Describing Connections between Science Content and Future Careers: Implementing Texas Curriculum for Rural At-Risk High School Students Using Purposefully-Designed Field Trips

Tommye Hutson,Susan Cooper,Tony Talbot

doi:10.35608/ruraled.v33i1.421

Tommye Hutson, Susan Cooper + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v33i1.421

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Abstract

    The state of Texas has an ‘essential knowledge’ component in some high school science courses indicating that students be able to describe connections between academic science content and future jobs or training through effective exposure to course content. The participants in this study were from a small rural high school in central Texas. Each was labeled as ‘at-risk’ and self-identified an inability to describe those types of connections after earning credit in more than one science course with that ‘essential knowledge’ component. A career-focused field trip to a local vocational/technology training center was designed to address that particular deficit. This study followed a narrative multiple-case case study design. Data included school records, surveys, individual and focus group interviews, and field notes from observations during the field trip. The effectiveness of the field trip was evident as each participant was able to describe connections immediately following the excursion.    

Highlights

The state of Texas has an ‘essential knowledge’ component in some high school science courses indicating that students be able to describe connections between academic science content and future jobs or training through effective exposure to course content
A field trip was designed to introduce students to several vocational training programs that build upon science instruction they should have experienced in their rural high school classes but that was identified as problematic or missing
Because the participants purposefully selected for this study indicated an inability to realize or describe the connections as required by the TEKS, documenting the immediate impact of a careerfocused field trip created the basis for this research

Summary

Introduction

The state of Texas has an ‘essential knowledge’ component in some high school science courses indicating that students be able to describe connections between academic science content and future jobs or training through effective exposure to course content. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a purposefully designed field trip experienced by 12th grade students from a small, rural central Texas high school. At its very basic level, a field trip provides students with something other than the mind-numbing day-today routines in the classroom and may provide a unique experience to construct or reinforce meanings and connections (Roberts, 2006). A field trip was designed to introduce students to several vocational training programs that build upon science instruction they should have experienced in their rural high school classes but that was identified as problematic or missing. The final (and more specific) component is the knowledge and skills content to be developed through successful completion of the course This component is divided into two sections – scientific processes and science concepts. This is the ‘meat and potatoes’ of each science course and is further organized, delineated and labeled with a combination of numbers and letters (e.g., TEKS 3.E)

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