• WBL (Work-Based Learning)

    EXPERIENCE A CAREER FIELD

    What is Career Preparation (Career Prep), Practicum and Project-based Research (PBR)?

    Students are encouraged to participate in career development opportunities through CTE courses such as Career Preparation, Practicums, and Project-based Research that combines classroom academics with industry or community skill development to prepare students for their post-secondary goals. These courses provide advanced learning experiences specific to the CTE program of study and offer paid or unpaid business or community participation for students to strengthen their employability skills.

    • Career Preparation (Career Prep) is a 19 TAC Chapter 127 course that combines classroom instruction with paid or unpaid field-based work experience.
    • Practicum is a 19 TAC Chapter 130 course that appears in most career clusters. A practicum course is designed to give students supervised practical application of previously studied knowledge and skills. Practicum experiences occur in a paid or unpaid arrangement and in a variety of instructional settings, which may include the classroom/laboratory on campus.
    • Project-based Research (PBR) is a 19 TAC Chapter 127 course that provides students learning experiences directly related to a specific career interest within the program of study. Students identify a project and pair with an industry mentor or interdisciplinary team to complete research and present their project to an industry panel at the end of the course. Students enrolled in PBR must complete a project plan within 15 days of enrollment.The Project-Based Research course provides a combination of classroom instruction and supervised research equivalent to an average of five class periods per week. The student and teacher must meet for instruction at least once each week for the purpose of project planning, reporting, evaluation, supervision, and coordination. The student must use the remaining class time to conduct research, work with the project mentor or interdisciplinary team, analyze and interpret project data, compile evaluation results, and compose a project presentation.

     

    2023-2024 Career Preparation and Practicum Guidelines

    The Texas Education Agency requires that all students enrolled in a Career Preparation or Practicum course must have a job within 15 days of the first day of school. For the 2023-2024 school year, students must have a job no later than Monday, September 18, 2023 and student training plans are due to the HISD Career Readiness department no later than Tuesday, September 26, 2023.

    1. Career Preparation is for paid and unpaid work-based learning experiences. Students must have a paying off-campus position for the entirety of the school year.
    2. Practicum courses can be for paid or unpaid work-based learning experiences which take place on the campus or off-site.
    3. The teacher must visit each training site for students in six times a year. The forms must be completed and signed by the last day of each six (6) weeks. Forms are due in the Career Readiness department within five (5) school days of the end of each six (6) weeks.  Access the 6-Weeks Visitation Log
    4. Career Preparation and Practicum courses must span the entire school year; students may not be enrolled at mid-semester unless they transfer from a school where they were enrolled in the same course. It is a campus decision to withdraw a student at mid-semester because they need to be enrolled in other courses.

    For an overview of the policies and procedures teachers need to be aware of with regard to work-based learning, view the Work Based Learning Checklist

    Submitting Training Plans

    Before preparing the training plans, please review the guidelines below.

    YOU ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THE ORIGINAL SET OF ALL REQUIRED PAPERWORK TO DISTRICT CTE DEPARTMENT.

    Before submitting, copies should be made and kept at the Campus for (1) Campus Files (2) Student/Parent/Guardian (3) Workplace

    • Paid or Unpaid Training Plan (front and back):

    Paid Training Plan

    Unpaid Training Plan

    Site Visits By Teachers

    A teacher assigned to teach courses involving work-based learning experiences, both paid and unpaid, must visit each student training site at least six times each school year. The teacher must be provided time within his or her schedule to visit the training sites. The training site visits must not be conducted during the teacher’s planning and preparation period.TEC, §21.404  Regardless of the length of a grading period, at least one training site visit must be conducted during each grading period to earn contact hours for that reporting period.

    Additional documentation:

    If a student changes training stations, the Change of Training Station document must be submitted to the Career Readiness Department within 5 days of the date of change. Please complete the form and submit it attached to the new training plan. Access Change of Training Station form

    Important Reminders:

        • If a student is 18 and living at home, a parent/guardian signature is required.
        • If you are teaching a Practicum, remember that you must do a training plan for each student prior to the beginning of their internship.
        • The CTE specialist assigned to your campus should schedule a campus visit on or before the submission date for the training plans. You can either give your campus training plans to your CTE specialist, bring them to the Career Readiness department (HMW-2NE), or send them through the HISD mail service (if you choose this method keep in mind the amount of time that it will take to arrive at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center).

    **IMPORTANT UPDATE: (COVID-19)**

        • Signed training plans may be submitted via email to the CTE Manager. You may have multiple signatures on different forms from parent, student, teacher and site supervisor. 
        • The (6) required site visits may be via virtual meeting with site supervisor. It cannot be via phone or email.