CCL Continuum and Examples
You don't have to dive into the deep end right away! There are easy ways to start incorporating Career-Connected Learning (CCL) into your classroom. Once you get started, you'll want to keep wading in deeper until you are fully immersed!
Dip Your Toe — Make a low‑lift career connection.
CCL Strategies:
- Guest Speakers
- Company Tours & Job Shadowing
- Highlight Career Connections using Xello or other Academic & Career Planning (ACP) software
Pro Tips:
- Xello allows you to filter careers by school subject area.
- Connect with your Career and Technical Education teachers to help find a guest speaker.
Knee Deep — Career‑focused lessons or assessments.
CCL Strategies:
- Create an entire lesson that combines the Wisconsin Career Readiness Standards with your content area standards.
- Design formative or summative assessments that mirror real world, career-focused application of learning.
Examples:
- We've been invaded! (Life Science)- Ryan Thompson & Robert Kuprenas, Norris School District
Pro Tip-Brainstorm lesson ideas with an artificial intelligence application using a prompt such as:
- Create a simple one-day lesson plan that blends the Wisconsin Career Readiness Standards with Wisconsin's Standards for "insert content area" and name of class.
- Identify the specific Wisconsin Career Readiness and "insert content area" standards that are used in the lesson.
Up to Your Shoulders — Design a CCL project or unit.
CCL Strategies:
- Design a curricular unit that connects classroom content to a real world, career-based examples.
- Using a project-based learning approach focused on a real world, career-based problem or scenario.
Examples:
- Life Behind the Scenes of Investigating Cause of Death in Humans (Biology and Forensic Science) - Larry Hipp, Elmbrook School District
- Geometry Mini-Golf Course (Geometry) - Kirsten Steinke, Lake Mills School District
- The Collision of Race, Ethics, and Poverty–Henrietta Lacks and Healthcare (Biology, Social Studies)- Heather Messer, Middleton Cross Plains Area School District
- Beyond the Textbook: Anatomy for Future Healthcare Careers (Anatomy & Physiology) - Amy Mehltretter and Kelley Grorud, School District of Beloit
- Biotechnology Career Seminar Improvement Project (Biotechnology) - Molly Carlson, School District of Mauston
Pro Tips:
- Use an artificial intelligence application such as Magic School AI's Project Based Learning Tool.
- Connect with industry partners to design units or projects based on real world problems or scenarios.
Take the Plunge — Build an entire career‑themed course or interdisciplinary CCL project.
CCL Strategies:
- Create an entire course that blends academic standards with real world career applications using the Wisconsin Career Readiness Standards.
- Collaborate with colleagues in different subject areas to create interdisciplinary projects that show how academic content connects across subjects and is used in one or more careers.
Examples:
- Spanish for the Professions (Spanish)- Danielle Chaussee, Oconomowoc Area School District
- Carreras y comunidades: Habilidades, para el futuro (Spanish)- Barbara Davis, Madison Metropolitan School District
- Geometry in Construction: Bridging Math & Technology for Future Builders (Geometry)- Nathan Strehlau & Marcus Wilcox, Nekoosa Public Schools
- Exploring Career Opportunities with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa: Connecting Culture, Language, and Future Paths (Science, Health, World Languages) - Cathy Smith, Richard Erickson and Micaela Hall, Bayfield School District
Pro Tip-Brainstorm and design your course with an artificial intelligence application using a prompt.
Examples:
- Propose 10 semester‑long CCL course ideas for high school that align to Wisconsin content standards for Science and the Wisconsin Career Readiness Standards. For each course idea, provide three measurable student outcomes, one real‑world performance task, and suggested local partners or resources.
- Design a semester‑long course titled Spanish in Health Care Careers that aligns the Wisconsin Standards for World Language with the Wisconsin Career Readiness Standards and includes the CCL Look-fors. Include: (1) a 1‑paragraph course description and 3 measurable end‑of‑course outcomes with standard codes; (2) a 16‑week scope & sequence showing weekly standards; (3) one summative, career‑connected performance task with a brief rubric and partner presentation plan; and (4) suggested local partners/resources and basic differentiation strategies.