Academic and Career Planning

Students will be able to:

Identify key ideas from notes and concept map created in Unit 1 that includes:

-strengths

-values

-inclinations

-career matches

Understand the information and career attribute categories provided by O*Net, the Department of Labor’s database of occupations.

Comprehend academic definitions such as: Certificate, License, Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, Doctoral Degree, work based learning, apprenticeships, volunteering, early scholar programs (NH Scholars), SMART Goal.

Activity

Review your notes and concept map from Unit 1 that includes your strengths, values, inclinations, and career matches.

Record three facts about yourself that you feel will help you choose a career path to focus on for this project.

Task

Exit slip: what do you believe is the most important fact you’ve learned about yourself that will help you make choices about career options?

Activity

Navigate to O*Net (the Department of Labor’s database of occupations website).

For research practice, try out the search function with either one of your own career options or a sample one (i.e. teacher, engineer, electrician, etc.).

Click on an occupation and scan through the Summary Report.

Show students what is available on O*Net via a tutorial on how to use the website/ find the information pertinent to them.

Resources

Most likely, students will use the “Occupational Quick Search” function.

Key points:

-inputting a generic occupation like “Engineer” or “Teacher” yields more specific results that students will need to choose from

-the Summary Report provided for each occupation is extensive, so teaching students to look for 1-3 key facts in the provided categories will be most beneficial

Task

Google Form gauging comfort level with site navigation.

Activity

Read through a sample Summary Report from O*Net.

Create your own short definitions of the topics listed in each occupation’s Summary Report.

Topics for each occupation’s summary report include:

-Tasks

-Technology Skills

-Knowledge

-Skills

-Abilities

-Work Activities

-Work Context

-Interests (Similar to Holland Code)

-Work Styles

-Work Values

Resources

Provide a sample Summary Report with the topics/categories highlighted.

Another strategy is to provide an informational document with the Summary Report’s topics/categories listed along with pre-selected definitions. Students can then “make” their own definitions based on what they see in the sample so that they are surmising their own conclusions about the meanings of the topics.

Task

Completed worksheet with topics and definitions.

Activity

Learn and understand academic definitions such as: Certificate, License, Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, Doctoral Degree, work based learning, apprenticeships, volunteering, early scholar programs (NH Scholars), SMART Goal.

Resources

Create or find a game that allows students to learn the education/academic definitions they will need to know when searching for their career details.

Perhaps divide students into pairs or teams to play the game.

Task

Informal or formal matching quiz to capture students’ comprehension.

Identify your top 3-4 career choices in Awato and click “Details” to read through each career’s attributes.

Describe key aspects of each career match (industry, average salary, actions required, etc.)

• What industry do the occupations belong to?

• What is the average salary?

• What actions does the occupation require?

• What is a day in the life of the occupation like?

• What is the work environment like?

• What skills are required?

Research one of your career matches from Awato on O*Net.

Determine the skills, abilities, training, licenses, certifications, and education required of a particular job using the information on Awato and O*Net.

• What education is required?

• What are the core tasks?

• What is the salary range?

• What knowledge is needed?

• What skills are needed?

Describe the major attributes of your selected career in a presentation.

Activity

Recall the three facts you came up with about yourself that will help you choose one career to research.

Navigate to your top 3-4 career choices in Awato and click “Details” to read through each career’s attributes.

Describe key aspects of each career match (industry, average salary, actions required, etc.)

• What industry do the occupations belong to?

• What is the average salary?

• What actions does the occupation require?

• What is a day in the life of the occupation like?

• What is the work environment like?

• What skills are required?

Resources

Provide a worksheet or give students easel paper and markers to record the attributes of their top 3 or 4 career matches from Awato.

Perhaps divide students into pairs or teams to play the game.

Task

Students could post their easel paper/posters throughout the classroom for the class to see the variety of jobs/occupations available.

Activity

On O*Net, input your selected career from Awato into the Occupation Search engine.

The job title/occupation may bring up multiple results with more specific options for you to choose from.

For example, if you input “Copywriter,” you may need to click on multiple jobs to figure out the type of copywriter you want to be. The options for Copywriter include Editor, Proofreader, Writer/Author, and Art Director.

You should click through the options to read about the specific occupation and then choose which one you like best.

Task

Google Form - Ask students what their selected career choice for research is (after they have had time to look through potential variations and types of jobs that may come up)

Activity

Like you did for the career matches on Awato, read through your selected occupation’s Summary Report from O*Net.

Determine the skills, abilities, training, licenses, certifications, and education required of a particular job using the information on Awato and O*Net.

Answer the following questions:

• What education is required?

• What are the core tasks?

• What is the salary range?

• What knowledge is needed?

• What skills are needed?

Resources

Provide a new worksheet for students to record information about their chosen career.

Students could also use Google Slides to keep their information since the last step for this level would be mini-presentations to the class about their selected careers.

Task

Exit slip - What is one new fact you learned on O*Net?

Activity

Create a presentation about your selected career using Google Slides or PowerPoint.

Task

Have students submit their worksheet/slides to be checked before moving on to the next stage..

Generate a list of resources and options within and beyond the school and community that will prepare you for life, career and college choice based on your current occupation.

Create a plan (SMART Goal) with suggested actions to achieve your selected career starting from the first year of high school.

Identify actions to achieve your selected career starting from the first year of high school using the myFUTURE College Planning Timeline.

Activity

Now that you have your career choice, you need to consider the time between where you are now (8th grade) and achieving the career.

What resources and options within and beyond the school and community are available that will prepare you for life, career and college choice based on your current occupation?

Resources

Students could work in groups to create a visual network of resources.

Students could also do research or be shown a presentation of various resources from throughout the school and community.

Visitors from local organizations could visit.

Task

Exit Slip - What is one resource that you will take advantage of in high school?

Activity

Navigate the myFUTURE website to learn about what you can do during each year of high school to prepare yourself for post-secondary education/the career you want.

Write one action you can take for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.

Resources

The college application process does not begin until senior year, but the timeline provided by myFuture showcases to students what they can do each year of high school to be on track for successful application and admission to undergraduate programs. Students will use this to set goals that will lead them on the path to their hoped-for career (by way of appropriate, required postsecondary education/training).

Task

Exit Slip - What is one action you can take in high school to prepare yourself for post-secondary education/your selected career? Why will that action help you?

Activity

Choose one of the action steps from myFUTURE and complete a SMART Goal Worksheet to plan for achieving that action/goal.

Resources

The SMART Goal Worksheet is intended to not only identify students’ goals, but also help them come up with action steps that will lead to goal achievement. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound. The SMART Goal Worksheet also gives students the opportunity to think about the people in their lives who can help them.

Create a timeline of goals - one goal per year of high school - that would lead to the post-secondary education needed for career.

or

Create a concept map/web with goals for high school, relevant courses, postsecondary program options/requirements, WBL opportunities.

or

Create a vision board for: motivation to achieve goals each year leading to hoped-for career

Activity

Decide what kind of creation/project you would like to complete to showcase your research and conclusions to the class.

Options:

-Create a timeline of goals - one goal per year of high school that would lead to the post-secondary education needed for your career.

-Create a concept map/web with goals for high school, relevant courses, postsecondary program options/requirements, WBL opportunities.

-Create a vision board for: motivation to achieve goals each year leading to hoped-for career.

Brainstorm what materials you will need to complete your creation.

Resources

Allow for multiple class periods to complete projects.

Task

Multiple checkpoints should be included in the creation process to make sure students are on track for completion.