1. Creating Rigor in the CRD Classroom
Have you heard the latest Myths about rigor lately. I hear a couple of them wherever I go.
How about the one about assigning more homework is a sign of rigor?
Any one else want to volunteer a Myth about rigor?
First, Let’s talk abut the CRD Classroom
Then we’ll look at our students
..and then, we’ll talk about rigor
Susan Oskin, CTE Specialist
Maryland State Department of Education
(410)

2. 7 Myths About Rigor Myth #1: Lots of homework is a sign of rigor
Myth #2: Rigor means doing more
Myth #3: Rigor is not for everyone
Myth #4: Providing support means less rigor
Myth#5: Resources = Rigor
Myth #6: Standards alone take care of rigor
Myth #7: Rigor is just one more thing to do
Source: Suite101.com -The Seven Myths of Instructional Rigor
Can anyone tell me any Myths about rigor?
I Hope that I will challenge and dispel all of these Myths before I am done speaking with you today

3. Career Research and Development Program Description
Course II: (1 credit)
Career Development, Preparation and Transition
End of Course Assessments
Academic and Career Portfolio
Course I: (1 credit)
Career Research
and
Development
Skills for Success
Employer
Development
Let’s look at the Program as a whole.
Are there any teachers here who are teaching CRD for the first time?
Two things that are important for all of us to know:
1 . This used to be a program with only one in-school course & 3 credits for WBL
Because we were getting complaints from employers that are students were not prepared to enter the work place…. We increased the in-school component to two courses
2. We increased our expectations for teachers for student achievement
Course I
Self Awareness & Identifying Dependable Strengths
Career Awareness
Researching Careers
Academic and Career Planning
Course II:
Career Preparation
Employment Readiness
Transition Factors
Work-Based Learning (2 credits)
Authentic Learning Plan
(Technical/Academic/Employability Skill Development)
Career and College Readiness

4. CRD STUDENT DATA Academic Attainment far below the state average:
HSA English II (83.58% vs.68.76%)
HSA Algebra (77.53% vs %)
Placement rate for CRD is 10 percentage points below the state average
Dual Completion rate is 37 percentage points below the state average
Enrollment: 38% of student have
an IEP
3040/ Students have IEPs
GET OTHER DATA

5. What is Rigor?
Harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper or judgment: severity
The quality of being unyielding or inflexible: strictness
Severity of life: an act or instance of severity or cruelty
A tremor caused by a chill
A condition that makes life difficult, challenging or uncomfortable
ADD TRANSITIONS HAVE EACH SLIDE IN SEPARTATELY

6. Rigor/Relevance Framework
Evaluation 6
High Rigor
Low Context
High Context
Synthesis 5
Analysis 4
Application 3
Low Rigor
Understanding 2
Awareness 1
Knowledge
Apply in Discipline
Apply Across Disciplines
Apply to Predictable Real-World Situations
Apply to Unpredictable Real-World Situations
CTE 2014
AP Math
Old Voc Ed &
Consumer Math
Arithmetic
This is an example of how Career and Technology Education has changed over the past 20 years.
What we are really talking about when we say that we have increased the rigor of our programs rigor is that we expect CTE students to learn content and apply their knowledge in unpredictable Real-World Situations because we build the curricula to help them be able to analyze, synthesize and evaluate the information and situations around them.
This is our expectation for all CTE Programs of study…so how do YOU as CRD teachers meet this expectation?
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
Communicating effectively
SO…how do you do it????
Adapted from W. Daggett - International Center for Leadership in Education

7. Rigor in Education Meeting or exceeding established standards
Improving the trajectory of performance
BY IT…I mean
So when we speak about Rigor in Education we mean

8. Rigor is increasing the level of expectation of what students are already doing
Teacher
Expectations
Student Scale
Strengths/Struggles
Capabilities
Aptitudes
Learning Styles
Emotions
….. Raising your expectation for your students
But…
There is a balance…… each student is very different… so as a teacher your looking at several areas about each student (STUDENT SCALE)
and starting from where each student is in their SCALE…. Then setting expectations based on this information.
Instruction then can be delivered within Tiered groups of students – group students with similarities and setting goals/ targets based on where they are.
Or you can individualize instruction
Or at certain times, you might want to groups students with very different performance scales - say on a group project to have peer mentoring/ teaching opportnities.
The point being… You know so much about each student that you can customize your instruction in ways that benefit student learning.

9. What Does Rigor Look Like?
Environmental Rigor
Standards of Achievement
Common Assessments
Progress for Each Student
Rewards for Progress
What does rigor look like?
There are two places where rigor is important in our education sphere.
IN THE Learning ENVIRONMENT and…
IN OUR INSTRUCTION.
Let’s Look at the Learning Environment first
We have Standards of Achievement (MD College and Career Ready Standards and CRD Standards (NCDA)
Now take a look at the next two bullets: Where have you hear this language before? SLOS! Right
Students have targets…
But then there is the human side of education…. Actually telling someone they have done well or made improvements or gave good effort….
Recognize the small steps students are making toward the large goal – can be significant to building certain students self confidence in learning.

10. What Does Rigor Look Like?
Instructional Rigor
Differentiating instruction (SCALE)
Coaching as well as direct instruction
Applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Using formative assessments
Increasing opportunities to apply learning
Reflecting on learning
Making changes to instruction
This is how you get to rigor? Getting at rigor is intentional!
These are probably strategies you recognize.
SCALE : Strengths/Struggles
Capabilities
Aptitudes
Learning Styles
Emotions
UDL
 is an educational framework based on research in the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, that guides the development of flexible learning environments that can accommodate individual learning differences.[1]
the Center for Applied Special Technology(CAST) in the 1990s,[2] calls for creating curriculum from the outset that provides:
Multiple means of representation to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge,
Multiple means of expression to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know, and
Multiple means of engagement to tap into learners' interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to learn.[3][4]
Reflection is for both students and teachers
And the ability to respond to student needs and change instruction

11. True Instructional Rigor is…
“creating an environment in which
each student is expected
to learn at high levels,
each student is supported
so he or she can learn at high levels,
and each student demonstrates
learning at high levels”
~Williamson and Blackburn, 2011
Rigor is not a Four Letter Word….Barbara Blackburn

12. Career Research and Development Program Description
Course II: (1 credit)
Career Development, Preparation and Transition
End of Course Assessments
Academic and Career Portfolio
Course I: (1 credit)
Career Research
and
Development
Skills for Success
Employer
Development
.. And so when I think about What is rigor in the CRD classroom I am reminded that we have standards:
CRD Standards (informed by the National Career Development Guidelines)
and Learner outcomes…. What students are supposed to know and be able to do
And… The College and Career Ready Standards for Disciplinary Literacy
And..
the Skills For Success – Those 21st Centruty skills that employers tell us that our students need to develop to be successfulin the workplace.
All of which you will get to see and experience as our Master Teachers take you through the lessons developed using these standards.
I hope you reflect on what you have learned throughout this PD experience and integrate even more ways to make your classroom instruction rigorous for every student.
Work-Based Learning (2 credits)
Authentic Learning Plan
(Technical/Academic/Employability Skill Development)
Career and College Readiness

13. Believing in Possibilities

14. Creating Rigor in the CRD Classroom
First, Let’s talk abut the CRD Classroom
Then we’ll look at our students
..and then, we’ll talk about rigor
Susan Oskin, CTE Specialist
Maryland State Department of Education
(410)