College and Career Lab in Middle School

College and Career Lab in Middle School

Karen Chandler, Jessica Cox, and Natasha Fails
ETEC 588- Issues in Educational Technology & Technological Change
Spring 2016-Capstone Project
Texas A&M University-Commerce

Introduction
More and more students are entering college without the necessary preparation for
success in an ever-changing world. National data continues to show that graduating seniors do

College and Career Lab in Middle School

not have adequate college and career readiness skills. To give students the best advantage for
their future success, early exposure is essential. College and career readiness standards have
already been integrated into the curriculum of many schools. These standards go beyond basic
academic knowledge to aiding in the development of skills desired by employers such as the
ability to collaborate, analyze, synthesize, and meet digital and technological demands of the
workforce.
A college and career lab will enable students starting in middle school to be aware of the
options available to them after high school; teach them to identify and set strategic goals; and
provide a plan of action to reach those goals. The college and career lab will be located in the
library. This will allow the media specialist/librarian and librarian aid to monitor students using
the lab.
Specified modules using Google Classroom will be available to students to gather
information on college and career interests such as: where to attend school, degree plans offered,
how to get an apprenticeship, and how and where to obtain certifications. A reservation system
will be created to allow students to schedule their lab use either during free time, lunch, or a
teacher may reserve the lab for the entire classroom.

Communication Channels
In order to achieve maximum support for the innovation, communication channels would include
the school personnel such as the principal, assistant principal, counselor, media
specialist/librarian, librarian assistant, teachers, district and campus technology specialists, and
superintendent; as well as parents and community partners. These interpersonal channels will

College and Career Lab in Middle School

help to build a network of individuals that share the same beliefs, values, and attitudes towards
improving the college and career readiness skills within the student population. Face-to-face
meetings can be arranged between school personnel to share the vision of the college and career
lab and develop the modules that will be used by the students in the lab. Once the innovation is
adopted, then meetings with community partners can be scheduled. These community partners
may want to provide literature or brochures highlighting colleges and/or careers, or provide a list
of free internet resources students can access for information on colleges and careers.

Education/Social System
The K-12 educational system has and will continue to undergo significant change due to
the increasing development and evolution of technology and technological resources. There is
an increasing need to ensure that college and career readiness programs are available to students
as early as possible. According the National Center For Educational Statistics, about 3.3 million
students are expected to graduate from high school in 201516, including 3.0 million students
from public high schools and about 0.3 million students from private high schools. ("Fast
Facts." Fast Facts. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.,
Apr. 2015. Web. 03 May 2016.) Another source states that Only one in four high school seniors,
at best, are college-ready (ACT, 2010). About one-third of college students take at least one
remedial class in college (Wirt et al., 2004).
Several school districts have begun to incorporate STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math) curriculum or programs to help provide exposure for students. Based on
the above findings the diffusion of a college and career lab is essential in aiding in the acquiring
of skills that are necessary for the global economy:
Critical thinking and problem solving

College and Career Lab in Middle School

Communication
Collaboration
Creativity and innovation
Information, media and technology skills
Life and career skills

Need
The need for a college and career lab beginning in middle school is easily identified. The
following quote emphasizes it even further: In a 1968 study of daily life in classrooms, Philip
W. Jackson wrote that students spend as much as 50 percent of their time waiting for something
to happen. They wait for teachers to pass out papers. They wait for slower students to get their
questions answered. They wait for the lunch bell to ring. Alas, forty-five years after Jackson
published his book, millions of American students are still waiting. Theyre waiting for all of the
old reasons, and one relatively new one: theyre waiting for our education system to catch up
with their lives. - Monica R. Martinez
Many employers continue to complain that employee candidate lack reasoning, logic,
collaboration, communication, and thinking skills.

Research and Development

According to Allensworth (2014), students who dont do well in high school or drop out
start showing signs in middle school. Strategies aimed at improving the student's GPA in middle
school has a high payoff for high school and college graduation. With the college and career lab
the students will learn how to figure out their GPA and how improving it in middle school will
help them for high school. The more important a degree is becoming to making a living, the
more important college-readiness and postsecondary success is for middle school students.
Middle school is an important time to start planning for life after high school.

College and Career Lab in Middle School

Cunningham (2007) found that schools play a huge role in preparing students for
postsecondary education by providing college and career planning information and helping the
students with early education planning. The U.S. Department of Education (2010) recommend
that students begin planning for college as early as sixth grade. The study that was conducted
found that many middle and early high school students are failing to take a college preparatory
curriculum that is designed to help them develop the skills necessary for college and for their
intended careers (Cunningham, 2007).
Students need the opportunity to develop aspirations, plans, and prepare for high school,
college, and their career (Hill, 2015). In a research that was conducted, Hill (2015) found out
that As youth understand their own potential through their engagement in school, they develop
goals, which, in turn, motivate post high school educational pursuits. Aspirations may help youth
internalize their engagement and engagement informs future goals so that they are reciprocal and
self-perpetuating.

Diffusion and Adoption

Where: In a classroom that is centrally located in a middle school. Somewhere easy to get to for
all students.
Who: All middle school students would be exposed to this lab. This plan is to encourage students
to learn more about college and the career that interest them. A teacher would be in charge of
overseeing the lab and guiding the students.
When: This lab will operate before and after school as well as allow other teachers to sign their
classes up to go to the lab.

College and Career Lab in Middle School

Awareness and Interests: To get students aware and interested in going to the lab there will be
incentives. First, at the beginning of the year assembly the principal will talk about the college
and career lab and inform the students what it is there for and when it is opened. Also, it will be
set up with a coffee shop feel. It will have computers, laptops, couches and will be decorated
with college items. To get the students to go to the lab there will be points that the students can
earn. They can earn these points by either reading/researching about a college and career and
taking a test over it. They will also be able to get points for taking pre college test such as the
PSAT. In addition, students can learn vocabulary words such as FASFA, Pell Grant, students
loans, etc.., and when the students pass that test they can also get points. At the end of the year
the students who have 200 points or more will be taken on a field trip.
Evaluation: There will be an ongoing evaluation and the success rate of effectiveness of the lab.
Within six months, teachers and administrators will meet and go over the things that are working
and things that need to be changed. The final phase involves implementing this lab. This could
take as little as one school year however it may take many years to fully implement this lab at the
successful level of effectiveness.

Potential Advantages
College planning is important for all families, regardless of if they have people in their
family that went to college or not. Research has shown the importance of instilling a college
going culture starting in middle school. Middle school students know that they should do well in
school, study hard, and get good grades but they dont know what skills they need to be ready for

College and Career Lab in Middle School

life after high school. They need to know more than just their core subjects and standardized
tests. They need to be ready for the future. The potential advantages of a career/college lab in
middle school is endless. Adding a Career/College lab at a middle school will give students the a
chance to explore the different careers and colleges that are available to them. Schools do not
have the time to teach students about college, careers, or ways to fill out scholarships. With this
lab, students will be able to learn these necessary skills and be better prepared to take the classes
in highschool that they will need for the career of their choice. They will get a first-hand look at
what is required to get into the college of their choice so they will be able to decide if they are
able to take advanced or dual classes in highschool.

Potential Negative Effects

With the Career/College lab available at the student's convenience the students might not
make good use of the lab. Some students would not go into the lab unless forced by a teacher.
Also, the school district would have to pay someone to come into the lab or make teachers stay
late and come early to run the lab. Teachers can bring their class to the lab but when would they
have time in addition to the curriculum that they already have to work with?

Innovation Design Process

Agenda-setting
Students are graduating high school ill-prepared to move on to the next chapter. They
should be graduating with the skills needed to begin college or a career. The earlier we start
teaching these students how to research things they are interested in doing after high school, the
more time they have to make decisions about whats right for them and the more time they have
to take specialized courses that will help lead them to the career theyre after. And in some cases,

College and Career Lab in Middle School

students can graduate with an associate's degree or certain certifications that will lead directly to
the career field.
Matching
To ensure that all students will have access to the college and career lab 30 computers
will be available in the lab. The librarian and library aid will act as the lab moderators, and as the
lab will be mostly hands on, it will not take away from the duties that these two people already
have.
Redefining/Restructuring
Once the lab is set up, it will be expected of teachers to take their classes, the school
leaders may decide how frequently this should happen. Students will also be encouraged to take
advantage of the lab and may earn extra credit, or possible hours that will count toward awards,
or the school may set up an award system for those that use it on their own. I do expect there to
be minor changes in the beginning, but Tyre and Orlikowski (1994) found that only a brief
window of opportunity existed in an organization during which an innovation could be
modified (Rogers 2003 pg 424) . After which, the innovation has become part of the system and
much more difficult to change.
Clarifying
As more teachers become aware of the advantages of the college and career lab, it is my
hope that more teachers would use it. It will require some upfront awareness, teacher training on
the ins and outs of the lab and how to guide students through the modules, and also how to
integrate it into each subject.
Routinizing

College and Career Lab in Middle School

Once the training and expectations have been set forth, teachers and students would know
the lab as just another part of the school. It would not seem overwhelming, even at first, if the
right training and awareness were in place and the lab would stay busy.

Role of the Change Agent

Strategy for diffusion
As the change agents, we believe that awareness is key. If the adopters have heard about
what will eventually be diffused and had time to process what is going to happen, they are more
likely to jump on board sooner rather than later, and the more early adopters we have, the more
smoothly the innovation will be diffused and routinized.
Step 1: Raise awareness of the computer lab including all aspects; what is it?, what is its
purpose?, why do I have to use it?
Step 2: Begin to secure literature from corporations and colleges to fill the lab with
reading material and informational pamphlets
Step 3: Create the Google Classroom for the lab so that teachers may familiarize
themselves with it
Step 4: Seek out those who seem positive and interested in the lab and transform them
into the innovators and begin a trial run
Step 5: Seek out student who seem interested in piloting a program such as this and let
them begin using the lab and also offer feedback
Step 6: Provide a training course on how to use the lab and guide students through the
modules

College and Career Lab in Middle School

Step 7: Offer individual and/or group training to each subject area to provide support for
the integration process into each subject (this can be regimented training or brainstorming as a
group)
Step 8: Provide materials and resources needed to facilitate the lab
Identification and utilization of opinion leaders/champions
Adoption of a new idea is caused by human interaction and networking. Through the
awareness process of this diffusion, the change agents will, undoubtedly, receive feedback. While
this feedback may be positive and negative, the faculty and staff providing the positive feedback
should be utilized by the change agents as the early adopters. It may start out as a brief
interaction with a change agent, but can lead to initiating the diffusion process.
Adopter category complexities and how to address them
While there will assuredly be those who do not want to change their classroom flow in
order to incorporate a college and career lab, that seemingly does not not mesh with their subject
area; the change agents, innovators, and early adopters will have an inspiring task ahead of them.
It will be their job to demonstrate how well the lab is working, how well the students like the lab,
how successful the students are in the lab, and how effective and beneficial the lab is. I think the
bottom line is up to the students. If the students are enjoying the lab and find it useful and
valuable, all else should fall into place. What teacher doesnt like to have a classroom full of
engaged students who are actually finding value in what they are learning? If the lab is
successful and the success is well known around the school, the majority adopters and laggards
would hopefully jump on board sooner rather than later. The goal is to have the lab routinized in
a matter of a couple of months after its trial run and has been introduced to the public.

Possible Consequences of Adoption

College and Career Lab in Middle School

The consequences of this innovation are profuse. The college and career lab is to allow
middle school students the opportunity to learn about the college and career that the student is
looking into. This gives them a huge advantage about knowing what GPA is required to get into
those schools before they even take a high school class. All students know they need good grades
but students at this middle school will know why they need those grades and see how it will
count and make a difference in their lives. According to Grove (2016), students who are exposed
to college at middle school can put students on a successful path to a college education. This lab
will provide students with a template to help them map out their high school careers, it will help
students understand the basic concepts regarding college and how they can pay for college. It
will show the students how they can start an eportfolio that will help them get into college and
help the students assess their interests, strengths, and academic habits to help them pick what
area of the workforce that the students want to go to as well as what they need to work on. It will
also help students to see college admission as the goal after high school.

References

College and Career Lab in Middle School

Allensworth, E. M., Gwynne, J. A., Moore, P., de La Torre, M., & University of Chicago
Consortium on Chicago School, R. (2014). 5 Key Findings for Middle Grades from
"Looking Forward to High School and College". University Of Chicago Consortium On
Chicago School Research,
Cunningham, A. F., Erisman, W., Looney, S. M., & Institute for Higher Education, P. (2007).
From Aspirations to Action: The Role of Middle School Parents in Making the Dream of
College a Reality. Institute For Higher Education Policy,
Grove, A. (2016). 7 Ways Middle Schoolers Can Prepare for College. Retrieved May 10, 2016,
from http://collegeapps.about.com/od/admissionstimeline/tp/college-prep-junior-high.htm
Hill, N. E., & Ming-Te, W. (2015). From Middle School to College: Developing Aspirations,
Promoting Engagement, and Indirect Pathways From Parenting to Post High School
Enrollment. Developmental Psychology, 51(2), 224-235 12p.
Rogers, E. (2003). Chapter 1, 10: Innovation in organizations. Diffusion of innovations. 5th ed.
New York: Free Press
Wimberly, G. L., & Noeth, R. J. (2005). College Readiness Begins in Middle School. ACT
Policy Report. American College Testing ACT Inc,
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). Teachers' Use of
Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools: 2009 (NCES 2010-040).