017 All About Skills – Field Studies

In this episode, Charlie Jett discusses Field Studies in depth. Field Studies were highlighted by the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report, “Teaching the SCANS Competencies” as an effective means of teaching the Critical skills. Field Studies are conducted by a team of students and focus on issues identified by local area businesses or community service organizations. The students write a confirmation letter, develop a work plan, develop an interview guide, collect data (primarily through interviews), verify the information for truth and accuracy, and conduct their analysis to develop findings, conclusions and recommendations. Assessment is authentic. Students down to the middle school level are capable of conducting Field Studies.