A Student’s Perspective on MBA’s Star Tracks Program
David (Minnesota Business Academy) Originally published May 2004Star Tracks, at this juncture, is an incentive program and is used in motivating students to perform well on select behavioral competencies. The behavioral competencies used in Star Tracks came from the Secretaries Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills. These behaviors are foundational for an effective worker to have, and the Minnesota Business Academy is encouraging these valuable skills in the classroom.
The Skills that will be evaluated on are as follows:
- Listening — receives, attends to, interprets, and responds to verbal messages and cues
- Decision Making — specifies goals and constraints, generates alternatives, considers risk and evaluates and chooses the best alternative.
- Problem Solving — recognizes problems and devices and implements plan of action
- Responsibility — exerts a high level of effort and preservers towards goal attainment
- Sociability — demonstrates understanding, friendliness, adaptability and empathy
- Self-Management — assesses self accurately, sets personal goals, monitors progress and exhibits self-control
Teachers have incorporated the use and evaluation of these skills into their regular classrooms as well as special projects. Students are evaluated by the teacher and rewarded for excellent demonstration of the above skills. The privileges include student council membership, dances, field trips, gift certificates, technology clearance, student lounge and open lunch.
There have been noticeable positive results since the initiation of Star Tracks. Students are working to improve there rating and obtain additional rewards. Common expectations of behavior make it easier for students to know what is expected in all classrooms. While still a new program at MBA, students and staff recognize the benefits to learning and helping students prepare for their future.