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Three years ago, the Minnesota Frameworks for Business, Marketing, and Information Technology included only 11 of the over 90 courses listed on our approved Table C. In other words, there was not much guidance available as to suggested course outcomes for the majority of our courses. Today, over 80% of our courses have Frameworks and those remaining will be completed during Summer 2021. So now that these resources are available, it is important for us to take the next steps in improving and growing our programs by aligning our instruction to these state Frameworks.
These Frameworks are guides to the performance indicators and benchmarks around which new or existing courses can be structured. Each career cluster on Table C has its own Frameworks document, comprised of several elements:
- Each "strand" or "competency" is comprised of performance indicators and benchmarks (numbered for ease of use in student information systems) and sample learning targets in student language. Indicators and benchmarks have been developed to align to national standards, technical skill assessment competencies, and standards developed by other states.
- Strands 1-9 comprise indicators and benchmarks related to academic integration and employability skills...aspects of high importance to employers and in the Perkins V legislation.
- Strand 10 is the specific indicators and benchmarks for each course (i.e., Computer Applications, Marketing, Graphic Design, etc.). This strand includes information on potential industry-recognized credentials (IRC), technical skill assessments (TSA), and/or student organization competitive events that can be incorporated through the specific class.
Frameworks are not "curriculum" – you have local control to develop your curriculum based on interests of students while meeting local workforce needs. But we hope you recognize that the stronger alignment your courses have to these Frameworks, the stronger the case to be made regarding the rigor of your courses and the preparation for students continuing with postsecondary education or moving into the workforce after graduation.
This will continue to be an area of importance during Program Approval reviews AND the continuous improvement efforts we will undertake in the years following your Program Approval. If you have made infrequent use of the Minnesota Frameworks for Business, Marketing, and Information Technology to this point, please consider increasing your awareness and use of them during this school year. They are found at the bottom of the MDE website for Business, Marketing, and Information Technology programs. There will be several webinar training sessions and after-school networking sessions this year when we can discuss further what this work may look like for you and for your colleagues.
Program Approval timeline update:
- Submissions should be completed by Monday, November 2, for business programs in the Riverland, Rochester/ZED, and Southeast Perkins Consortia. In addition, if your program has had teacher or course additions/drops, contact me to update your approved program information.)
- I will be working with Perkins Consortia leaders on winter/spring information sessions for the next set of consortia scheduled for 2021-22 Program Approvals: Hennepin West, Southwest Metro, and Minneapolis
Reminder of what we look for during Program Approval:
- Teacher(s) have appropriate CTE licenses or OFP for the programs they are teaching
- Course numbers from recently-updated Table C with course objectives that align to the Minnesota Frameworks for Business, Marketing, and Instructional Technology
- Student leadership development skills and activities that are embedded throughout the curriculum
- Career development activities embedded throughout the curriculum
- CTE Advisory Committee that meets at least twice during the year, with membership of 50%+ from business and industry members representing the career pathways the courses in your program are developing
Holly Boisjolie (Blaine – BPA) and Margot Cowling (Chanhassen/Chaska – DECA) are currently serving the second year of their three-year terms on the MBAResearch national Teacher Advisory Network (TAN).
Part of their work involves assistance with updating the Learning Activity Package (LAP) curriculum materials available from MBAResearch – using them in class, gathering student feedback, and suggesting updates and proofreading edits.
They also have opportunities to gather and share information at the national level. Recently, as part of the MBAResearch "Virtual Conclave," Holly led a presentation on "Using Social Media Marketing with your CTSO." She had a great turnout with lots of interaction from teachers across the country!
Kudos to both Holly and Margot for providing Minnesota leadership at the national level!
RealTime Talent is an employer-led, public-private collaborative focused on aligning Minnesota education programs and Minnesota workforce needs. They recently completed a series of six regional reports and presentations, providing workforce sector analysis that can be used by educators to evaluate the alignment of their current career and technical education (CTE) programs to projected future workforce needs in their region.
The six regional workforce trend reports and presentations can be downloaded from the RealTime Talent website. You may find these to be very helpful resources for working with advisory committees, local school administration, and your professional learning communities (PLC) to examine current and future needs to be addressed by your CTE programs.
A collaboration project between Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities is underway to design and develop an online learning resource center to help educators improve their distance learning methods and provide content focused on specific CTE disciplines. The goal is to provide CTE educators with an open online library of educator resources on distance learning teaching methods, as well as free content to use in their courses.
If you have questions or suggestions for developing this resource, please forward them to me and I will make sure they get in the hands of the steering committee members who are driving this work!
Program of Study User Guide: Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities collaborated to develop this resource to assist with local evaluation of your approved Business program and your current or developing Program of Study to identify opportunities for continuous improvement for growing and aligning your programs.
BestPrep Programs: BestPrep offers no-cost programs to provide students with first-hand knowledge of business, career, and financial literacy skills – regardless of your school's learning model. You can request a guest speaker for synchronous and asynchronous learning models from the Classroom Plus or Financial Matters programs; work with the eMentors program for a virtual mentoring experience; and use The Stock Market Game virtual environment for Finance and Economics courses. Contact Janae Olinger for more information.
On-Demand Webinar Library: EVERFI provides free access to a number of content webinars, typically 60-75 minutes in length. Topics include: Building Empathy with Entrepreneurship; Whole Child Wellness Through Financial Literacy and SEL Skills; Budgeting for the Real World; and Teaching Effective Communication.
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