Construction Trades Bridge Course
Career Field: Technical
Adult Career Pathway: Construction trades
Type: Bridge
Prepares Students for: Entry into and success in a CTE construction trades program
Target Student Population: TABE reading and math D 9.0 or above (flexible down to 7.0). Designed for use in a correctional facility. For ABE students who identify a construction trade as a desired future pathway, have completed half of their literacy education coursework, are close to their release date, and submit a signed class application in which they agree to be committed to completing the course.
Access Curriculum: View Materials
Course Description: Students in the course obtain an OSHA 10 certification, obtain an NCCER Introductory Craft Skills certification, and complete the mathematics Number Sense and Geometry components of the ADP. Improved literacy skills are a primary focus throughout.
(This course provides a bridge between the literacy programming that is offered at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault, Minnesota [MCF-FRB] and the CTE programming that is also offered in the facility. The class was co-taught by an ABE/NCCER-certified instructor from MCF-FRB, by a CTE/NCCER carpentry instructor from MCF-FRB, and by an OSHA 10/NCCER-certified instructor contracted from South Central College-Faribault.)
Duration: 5 weeks, 10 instructional sessions per week, 3 hours per session = 150 total instructional hours
Curriculum Materials: Course information includes objectives, standards alignment, assessment plans, scope & sequence, student syllabus, teacher notes and list of supplies / equipment. All materials are in a Google Drive folder. Ten miscellaneous instructional documents. Textbook: National Center for Construction Education Research. (2015). Core curriculum: Introductory craft skills: Trainee and instructor guides. New York, NY: Pearson. Primary on-line sources of course material: www.NCCER.org
Curriculum Pluses: Clear objectives that promote literacy, transitions and digital skills while teaching the technical material for construction trades. Scope and sequence lays out order of NCCER modules and other content areas. Other elements of the Course Information document provide helpful guidance to a new instructor of the course. Especially helpful for people teaching in correctional facilities, and an important model for bridging between the historically dis-connected areas of ABE and CTE.
Curriculum Drawbacks: Few ABE instructional materials to support learners in mastering the technical material.
Author: Adam Kuehnel, Minnesota Department of Corrections, Minnesota Correctional Facility – Faribault
Created: 2017-2018
Contact:
Adam Kuehnel, MCF-Faribault
Education Dept., 1101 Linden Lane, Faribault, MN, 55021
[email protected]