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The start of a new school year also signals the time to join or renew membership in Minnesota's professional teacher organization for business teachers—MBITE (Minnesota Marketing, Business, and Information Technology Educators). Annual membership is just $30. Membership registration information can be found on the MBITE webpage.
Why join MBITE? The organization operates based on Four Pillars:
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Networking: Providing opportunities for MBITE members to meet and discuss curriculum and instruction
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Legislative Advocacy: Representation on MnACTE provides MBITE members a voice in legislative action relating to education legislation
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Resource/Lesson Sharing: MBITE members are given access to the curriculum database via Google Drive
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Professional Development: MBITE will provide and support opportunities to members through conferences, workshops, tours, webinars, etc.
MBITE is also looking for a new generation of leaders to join their leadership team! Several leadership positions are currently available. If you are interested, contact MBITE President Justin Wittrock.
MBA Research has shared free Work-Based Learning (WBL) tools and information provided by the Iowa Intermediary Network (IIN) and the Iowa Department of Education. This includes access to the Iowa Internship Toolkit, with most of the guide having broad applicability to WBL programs in all states.
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) has developed a website with resources for high-quality CTE work-based learning programs. Information available includes: research and reports; toolkits, guides, and frameworks; books; on-demand webinars; online courses; and data tools.
The Minnesota Department of Education has a variety of work-based learning resources available on MDE's work-based learning webpage, including a newly updated work-based learning handbook. This handbook provides additional details on licensure requirements, funding for work-based learning programs, insurance requirements, and equity considerations for work-based learning programs. Additional resources or assistance can be obtained through MDE's Work-Based Learning Specialist, Erin Larsen.
The Minnesota Business Frameworks (located at the bottom of MDE's Business and Marketing CTE website) are similar to “standards” and provide guidance for local school district CTE Business and Marketing programs as to the content and rigor MDE would expect to see for courses to be accepted in the Program Approval process. Local control allows school districts to align course outcomes to the performance indicators and benchmarks found in the Frameworks that have been developed for each course on Table C, selecting those that best meet the needs of their students and regional workforce development.
The Minnesota Business Frameworks are a collection of documents organized by the seven career clusters identified on the Business Table C. Each “cluster Framework” document begins with nine strands of Employability Skills recommended to be embedded within the courses in that cluster. These employability skills are typically taught in combination with the technical skills that make up the course objectives for career pathway development—rather than being taught in isolation. These employability skills are typically evaluated with formative assessments rather than the type of summative assessments that would be recorded in a grade book.
“Course Frameworks” have been created for each course on Table C. They have been developed to represent higher-order thinking outcomes—“application and synthesis,” not just “know and understand.” The Performance Indicators identify the key technical skills recommended for development within each course. The Benchmarks identify multiple ways in which student mastery of the Performance Indicators could be assessed. Course alignment to these elements helps to ensure that Business and Marketing program courses include the academic integration, employability skills, and technical skills that meet expectations of the Perkins V federal legislation. Aligning courses to these Frameworks is the key method of meeting these Perkins V expectations that MDE will be evaluating during the Program Approval process.
Maintaining current records with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) related to teachers and courses in your approved Business and Marketing programs is very important for expediting funding from Perkins V and CTE Levy sources. MDE has developed a Program Amendment Form for submitting any program changes which occur during the years when your program is not due for program approval renewal.
You are encouraged to submit annual updates via this Amendment form if any of the following have changed:
- New CTE contact person at your school district (Tab 1)
- New business and marketing teachers in your program (Tab 2)
- Course changes – drops, additions, or renamed courses (Tab 3)
Program changes being reported in the year that schools in your Perkins consortium submit you five-year Program Approval renewals are reported on the full Program Approval form and do not require a separate Amendment form.
Contact Dean Breuer with any questions related to Program Approval for new programs, renewing Program Approval, or Amendment forms to update current programs.
Maintaining and renewing Program Approval status for your Business and Marketing program includes maintaining program eligibility to request federal Perkins funds to support your program. Here are some reminders for making successful requests:
- There is an updated version of the request form found on the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) website for "Perkins V Legislation." Make sure this July 1, 2022, version is the one that you and your Perkins consortium leader are completing and submitting to MDE. (Requests submitted on older versions of the form will be returned.)
- Follow your consortium process for submitting requests. Your consortium may have an internal form for making requests to your consortium leader or leadership team, especially for requests under $1,000. The new MDE form mentioned above should be verified or completed and then submitted to MDE by the consortium leader—not teachers—for requests of $1,000 or more.
- Recognize the purpose of using Perkins funds vs. local district funds to support your program. Perkins funds are intended to be like "research and development" funding, to support "innovations" in program delivery and student career pathway preparation. Resources that are needed to "maintain and sustain" your program (that are likely also needed by teachers in other curriculum areas) are the responsibility for your school district to fund and would likely not be approved for Perkins funding. This includes items such as supplies, textbooks, and teacher instructional resources like SmartBoards and LCD projectors. For more information and examples, review the "General Guidance for Perkins V Local Uses of Funds" document on the MDE website.
- Equipment and curriculum requests are made to support delivery of specific courses. The syllabi that MDE have on file for those courses should demonstrate curriculum alignment to Minnesota Business Frameworks (or national standards where appropriate). Performance indicators and course outcomes should prepare students for high-need Business career pathways identified in your consortium Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA). Make sure you are aware of the CLNA developed by your consortium, align your program to identified career needs, and update curriculum and syllabi to reflect those changes. Submit those updated syllabi to MDE Specialist Dean Breuer as additions to your Program Approval files.
Cryptocurrency Mini Units: NextGenPersonalFinance has created a set of mini units on the subject of cryptocurrency. Materials for these mini units include: lesson plans in Google Doc format; NearPod lessons; slide templates; and answer keys.
Artificial Intelligence Three-Part Series: New resources available in the MBA Research "State's Connection Resource Portal" (available FREE to Minnesota Business teachers through a statewide membership paid for by Minnesota Department of Education) include a three-part series on artificial intelligence. The materials are found in the "Action Briefs" section of the portal. New to State's Connection? You can also use the link to register for your free account.
Workplace Basics – The Competencies Employers Want: Report by Georgetown University on the workplace competencies most in-demand by employers. Good background and justification for embedding employability skills in all CTE courses.
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