College and Career Exploration
The Pitman Middle School “Career Orientation Program” is designed to provide 8th graders with tools and resources to aid future career planning. This course is broken into four units that are titled: 1) Introduction, 2) Who am I? 3) What Do I Want to Do? and 4) How Do I get There?
Throughout this course, students will:
Identify individual interests, abilities, strengths and personality traits.
Understand personal values and work skills in career planning
Understand the influences that societal, economic, and technological changes have on employment trends and future training.
Develop skills to locate, evaluate, and interpret career information.
Understand the relationship between educational achievement and career choices/post-secondary options.
Identify career clusters and related pathways through an interest assessment that match career and education goals.
Develop a career and education plan that includes short and long-term goals, high school program of study, and postsecondary/career goals.
Mr. DiTizio- College and Career Exploration.webmCourse Content
Unit 1- Introduction
Course Overview
My professional background (Reviewing your teacher’s qualifications)
Pre-course interest survey: (Google Form)
“The ideal resume”
Unit 2- Who am I?: This unit is designed to help students identify their likes, dislikes, skills, learning styles, and personality traits.
Big five personality traits/ Multiple Intelligences
Likes/ Dislikes (https://njcis.intocareers.org/ViewHtmlWithNav.aspx?File=UA/UA200ChooseAssessment.htm)
Qualities needed to be successful
Learning Styles
My Achievements/ Activities
Unit 3- What do I want to do?: The “What Do I want to Do?” module will start with an introduction to the career clusters, the career pathways, and post-secondary options, followed by each student doing their own career interest inventory activity to identify their specific career cluster(s) and then perform research on two occupations of interest including jobs prospect, pay, and projected growth.
Workplace of the 21st Century
Local Businesses and their Contributions to the Community (Guest Speakers TBD)
Skills Needed in the Workplace
Values: What’s important to you?
Career (Clusters) Fields (http://www.gcic.edu/Content/HelpYourself/ClusterVideos.aspx?vid=Eng/00-000001 )
Career Cluster Inventory/ Occupation Research (https://njcis.intocareers.org/index.aspx?FileID=Occ&TitleLetter=A)
Selecting a Lifestyle/ Reality Check (https://njcis.intocareers.org/realitycheck/RC_introduction.aspx)
Unit 4- How do I get there?: The “How Do I get There?” module will start with students completing a high school program of study and continue with guidance in post-secondary options including college and community colleges, career in technical fields, military, and apprenticeships. Students will also learn about financial options for college and will engage in a reality check activity to cross-check their desired lifestyle against the salary and occupation to support such lifestyle.
Goal Setting: Short Vs. Long Term Goals
My Career Action Plan
My High School Course Plan (PHS Course Catalog Review/ Guidance Discussion)
Paying for College
Preparing for the Post-Secondary Future
Helpful Links:
What's Your Learning Style: http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles.shtml
New Jersey Career Assistance Navigator: https://portal.njcis.intocareers.org/
Big 5 Personality Traits Assessment: http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/
Naviance Student Portal: https://student.naviance.com/auth/fclookup
Information about Career Clusters: https://careertech.org/career-clusters