Tracking Work-Based Learning for Equity and Impact

Work-based learning (WBL) is an educational approach designed to help students connect what they learn in the classroom with what is expected in the workplace by integrating learning with real-world applications in partnership with industry professionals. Work-based learning is also one of the four pillars of NAF’s educational design and includes a vast range of activities from guest speakers, informational interviews, job shadows, resume reviews, mock interviews, internships and more, yet up until now NAF has primarily focused on tracking internship participation. Student success however relies on a robust series of WBL experiences that includes participation in more than just internships. 

Historically, NAF academies have struggled with tracking WBL in the past, often tracking only how many students participated in a given activity, but not having the ability to easily understand individual student participation across the many activities they offer. Academies have also expressed that they weren’t sure how to measure the success of a WBL activity or make sure it was meeting the needs of their students and partners. Tracking WBL is essential for schools to monitor their yearly goals, determine growth over time, ensure equity in student participation, and in some cases receive financial support such as federal Perkins funding.

The NAF WBL Participation Tracker and Reflection Form are tools designed to track student level participation across the WBL continuum to help determine the equity of WBL participation, and collect student feedback regarding an activity’s impact. Each tool has its own unique features which are discussed below, but they work together in tandem to provide schools with a holistic view of student-level participation in WBL and the collective impact it’s having on students.

The WBL Participation Tracker

The WBL Participation Tracker can be found on the Academy Support Hub (ASH) through the Quality Center or by navigating to the Work-Based Learning page (note that users must be logged into ASH to access the tool). This tool is meant to track all the WBL activities happening during the school year giving educators the ability to log all activities in one place, connect students to each activity, and document which organizations and persons involved volunteered time. There is even the opportunity to capture activities outside of WBL such as college fairs, college visits, and other college and career ready activities. Adding an activity is easy and straightforward and can all be done collaboratively across academies in a district. 

For the 2022-2023 school year, internships will still be captured and tracked via NAFTrack with internships being added to the WBL Participation Tracker as a future enhancement.

The WBL Reflection Form

The second tool is the WBL Reflection Form, asking students to reflect on their experience after each WBL activity they participate in, helping them see their own growth over time and share feedback with educators to inform future planning. As NAF shifts the focus towards more impactful WBL we know that student feedback and voice is crucial in understanding the success of WBL and ensuring impact goes beyond just the number of students who participated in an activity, it’s also about listening to the student voice.

The WBL Reflection Form is linked directly to an individual activity and students will need to log into their NAFTrack accounts to complete the reflection. The questions vary depending on which WBL activity is selected for a total of three different reflections, one for each part of the WBL continuum (Awareness, Exploration, and Preparation). 

By having a more formalized and consistent way of capturing student feedback, educators will be able to see the impact of an activity and use the data to better support their students through targeted activities and topics best suited to their needs. Students will also be able to see their reflection responses over time in their NAFTrack accounts, helping them better understand their college and career journey and allowing them to take a more active approach to their learning.

Data and Reporting

Using the WBL Participation Tracker and Reflection Form allows tracking WBL to be more consistent across a district. Data from both tools are housed in a single location to make analyzing and sharing data with all stakeholders easy and efficient and all data is updated in real time.

By using the tracker, districts will be able to report to various stakeholders on not only the type of WBL opportunities available, but which students are participating in each activity, broken down by demographics such as grade, gender, and ethnicity. Districts and educators can use the data to guide conversation and help inform the planning and implementation of impactful and equitable work-based learning. The results can also be used to aid in Perkins reporting and other funding opportunities.

Looking Ahead

WBL has always been a key component of NAF’s educational design and these two new tools will allow the NAF network to track all WBL in a more streamlined approach. Using the participation tracker and reflection form will allow schools to identify individual student participation in WBL, identify and address inequities, determine the impact of WBL, and improve the quality of WBL activities being provided. 

The WBL Participation Tracker and Reflection Form are available now in the Academy Support Hub (ASH), so log in and begin tracking work-based learning today!