Step 2: Progress- and Success-focused Program Design
Tools and Resources For Program Design
General Curriculum Development
- Open Source Curriculum. While program planners can develop customized curriculum for a learning initiative, developing something from the ground up may not be necessary. A great deal of curriculum and textbooks have been made available online and for free. The movement to share course ware was initiated by MIT, whose OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/) shares materials for more than 1,250 MIT courses. Other open source curriculum can be found at Utah State University (http://ocw.usu.edu/), Tufts University (http://ocw.tufts.edu/), and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (http://ocw.jhsph.edu/). For a list of open course ware projects in other countries see http://ocw.tufts.edu/OtherOCW.
Online Learning Programs
- Effective Practices for Learning Effectiveness in Online Programs http://www.sloan-c.org/effective/browse.asp. This website provides information on a wide range of practices related to the development of online learning programs.
Bridge Programs
- Henle, T., D. Jenkins and W. Smith. (2005.) Bridges to careers for low-skilled adults. A program development guide. Women Employed with Chicago Jobs Council and UIC Great Cities Institute. http://www.womenemployed.org/docs/BridgeGuideFinal.pdf
Career Ladder Programs
- Prince, H. and J. Mills. (2003, October). Career Ladders: A Guidebook for Workforce Intermediaries. Prepared for Workforce Innovation Networks – WINs. Jobs for the Future. This guide gives some background information on career ladder programs, provides a step-by-step guide to planning and implementation, and describes numerous examples of different programs nationwide. Also available is a CD-ROM with numerous resources and tools for the practitioner. Many of the resources on the CD-ROM are also available on the Internet.
- Merzon, F. and B. P. Cohen. (2004.) The Career Pathways Collaboration Toolkit. CAEL. This toolkit was designed to help lead organizations connect higher education, local employers, and the local workforce development system around the creation of career pathways in selected industries. It contains guidance and tools on topics such as how to form an advisory committee, how to research needs and resources, and how to measure progress. Several examples of career pathways in industries such as healthcare, high tech, and manufacturing are included.
- Jenkins, D. (2003, October.) Career Pathway Primer and Planning Guide. University of Illinois at Chicago. Prepared for an Oct. 2003 conference on career pathways sponsored by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and KnowledgeWorks Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/gci/about/bios/documents/CareerPathwayPrimerPlanningGuide%20revised.pdf on May 24, 2006 . This guide provides several sample career pathways models as well as suggested steps in the planning and implementation of career pathways programs.
- Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. (2004). How Career Lattices Help Solve Nursing and Other Workforce Shortages in Healthcare. http://www.cael.org/healthcare.htm This guidebook’s purpose is to assist healthcare employers, industry alliances, Workforce Investment Boards, One-Stop Career Centers, and higher education providers in developing healthcare career lattices. The guidebook introduces the key components that comprise the model, shares important lessons from CAEL’s experiences, and outlines steps for replication.
Apprenticeship
- USDOL Office of Apprenticeship Training www.doleta.gov/OA/setprgm.cfm
- Office of Apprenticeship Training Employer and Labor Services (2006, February, a)
Strengthening our nation’s workforce with demand-driven solutions. Registered apprenticeship trends in six industries. U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. - Office of Apprenticeship Training Employer and Labor Services (2006, February, b)
Strengthening our nation’s workforce with demand-driven solutions. Registered apprenticeship trends in healthcare. U.S. Department of Labor. Employment and Training Administration. - Office of Apprenticeship Training Employer and Labor Services (2006, February, c)
Strengthening our nation’s workforce with demand-driven solutions. Registered apprenticeship trends in information technology. U.S. Department of Labor. Employment and Training Administration. - Office of Apprenticeship Training Employer and Labor Services (2006, February, d)
Strengthening our nation’s workforce with demand-driven solutions. Registered apprenticeship trends in advanced manufacturing. U.S. Department of Labor. Employment and Training Administration.
Transitional Jobs
- National Transitional Jobs Network. This is a website on transitional jobs that is product of the National Transitional Jobs Network (also known as the Network and the NTJN), a coalition of more than 100 Transitional Jobs programs, policy organizations, and sponsoring organizations. The Network fosters economic opportunity for America's workers by developing new Transitional Jobs programs, building the capacity of existing Transitional Jobs programs, and promoting a national dialogue on job advancement strategies. Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights is the host agency for the Network.