Education Programs

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Coordinating Cooperative Education Programs

• CTE 4923

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Coop Review

• Cooperative Education
• A method of instruction whereby school personnel
  and business people work together to instruct and
  train students for occupational employment

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Team Players

• Teacher-coordinator
• Student
• Employer/Job site mentor/OTJ instructor

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Topics Covered in 4913

• Program types
• History
• Advantages
• Responsibilities of team players
• Steps to planning a program
• Legal aspects
• Public relations
• Student organizations
• Evaluating programs

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Coordination

• The process of building and maintaining
  harmonious relationships between all groups
  involved in the cooperative plan, to the end that
  the student-learner receives the very best
  preparation for a chosen occupation

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Major Components

• Manage an admission system
• Refine students career objective and determine
  needed learning experiences the training plan
• Prepare, deliver, and evaluate related
  instruction
• Develop appropriate training stations

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Major Components (cont.)

• Make arrangements with training stations for the
  placement and enter into a training agreement
  between school and training agency
• Orient training station sponsors
• Make evaluative visitations to training stations
  to determine if appropriate learning experiences
  are being provided
• Carry out needed community public relations
  activities

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Major Components (cont.)

• Relate training station experiences to in-school
  laboratory learning experiences
• Relate to students home as a partner in the
  learning process
• Achieve terminal job placement after training or
  arranging for additional or continuing education
• Keep up-to-date with profession

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Planning and Organizational Activities Prior to
Instruction

• Build image by disseminating information to
  school personnel, staff, guidance counselors,
  students, and parents
• Make promotional contacts with community for
  training stations
• Counsel, interview, and select prospective
  students

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Planning and Organizational Activities Prior to
Instruction

• Assist in arranging class schedules, including
  related instruction periods
• Arrange for related classroom facilities,
  including furniture and fixtures
• Select and requisition textbooks, reference
  books, and supplies

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Create Interest in School

• Provide counselors with information sheets and
  applications
• Stress educational aspects of training
• Dependability
• Employability
• Ability to benefit from training
• Talk to homeroom groups or other classes
• Create newspaper articles and/or bulletin board
  displays

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Coop Approaches

• Parallel Approach
• School attendance in the mornings and work in
  training station in the afternoon.
• Alternating Approach
• Full-time school for 3-6 months and then
  full-time work for 3-6 months (works well in
  post-secondary programs).

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Two Coop Philosophies

• For high quality students
• College bound
• Represent school well in community
• For students who will benefit from the program
• Have financial need
• Not necessarily top in class

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What Is Your Position???

• Debate two philosophies
• Each group comes up with at least five supporting
  statements
• Share with other group
• Each group comes up with rebuttal

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Criteria for Screening Students

• Local guidelines should be consistent state
• Labor laws should guide selection criteria age
  requirements, work permits, minimum wage laws,
  hours, compulsory school attendance, etc.

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Criteria for Screening Students

• Desire to participate
• Career objective
• Desire to work and be trained for job
• Potential to benefit
• Aptitude to study related instruction
• Acceptable scholastic record
• Acceptable attendance record

• Personal traits necessary for initial employment
• Acceptable appearance
• Able to relate to others
• Willingness to accept responsibility
• Willingness to follow instructions
• Potential to represent school to the community

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Criteria for Screening Students

• Access to transportation
• Adequate time available for participation
• Appropriate age
• Parental permission

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Criteria for Screening Students

• What criteria apply to special needs students?
• Sophomore or above who are two or more grade
  levels below peer age-group
• Considered to be school-alienated
• Of dull normal intelligence or above
• Socioeconomically deprived students whose family
  income is so low that they must seek a job in
  order to meet essential needs and to stay in
  school

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Criteria for Disadvantaged Students

• 1st priority economically disadvantaged who
  have many handicaps and potential dropouts
• 2nd priority economically disadvantaged who
  have several handicaps but not in immediate
  danger of dropping out
• 3rd priority economically disadvantaged who
  have fewer or less intense handicaps and success
  in school and work will be at low level
• 4th priority not economically disadvantaged but
  have many academic, social, and/or cultural
  handicaps that may prevent them from succeeding
  in school and work

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Criteria

• What criteria will you use???
• Come up with a list of 5 criteria.

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Selection Criteria

• Should be general enough to include
• Student who wants to participate,
• Student who can benefit from program,
• But needs help in developing skills or traits

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Management Policies

• Absenteeism
• May cause problems for employer
• May attend work after missing school
• Transfers
• Within station, from one station to another
• Terminations
• Now, come up with your own for each

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Counseling Students

• Students may identify a career choice that they
  are unfamiliar with
• Create awareness of careers
• Identify their vocational personality
• Career exploration activity

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Have We Had Enough?