Job_Corps__Foundation_Course_Curriculum_for_the_Health_Care_Industry.pdf

Job Corps

Foundation Course Curriculum for the Health Care Industry

Prepared For:

The National Office of Job Corps

Prepared By:

Coffey Consulting, LLC

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

Blanket Purchase Agreement #: DOLQ121A21895 – Job Corps High

School Equivalency Transition

Lynne Vaughan

Eileen Warren

Revised October 2015

Job Corps Foundation Course Curriculum for the

Health Care Industry

Table of Contents

Chapter Page

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

Chapter 2: Curriculum Map 22

Chapter 3: Curriculum Crosswalks 34

Chapter 4: Curriculum Guide (Days 1-5) 40

Chapter 5: Curriculum Guide (Days 6-10) 70

Chapter 6: Curriculum Guide (Days 11-15) 92

Chapter 7: Curriculum Guide (Days 16-20) 117

Chapter 8: Curriculum Guide (Days 21-25) 150

Chapter 9: Curriculum Guide (Days 26-30) 178

Job Corps Foundation Course Curriculum for the Health Care Industry

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 1

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is the Job Corps Foundation Course Curriculum for the Health Care

Industry?

The Health Care Foundation Course (HCFC) is a combination of:

• An introduction to the chosen career pathway—in this case, health care;

• An applied course in study skills; and

• An applied course in basic academic skills.

It spans 30 days and, with academics, engages students in active learning for seven hours each day (e.g., 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) with one hour for lunch.

This introductory section is designed for various center staff, in addition to the

Foundation Course instructor. It is the HCFC instructor’s responsibility to share information in this chapter with appropriate center staff and administrators.

Why offer a Health Care Foundation Course?

The Health Care Foundation Course:

• Motivates and engages students,

• Provides industry background knowledge/skills,

• Teaches and applies key study skills and habits of mind,

• Initiates academics early,

• Allows students to complete secondary certification,

• Provides experience with a high-stakes test, and

• Introduces students to trade.

The Foundation Course motivates and engages students while giving them the skills and background they need to successfully meet their academic and career training goals. Typical Job Corps students enter our programs lacking the background knowledge that young people from higher socio-economic communities seem to absorb without formal instruction. The noted researcher Robert Marzano discussed this phenomenon and the serious affect it has on student learning:

…what students already know about the [subject matter] content is one of the strongest indicators of how well they will learn new information relative to the content. Commonly, researchers and theorists refer to what a person already knows about a topic as ‘background knowledge.’… Academic background knowledge affects more than just ‘school learning.’ Studies have also shown its relation to occupation and status in life…. Limited access to academic

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 2 background experiences…represents the ‘great inhibitor’ to the development of academic background knowledge…. We [must also] consider the direct relationship between access to academic background experiences and family income.” 1

The clear message from the research is that education and training programs can make a difference in addressing background knowledge deficits. The knowledge and skill that students from advantaged backgrounds possess is learned, not innate, so it follows that students who do not come from advantaged backgrounds can master background knowledge, too. For Job Corps education and training programs, addressing our students’ background knowledge deficit is essential, and the Foundation Course is one response to that need.

A similar handicap to learning comes from our students’ often limited exposure to general vocabulary—and specifically to the academic and career technical vocabulary that other young adults may well have mastered by the same age.

Consider the following:

The strong relationship between vocabulary and background knowledge is… explicit in the research…. A great deal of research indicates that vocabulary knowledge is highly correlated with family income or socioeconomic status….

The relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic achievement is also well established.2

There is a gap in vocabulary knowledge between economically disadvantaged and economically advantaged children that begins in preschool and is an important correlate of poor school performance… Consider the following results from some seminal studies in the field: High school seniors near the top of their class know about four times as many words as their lower-performing classmates.3

The Job Corps Foundation Course Curriculum for the Health Care Industry directly addresses the need for background knowledge, skills, and trade vocabulary in several unique ways:

1. The HCFC simulates the workplace for students, making their experience more like a job and less like school.

2. The curriculum engages students almost immediately in standards-based content in their chosen pathway by

1 Marzano, Robert J. (2004) Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA. Pgs. 1, 3, 7, 14.

2 Marzano, Robert J. (2004) Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA. Pgs. 31-33.

3 O’Hara, Susan and Robert Pritchart, Socioeconomic Status and Vocabulary Development available on line at http://www.education.com/reference/article/socioeconomic-status-vocabulary-development/.

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 3

a. providing background knowledge and skills not usually taught in

Career Technical Training (CTT) but common to almost all pathway careers for which Job Corps provides training, and

b. “moving down” some content currently taught in CTT courses into the

HCFC (see #4, below).

3. It also engages students almost immediately in standards-based academic study related to the chosen pathway. This

a. allows students a longer-than-traditional period in academics prior to entering CTT, thus offering more time to increase reading and math capacity to meet training demands and higher industry standards;

b. provides a clear, student-friendly, and tangible relationship between academic study and career goals;

c. reflects Job Corps’ focus on the high school diploma as the most appropriate minimum academic credential for most Job Corps graduates; and

d. provides opportunities for more students to begin post-secondary coursework toward specialties and advanced certifications.

4. The HCFC moves students through CPP and CTT knowledge and skill-building activities prior to formal entry into CTT, thus allowing CTT instructors to work within the same CTT period traditionally allocated and

a. spend more time teaching key Training Achievement Record (TAR) items in depth,

b. expand beyond the TAR to teach content that may reflect new demands of the marketplace or be geographically important for employment,

c. add an extra certification, and/or

d. teach an additional TAR.

5. The curriculum allows students to complete at least one secondary certification (e.g., First Aid/CPR) prior to entering their CTT program and preparing for their primary certification (e.g., Licensed Nurse Assistant).

6. The course teaches students the application of key study skills and ways of thinking (habits of mind) that will make them much more effective learners in

CTT and continued academic study.

7. The HCFC gives students an opportunity to experience a “final examination” situation before they take certification exams.

8. The curriculum includes some of the requirements of the PRH, Chapter 2, Career Preparation Planning, as well as selected portions of Chapters 3 and 6.

9. The course helps students acquire key academic skills, including preparation for constructed response writing required for the high school equivalency exams, many state high school exit exams, and most high school courses.

What are the goals of the Health Care Foundation Course?

The two primary goals of the Health Care Foundation Course are to:

1. Guarantee that every student completes the course having mastered a specific body of health care skills and knowledge; and

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 4

2. Guarantee that every student completes the course knowing how to learn.

When these goals are met, academic and CTT teachers are guaranteed that their clientele have the background knowledge and study skills to be successful.

How does the Health Care Foundation Course affect the Career Preparation

Period?

The Foundation Course incorporates and replaces part of the traditional Career

Preparation Period; see the HCFC Curriculum/PRH Requirements Crosswalk in

Chapter 3 for details. Students have a brief Introduction to Center Life and complete orientation activities during their first 1-2 weeks on center and prior to entering the

HCFC. Centers will want to consolidate the remainder of the requirements in the days between student arrival and initiation of the HCFC.

How does the Health Care Foundation Course affect academics?

The HCFC affects traditional Job Corps academics in several ways, including scheduling and initiation date, ongoing learning scheduling, cohort assignment, and integration of curriculum.

• Scheduling and Initiation Date. Students begin their academic studies no later than the first day of the HCFC. That means they will need to be TABE tested and placed into their academic option no later than 3 days prior to entering the HCFC. We highly recommend that counselors meet in small groups and then individually with students to help them make their academic choices, rather than just assigning them to a class. This makes students the

“owners” of their academic goals.

The advantages of early initiation of academics are several. First, students who start increasing achievement as early as possible have the best chance of meeting trade training entry requirements in reading and math. It’s simply the gift of extra time. Secondly, by beginning academics almost immediately, students get the clear message that academics are part of the learning at Job

Corps, not an add-on (often not welcome) that intrudes after the third or fourth week. Third, for those students with the lowest initial TABE scores who will likely be entering basic reading and/or math, the trade-integrated HCFC curriculum helps motivate them to stay in the program for the long term by making their learning more relevant.

• Cohort Structure. HCFC students will likely enter the various academic programs with other members of their cohort. For example, a 15-person cohort from a Health Care Foundation Course might divide as follows: 3 students in reading and math, 2 students in reading only, 2 students in math only, 4 students in High School (HS) diploma, 3 students in high school

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 5 equivalency (HSE) test prep, and 1 HS grad with good TABE scores in online college course. Thus the benefits of the HCFC cohort model will follow the students into the academic program.

Additionally, having cohorts of students enter into academics periodically relieves the instructor of the constant catch-up and orientation inherent in the open-entry/open-exit format. If Foundation Courses begin every 4 weeks, for example, students have 4 weeks to settle into an academics class before a new group enters the dynamic. By then, patterns of motivation, work, and behavior are well established.

Cohort entry also allows academic instructors to use a wide variety of teaching strategies beyond individual one-on-one coaching. Establishing small learning groups in math and reading enables students to learn together as they master the same material. Many of the students entering together into

HSE test prep can start studying together for the same exam; students starting a HS diploma program can begin with some of the same classes, depending on their transcripts; and so on. Indeed, we ask that you have students begin their studies in basic skills, HSE prep, and HS diploma programs with math so students are ready for the Mathematics for Health Professionals unit in the

HCFC on Days 15-17.

• Integrated Courses. Industry materials can be integrated into reading and math courses, allowing students to see the relevance of the knowledge they master in these basic skills courses. Books such as Math for Health Care

Professionals and Fundamental Mathematics for Health Careers help students make the connection between the mathematics they’re learning and the trade they’ll be training for. Similarly, reading sections from the Health Care

Foundation Course text, such as “Introduction to Health Careers” as part of the reading class, focuses student reading comprehension on industry-related material.

The Foundation Course additionally requires frequent use of basic math and reading/writing skills, including dedicated instruction specifically on communications for health professionals and medical mathematics. Students also learn the concepts of root words and affixes in the medical terminology unit.

• Academic Content. One of the most important ways that the Foundation

Course affects academics is through instruction in academic skills.

Science. The Health Care Foundation Course provides a basic overview of human biology in relation to anatomy and physiology. Topics covered include all body systems—skeletal, circulatory, muscular, urinary, endocrine, reproductive, lymphatic, nervous, digestive, respiratory, and integumentary.

Briefer treatment is accorded to genetics, aging, and disabilities.

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 6

Mathematics. Included in the Health Care Foundation Course is instruction and considerable practice in fraction-based metric conversion. The HCFC

Curriculum/Mathematics Crosswalk found in Chapter 3 provides academic teachers with math standards taught in the HCFC. The Crosswalk also shows the prerequisite knowledge and skills students will need to learn (or review) during academics and the day of the HCFC they will need those skills. Math basic skills, HSE, and HS math instructors will want to use this Crosswalk to schedule instruction in a way that ensures that their HCFC students have mastered the prerequisite knowledge and skills in math prior to the date they receive instruction in the academic standard in the Health Care Foundation

Course.

English/Language Arts. Reading, writing, and speaking are emphasized in the

Health Care Foundation Course, with logic taught as a basis for all three.

Specifically, through instruction in memo and business letter writing, students learn how to organize persuasive, chronology, and “how to” written communications. Writing exercises help prepare students for constructed response and essay requirements on high school exit exams, high school equivalency tests, and in high school courses. Listening skills, non-verbal communication, assertive communication, and observation/recording are taught as essential job-related language arts skills.

The HCFC Curriculum/English Language Arts Crosswalk found in Chapter 3 provides academic teachers with writing and communication standards in the

Health Care Foundation Course and the prerequisite knowledge and skills students will need to learn during academics, again by Foundation Course day. As with math, HSE, high school English, and basic reading/writing skills instructors will want to use this Crosswalk to schedule instruction in a way that ensures that their HCFC students have mastered the prerequisite knowledge and skills in language arts prior to the date they receive instruction in the academic standard in the Health Care Foundation Course.

How does the HCFC affect Career Technical Training?

The HCFC directly impacts the material/content taught in Career Technical Training and the depth to which content can be taught. For example, in the Health Care

Foundation Course, the following units are taught:

• First Aid/CPR (to certification level)

• Mathematics for Health Professionals

• History of Health Care

• Basic Anatomy and Physiology

• Law and Ethics for Health Professionals

• Aging

• Disabilities

• Genetics

• Medical Terminology

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 7

• Communications for Health Professionals

• Safety for Health Professionals

Some of these topics are taught in many health industry CTT programs, such as First

Aid/CPR in Nursing Assistant courses. Since this content is now taught in the HCFC, the CTT instructor will need to:

1. Compare the content and depth of coverage to determine what parts, if any, need to still be taught in CTT; and

2. Compare the level of mastery expected to determine if students will leave the

HCFC with the same, more, or less mastery of the content and adjust the CTT unit as needed.

Do the expectations of students change during the Foundation Course?

Absolutely. The Health Care Foundation Course is built on the educational strategy of “scaffolding.” When you scaffold learning, you provide generous support and extensive infrastructure for students at the beginning of a course and then gently but consistently wean them away from this hand-holding until they can master content and skills almost on their own by the end of the course.

In fact, moving students toward learning self-sufficiency is one of the primary goals of the HCFC. The objective is to provide all the support needed to transform youth without academic confidence and plagued with a vision of themselves as failed learners into confident, self-actualized, and skilled learners. The chart below shows some ways in which that transformation is built into the curriculum.

Teaching and

Learning Area From To

Instruction Less dense, slower paced More intense, faster paced

Assessment Traditional, external, teacher-driven Non-traditional, internal, student-driven

Responsibility for learning Teacher-directed and teacher driven Student-directed

Learning Strategies Teacher-dictated, limited in number Student choice, wide in number

Time Allocated for

Tasks

Longer (e.g., 4 hours prep for construction of Power Point presentation)

Shorter (e.g., 1 hour prep for similar task)

Time Management Teacher-directed Student-directed

What about classroom management?

Instructors encounter considerably fewer discipline problems in a fast-paced, engaging curriculum like the Health Care Foundation Course, but additionally, the course also has incorporated the elements of Randy Sprick’s and Jim Knight’s STOIC strategy for classroom management, specifically:

• Structuring the class for success: organizing the classroom setting for success.

This includes having a structured group seating arrangement, using highly

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 8 organized student binders, telling students the agenda for each day, providing closing/reflection time, etc.

• Teaching expectations of responsible behavior: setting and maintaining rules for starting and stopping tasks, transitions, arriving on time, responding only when called upon, etc.

• Observing and monitoring student behavior: circulating among groups while monitoring the rest of the class, observing individual student responses during games/tournaments, scanning the group frequently, etc.

• Interacting positively with students: greeting students at the door, using wait time and calling on specific students, ensuring that all students are called on, providing positive feedback, etc.

• Correcting irresponsible behavior calmly, consistently, and immediately:

discussing bullying behavior in written feedback, etc.4

Why is there a Health Care Foundation Course Exit Exam?

There are two primary reasons for the HCFC Exit Exam (HCFCEE).

First, it provides a scaffolded and sheltered opportunity for students to face, prepare for, and succeed in a major exam. Many of the career training options in Job Corps’ health care pathway require certification through written examination. Similarly, education credentials usually require passing written exams, and some are very high stakes, including the high school equivalency exam and high school exit exams required in many states before a diploma is granted. The HCFC Exit Exam helps prepare students for success in these certification tests by teaching them how to approach preparing for and taking the exam.

Second, it is the easiest method to deliver on the content goal of the Health Care

Foundation Course: to guarantee that every student completes having mastered a given body of knowledge and skills. Students who pass the HCFC Exit Exam leave with that guarantee in hand.

Students will have multiple opportunities to pass the Exit Exam. To learn more about the Exit Exam, see the extended description in the Day 27 homework assignment

(The Health Care Foundation Course Exit Exam: Overview and Assignment) in

Chapter 9: Resources and the Standards-Based Education and Training

Implementation Guide. The Exit Exam is secured and administered by the center

Test Administrator.

4 Sprick, Randy and Jim Knight (2010). Coaching Classroom Management, 2nd Ed. New Jersey:

Corwin Press, pg. 97.

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 9

What can centers do to help students prepare for success in the HCFC?

To deliver the parts of the PRH Chapter 2, distribute uniforms, and carry out traditional orientation activities, centers will most likely have students on campus for a few days before the beginning of the HCFC. During that time, there are several actions centers can take to increase student success in the HCFC.

First, hold students accountable for learning the information you provide. You already hold them accountable for their behavior from the time they arrive. Far too often, centers dutifully provide all the information required in the PRH Chapter 2 to a bored and listless audience of just-arrived students who neither take notes nor expend any energy in remembering what is said or reviewing handouts. Use external motivation like prizes or privileges to help students buckle down to learn the information you present—which they can demonstrate by taking traditional quizzes/tests, showing appropriate actions, responding verbally to round-robin questions, identifying pictures, or other means. You can also model that learning is something that takes place throughout one’s life. “That’s a good question, but I don’t know the answer so let’s research it,” is an appropriate response when you don’t have the information at hand. Remember, the HCFC is designed to be taught by non-credentialed teachers and teachers outside the subject area of anatomy and physiology.

Second, teach students to take notes using the simple graphic organizer taught in the

HCFC. The HCFC instructor or any other staff member can do this just after the staff welcome meeting. If students learn how to take notes from presenters of the PRH topics, they’ll have something to study from for your accountability measures.

Perhaps unlike their high school experience, they will also have the clear understanding that the center has high expectations for them and that instructors care about their learning. Having students use the graphic organizer for note-taking will take a bit more time initially as staff adjust their presentations to enable beginning note-takers to be successful and check to see that student notes are accurate. But the payoff will be tremendous—both for

• Center staff, who will not need to repeat the same basic information 17 times but instead can respond to questions with, “You have the information; check your notes,” and

• Students, who will be empowered to take charge of their own learning.

Third, involve students in the decision about their academic goal and assignment.

We are all aware of the factors that play into a student’s placement in academics, but it’s worth a moment to consider the value of giving the student a role in determining that placement. This can be accomplished through individual meetings between the student and his or her counselor where the counselor can review the student’s test performance in relation to the academic demands of the health care industry. Then a student can be guided toward the appropriate placement and make that decision without being “assigned.” The tremendous value of this approach is in student buy-

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 10

in. By leaving the final decision to the student and referencing the academic knowledge and skills required for success in health care, the student now “owns” the academic goal and envisions it as a part of preparation for trade success.

What is the HCFC Curriculum content?

Content Organization. The Curriculum consists of Part I and Part II. Part I contains 9 chapters, this introductory chapter being the first. Part II contains the Blank Body

Diagrams needed to make posters and several appendices (described below).

Chapter 2 is an overview of the Curriculum Map—what it is, how to read it, and how to implement it. The Curriculum Map is both a content guide and a pacing guide. It specifies the content taught each day and the general time allocated to teach the content. The Map is also useful to quickly identify when a content area is taught in the curriculum. The Curriculum Map is helpful when working with academic instructors to ensure that key content is mastered prior to instruction in the HCFC.

Chapter 3 provides three tables or “crosswalks” relative to the HCFC:

1. The HCFC Curriculum/PRH Requirements Crosswalk,

2. The HCFC Curriculum/English Language Arts Crosswalk, and

3. The HCFC Curriculum/Mathematics Crosswalk.

These Crosswalks show, for example, how HCFC content aligns with the content assessed on the TABE Reading and Mathematics tests. These Crosswalks are described in more detail in the Content Foundation section (below).

Beginning with Chapter 4 and ending with Chapter 9, there is one chapter dedicated to each 5-day block of the Health Care Foundation Course. While this is handy if centers start on Monday and there are no holidays in the 6-week period, actual scheduling may not always fall into this pattern.

The chapters provide notes for every item on the Curriculum Map (see Chapter 2), as well as in-depth explanations of some instructional strategies in the form of timed lesson plans.

Chapters 4-9 include the following sections:

• Advance Planning. This is an “at-a-glance” overview of the readings, activities, handouts, videos, and lectures required for each day. This section also includes reminders such as making arrangements to use the computer lab, inviting guests to interview or assess, or adjusting academic homework. This section may, at times, appear to be overwhelming. We are not used to seeing the preparatory acts that go into lesson delivery but are performed by good teachers almost automatically. As you become practiced in delivering the FC, you will experience that same automaticity.

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 11

• Curriculum Guide. The content for each day is broken into timed segments with information about each subject, content delivery, games, activities, and formative assessments. Each homework assignment and quiz is listed in detail. Also included are guidelines on how to use rubrics, play research-based games and activities, and lead instruction.

• Resources. Each chapter Resource section includes homework assignments, handouts, samples, graphic organizers, and rubrics. Also included are some lecture outlines, presentations, quizzes, and review assignments. These materials are your originals for use in creating student copies and preparing for the day’s lectures or presentations.

• Vocabulary. This section begins with a list of every vocabulary term covered by day along with how students should organize them using zipper pouches or metal rings. Following the list of terms are the print-ready templates—front and back—for each vocabulary term. The day each term is taught is printed on each card for ease in keeping them organized.

In addition to the chapters described above, the FBFC also includes several appendices.

• Appendix A: Teacher Instructional, Motivational, and Management Strategies contains extended notes on how to incorporate research-based instructional strategies, including specific games, into the curriculum. Note: this document is referred to simply as Appendix A throughout the curriculum.

• Appendix B: Evening Studies Map provides details on the homework assignments given out during each day of the HCFC as well as study reminders for tests, days when extra tutoring is provided, and instances when academic instructors should not give homework (there are only two such instances). This Map is especially helpful for the individual who monitors students’ evening studies activities.

• Appendix C: HCFC Estimated Start Up and Ongoing Costs provides a detailed list of the textbooks, DVDs, supplies and materials required for the Health

Care Foundation Course. The list indicates whether these are one-time, start-up expenses or ongoing expenses for each new cohort.

Content Foundations. The Health Care Foundation Course focuses on the following four areas:

• PRH items directly related to the industry (e.g., job search, interviews)

• Background knowledge for health industry occupations

• Learning techniques and study skills for success in Job Corps and beyond

• Job Corps Academic and Applied Standards for the health care industry including the “Top Ten” Standards

The first three elements have been previously discussed and introduced. The fourth element is all of Job Corps academic and applied academic standards in the health

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 12 care industry taught in the HCFC. This list of critical thinking, English/Language Arts

(ELA), mathematics and science standards is found in Chapter 1: Resources. The Top

Ten standards were identified in the process of validating the original academic and applied academic standards for Job Corps. The National Office of Job Corps, working with researchers from the Mid-continent Research for Education and

Learning (McREL), held convening activities in each industry to validate the applied academic standards that had been drafted. Job Corps instructors and other representatives from all occupations in the industry met at McREL during 2009-10 to review and adjust the draft standards. In that process, they also identified the ten academic content standards considered most essential for success in the industry.

These have come to be known as the Top Ten, and for the health care industry, they are as follows:

Health Care: Top Ten Standards

CRT 2.1 Makes decisions based on observations and knowledge of facts, principles and/or guidelines.

ELA 2.3 Explains the main ideas and significant details, as appropriate, when providing information through writing or speaking.

ELA 2.5 Records appropriate information clearly and accurately on business forms and documents.

ELA 1.4 Defines and uses vocabulary common to the industry.

ELA 3.2 Follows multi-step instructions, making adjustments and seeking clarification as required.

MTH 1.4 Adds, subtracts, multiplies, divides, and compares integers, fractions, decimals, and percentages.

MTH 2.2 Selects and uses appropriate tools when measuring.

MTH 2.5 Converts within or between measurement systems, such as metric and customary.

SCI 2.2 Analyzes the anatomy and physiology of various human organ systems.

SCI 2.3 Differentiates among the causes of disease in organisms, such as intrinsic failures of the system or infection by other organisms.

CRT = Critical Thinking | MTH = Mathematics | ELA = English Language Arts | SCI = Science

Of the Top Ten standards...

Four are a consistent learning focus throughout the HCFC:

1. ELA 2.3 – Main ideas in speaking/writing

2. ELA 1.4 – Industry/trade vocabulary

3. ELA 3.2 – Multi-step directions

4. CRT 2.1 – Decision-making

One is addressed in academics and applied in the HCFC:

5. MTH 1.4 – Arithmetic operations

Five are directly and specifically taught in the HCFC:

6. ELA 2.5 – Accurately record information

7. MTH 2.2 – Math units and tools

8. MTH 2.5 – Measurement systems conversions

9. SCI 2.2 – Anatomy and physiology

10. SCI 2.3 – Causes of disease

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 13

These standards and the health industry content are the focus of approximately 90% of the HCFC Exit Exam, as it is essential that students enter CTT with strong learning skills and background knowledge.

Content: Mathematics. Mathematics applications in the HCFC require student mastery of the basic functions of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division;

require reasonable facility with fractions and decimals (MTH 1.4); and focus specifically on the other two math standards in the Top Ten:

1. MTH 2.2 – Selects and uses appropriate tools when measuring.

2. MTH 2.5 – Converts within or between measurement systems, such as metric and customary.

In the practice of unit conversions and real-world problems, students also review and practice skills in fractions and decimals, addressing MTH 1.4.

In Mathematics for Health Professionals, students will learn the following:

• How the metric system works

• How metric measure aligns with place-value and exponents

• The meaning of metric prefixes and units

• How to convert measures within the metric system for length, weight, liquid volume, and height

• How to convert measurements for length, weight, liquid volume, and height between standard and metric systems

• How to convert measurements for temperature between customary and metric systems

• How to convert measurements for time between the standard and the 24-hour clock

To ensure success in this unit, students need to have mastered specific prerequisite skills. The HCFC Curriculum/Mathematics Crosswalk is found in Chapter 3 and provides academic teachers with the math standards taught in the HCFC.

The Crosswalk also shows the prerequisite knowledge and skills students will need to learn during academics and by what day of the Health Care Foundation Course they must have mastered those basics. Basic skills math and high school equivalency test prep instructors should use the Crosswalk to schedule instruction in a way that ensures HCFC students have mastered prerequisite knowledge and skills prior to the date needed in the Health Care Foundation Course. High school diploma students should start their math course (if any) immediately so they can brush up on required skills.

Content: English/Language Arts. The Health Care Foundation Course provides specific instruction in:

• Logic for persuasive essays/memos

• Writing the persuasive essay/memo

• Writing the chronology essay/memo

• Writing instructions/instructional memo

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 14

• Identifying the main idea in written and oral presentations

• Speaking

• Listening

As with math, the HCFC Curriculum/English Language Arts Crosswalk is found in

Chapter 3 and provides academic teachers with ELA standards taught in the HCFC.

Basic skills English and high school equivalency test prep instructors should use the

Crosswalk to schedule instruction in a way that ensures HCFC students have mastered prerequisite knowledge and skills prior to the date needed in the HCFC.

High school diploma students should start their English course (if any) as soon as possible to multiply the advantage of ELA instruction in the HCFC.

What materials are required for the HCFC?

Textbooks and General Materials. While none of the texts reviewed fully met every criterion (i.e., background knowledge, learning strategies, Top Ten standards), Health Science Fundamentals: Exploring Career Pathways5 came the closest and is used as the primary text for the majority of topics beginning on Day 5. Students can use the 2009 edition or the 2011 “Revised First Edition.” You will not need the accompanying Student Activity Guide. The HCFC instructor will, however, need the

Teacher’s Wraparound Edition. References regarding lesson plan development in the text refer to this teacher’s edition.

A second text, Law and Ethics for the Health Professions6, is used beginning on Day

23. For Day 1, you will also need 6 copies of Mindset: The New Psychology of

Success.7 On Day 17, you will also need 6 copies of The Magic School Bus Has a Heart.

Three videos are used, The Marshmallow Test8 and How SMART Can We Get9 on Day

1 and the optional replay of Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story10 on Day 30. In addition, an extensive array of materials in the Resource sections of each chapter were adapted from the public domain or created by the authors.

5 Badasch, Shirley A. and Chesebro, Doreen S. (2011). Health Science Fundamentals: Exploring

Career Pathways. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Note: Students can use the 2009 edition or the 2011 “Revised First Edition.” You will not need the accompanying Student Activity Guide. The teacher will need the Teacher’s Wraparound Edition. References in the text regarding lesson plan development refer to this teacher’s edition.

6 Judson, Karen and Harrison, Carleen. (2013). Law and Ethics for the Health Professions, 6e. NY, NY:

McGraw-Hill.

7 Dweck, Carol. S. (2008) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. NY, NY: Ballantine Books.

8 Igniter Media (2009). The Marshmallow Video. http://www.ignitermedia.com/products/1350-the-marshmallow-test.

9 PBS NOVA scienceNOW (2012). How Smart Can We Get? WGBH Educational Foundation.

10 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009). Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 15

The estimated cost of these textbooks, DVDs, tools, supplies, and materials for the course is found in Appendix C: HCFC Estimated Start Up and Ongoing Costs. It is also included in the Standards-Based Education and Training Implementation Guide.

Additionally, you’ll need a significant amount of half-sheet scratch paper which is used frequently, so you may become the paper recycling destination for the center!

Anatomy and Physiology “Blank Body” Posters. To play the Blank Body Game used throughout the course, you will need to make at least one chart-size poster (24 x 36) of each of the 21 diagrams referenced in the text. One set for the classroom is required and you may also want to print two sets for each of the dorms and one set for the hallway or cafeteria. You can change these around as you move through the curriculum so students have access to the body system you are currently covering or reviewing.

The Blank Body Diagrams have no writing other than a title at the top, such as

“Cavities of the Body.” There are lines going to various sections of the drawing, like the line going to the cranial cavity anterior on p. 327 of Health Science Fundamentals.

This gives you a blank drawing with lines you can point to for students to respond with an answer to your questions, such as Name? or Function? in the Blank Body

Game covered in Appendix A.

Have a print shop create the posters for you from the masters provided in Part II—

Blank Body Diagrams. You should consider having the posters laminated to increase their useful lifetime. The masters include graphic representations of the following:

1. The Cell

2. Types of Body Tissues

3. The Human Body

4. Directions of the Human Body

5. Cavities of the Body

6. The Human Skeleton

7. Fractures

8. Muscular System

9. Lymphatic System

10. Cross Section of the Heart

11. Blood Vessels and Capillary Bed of the Body

12. Digestive System

13. Respiratory System

14. Urinary System

15. Glandular System

16. Nervous System

17. The Eye

18. The Ear

19. Female Reproductive System

20. Male Reproductive System

21. Cross Section of the Skin

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 16

Trade Vocabulary Cards. There are hundreds of trade vocabulary terms in this course, and each student will need a card for each term. Clearly, this has the potential for a logistical nightmare if you go in without a plan! There are three ways to approach the task.

1. Have all the cards for a full cohort of students in the HCFC (or even several cohorts) printed in advance. Band each group of cards in a maximum cohort number (e.g., 20 “cell” cards, 20 “gastro” cards), sort the banded groups into days (e.g., keep the eight banded groups of terms used on Day 6 together), and then put the banded group(s) of cards in a box labeled by day (e.g., Day

6, Day 11).

2. Print the cards a week in advance (e.g., print the cards for Week 1 before the cohort begins; at the end of Week 1, print the cards for Week 2; etc.).

3. Print up the cards the day before they are needed (e.g., on Day 5, print 20 copies of each of the eight cards needed on Day 6).

Instructors tend to be partial to one method over the others, so choose the approach that seems most logical to you. Just be sure the cards are printed, cut, and organized for distribution before they are needed. Cards are found in the Vocabulary section of each chapter and are organized by day. Each chapter includes templates for the front and back of the cards that you can have printed according to the approach you have chosen (above).

In addition to the templates for printing the term cards, each Vocabulary section includes a list of the terms covered by day and explains how students should organize their cards according to the HCFC Exit Exam Sections (I-IV). Keeping the cards sorted by section—whether students use zipper pouches or metal rings—will make studying for the Exit Exam much easier!

You might wish to print a copy of the flashcards for yourself to use during games.

How is assessment handled in the HCFC?

Much of the fundamental background knowledge for success in health occupations simply needs to be memorized to the point of mastery. Given this reality, frequent assessment and immediate feedback are essential to success.

Frequent assessment and immediate feedback is one of the nine categories of highly successful strategies identified by Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock in Classroom

Instruction That Works.11 It is described here briefly and detailed in Appendix A.

11 Marzano, Robert J., Pickering, Debra J., and Pollock, Jane E. (2004) Classroom Instruction that

Works: Research-based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 17

The purposes of frequent assessment and immediate feedback are to:

• Catch misunderstandings early on and provide the correct information right away,

• Inform the instructor about content areas that need more explanation or reinforcement, and

• Identify students who need outside tutoring.

Researchers have identified homework and practice as among the most effective strategies to increase learning, but practice based on misconceptions or lack of correct fundamental skills and knowledge is very difficult to overcome later. Anyone who has ever practiced a skill incorrectly at the novice level (like an error in a golf swing) and then had to relearn the correct method later can attest to this difficulty!

This is very true for youth who have not had a lot of academic success, so, it’s important to constantly assess for understanding, in both formal and informal ways.

The assessments in the HCFC Curriculum prior to the Exit Exam are designed to:

• Provide immediate feedback for student and teacher about the extent of mastery of new material and where re-teaching or other approaches may be needed;

• Provide information for student and teacher on the retention of old material and where “brush-ups” may be needed; and

• Accustom students to constant accountability for their learning, both past and current.

Spiraling is used throughout the course as a mechanism to ensure that previously mastered material, including vocabulary, is reviewed, updated, reinforced, and ready to use in application. For these reasons, you will see an almost constant reassessment of previous learning integrated in the delivery and assessment of new knowledge and skills.

Assessment in the HCFC is both formal and informal. Formal assessments are in the quizzes and the HCFC Exit Exam. Informal assessments are through many different activities, ranging from Silent Scratch to Tournaments and Games. There are many versions of Tournaments and Games used as aids to learning, as reinforcement of prior content, and as formative assessments. Instructors must monitor progress closely to ensure that all students master the material and that those who need extra help are assigned a tutor. Games also provide instructors with a clear snapshot of how well the whole class is grasping a new concept, keeping up with medical industry terms, etc.

This type of assessment also moves students from external demands/rewards to internal motivation and intrinsic rewards, as you record grades (external judgments) less frequently and instead award points for a Work Team that is on task and working well together.

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 18

Why is the course faster-paced than typical high school classes?

Though the pacing will seem rapid to some students, they need to acclimate to intensive instruction so they are working smarter to accomplish their goals before they begin CTT. They may “suffer” for a few weeks as they come up to speed in matching their performance with your expectations. However, it’s essential that this is the direction of change. If you slow the pace to their current comfort level, the learning itself will be laboriously slow. This is true in the HCFC as well as academics and CTT. Slowing the pace and intensity has multiple negative results, including the following:

• Many topics may never be covered, given students’ relatively short average time in Job Corps.

• Other topics may be skimmed over, the infamous “mile wide and inch deep” curriculum coverage, not providing enough information, practice, or depth to adequately prepare students for certification exams or high productivity on the job.

• Students may feel that they are not learning much in Job Corps, leading to higher attrition rates, especially among achievement-oriented students.

• Slow pacing may lead to classroom management problems.

• Students may graduate yet be unable to maintain the fast pace of ongoing learning expected in the health care industry, where new equipment, new procedures, and new scientific understandings dictate constant learning and updating of skills.

How is homework handled in the HCFC?

The pattern for after-hours learning (homework) is

• Two days of each week (e.g., Monday and Wednesday) are reserved for academic homework assigned by academic instructor(s) (with the exception of individual or partner HCFC vocabulary review; Day 16, when many students will wish to take advantage of math tutoring; and Day 28, when students are reviewing for the Exit Exam).

• The two alternate days (e.g., Tuesday and Thursday) are designated for HCFC

Work Team assignments.

Of course, not all weeks will align with the five days in each chapter (e.g., Day 6 may not be a Monday) given holidays and breaks, so you will need to work with the academic department to review and adjust which days will be held for academic homework and which for HCFC homework. Because HCFC homework is directly tied to activities for the day of the assignment and the day after, it is less flexible than academic homework. It is also advisable, if possible, for the computer lab to remain open every afternoon and evening.

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 19

You will need to share the HCFC Evening Studies Map (Appendix B) with the individual(s) proctoring Evening Studies. The map helps ensure that Evening Studies staff knows the individual and group work assignment(s) for each day.

What is the specific content of each chapter of the curriculum?

The content of each chapter is briefly outlined below.

Chapter 4: Days 1-5 (3.5 hours/day):

1. PRH required topics related to identification of personal attributes and job search skills, including

• Part 1:

o Identifying personal attributes o Clarifying employer expectations o Finding job leads o Making phone inquiries

• Part 2:

o Applications o Résumé o Cover letter

• Part 3 o Job survival o Workers’ rights and responsibilities o Apprenticeships

2. Study skills, including

• Note-taking

• Notebook organization

• Work Teams

• Vocabulary mastery, and others

3. History of health care

Chapter 5: Days 6-10 (3.5 hours/day):

1. Anatomy and physiology overview, including

• Parts of anatomical systems (DNA, cell, tissue, organ, system)

• Body cavities and major organ placement

• Body alignment

2. CPR/First Aid—ending in certification

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 20

3. Communications for health professionals, including

• Logical thinking and the persuasive memo

• Transitions and English conventions in health industry communication

• Logical thinking and persuasive speaking

• Memos and presentations giving directions

• Logical thinking and similarities/differences memo and presentation

• Chronological order: memo and oral presentation

• Components of effective communication with customers and patients

• Listening skills

• Assertive communication

• Non-verbal communication

• Observation and recording

Chapter 6: Days 11-15 (3.5 hours/day):

1. Communications continued

2. Mathematics for health professionals, with an emphasis on metric system conversions for

• Length

• Liquid measurement

• Weight

• Temperature

• Conversions between standard time and the 24-hour clock

3. Anatomy and physiology— skeletal, muscular, and lymphatic systems:

• Purpose

• Constituent parts and functions

• Disorders

Chapter 7: Days 16-20 (3.5 hours/day):

1. Mathematics continued

2. Medical terminology: An introduction to medical terminology, including the most commonly used

• Roots

• Combining vowels

3. Anatomy and physiology—lymphatic (continued), circulatory, digestive, and respiratory systems

• Purpose

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 21

Chapter 8: Days 21-25 (3.5 hours/day):

1. Law and ethics for medical professionals

• Law, ethics, and moral values

• Informed consent, HIPAA, and malpractice prevention

• Legal and ethical issues facing society

2. Safety for health professionals

• OSHA and MSDS

• Injury/hazard prevention

• Fire extinguishers

3. Anatomy and physiology—respiratory (continued), urinary, endocrine, nervous, and reproductive systems

• Purpose

Chapter 9: Days 26-30 (3.5 hours/day):

1. Aging

• Physical change effects on body systems

• Mental change effects on body systems

• Lifestyle changes

2. Disabilities

• Types of disabilities

• Health and lifestyle issues

3. Anatomy and physiology—integumentary system and genetics