Career Options: Which One Is Right For Me?

Submitted by vharada on Wed, 04/04/2012 - 21:23Printable version Bookmark and Share
Created By:
Violet Harada
Title/Role:
Professor
Organization/School Name:
University of Hawaii
Location:
Hawaii

Grade Level:
11
Type of Lesson:
Lesson in a unit
Type of Schedule:
Flexible
Collaboration Continuum:
Moderate
Content Area:
Vocational education
Content Topic:
Career exploration and readiness
Standards for the 21st-Century Learner
Skills Indicator(s):
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.
2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings.
Dispostion Indicator(s):
1.2.5 Demonstrate adaptability by changing the inquiry focus, questions, resources, or strategies when necessary to achieve success.
Responsibilities Indicator(s):
1.3.2 Seek divergent perspectives during information gathering and assessment.
Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s):
4.4.3 Recognize how to focus efforts in personal learning.
Scenario:
As part of the “career and college readiness” initiative at the high school, students explore a range of career options based on aptitudes, personal interests, and academic requirements. In this project they gather and analyze information on different career paths and apply a decision-making model to compare career choices against their interests, strengths and values. The LMS assists students in locating a range of career information sources with a special emphasis on learning how to prepare for and execute interviews.

Overview:
In their career explorations, students assess the usefulness of a range of resources including print, online, and human sources. They retrieve information from different sources including interviews and workplace observations. Students address the following essential questions throughout the project: What career paths have I explored? Which career appeals most to me and why? How can I find out more about this particular career? How do I know if I am suited for this career?

Final Product:
Each student creates a personalized career e-portfolio that includes the student’s goals, information on the requirements of a specific career, a self-assessment of the student’s abilities and skills, and evidence of personal accomplishments relating to career goals.

Library Lesson:
Prior to this lesson, students have selected a career of interest, created questions about the career, and engaged in preliminary research culling information from a range of print and online resources. They are now ready to conduct interviews with community members in specific career fields. This particular lesson focuses on the introduction of interviewing skills as part of the career research. NOTE: This specific lesson has not been taught; however, variations of this lesson have been implemented at several high schools including Kapolei High School in Hawaii.

Estimated Lesson Time:
90 minutes
Assessment
Product:
Students use a check-log (combination of a checklist and a learning log) to assess their interviews. The teacher and/or LMS review a summary of the interview to see whether the questions asked have been satisfactorily answered.

Process:
Students reflect on how they conducted their interviews in the log portion of the check-log. In informal conference sessions with the student, the teacher and/or LMS will ask such questions as: Were you able to have all of your questions answered? How did you prepare for the interview? What was easy for you during the interview? What was difficult? How would you improve on future interviews based on this experience?

Self Questioning:
How did I prepare for the interview? Did my interviewee understand the purpose for my visit and my questions? What could I have done better?

Instructional Plan
Resources students will use:
Dataset (ie. lists, tables, databases)
Moving Image (i.e. animations, movies, tv program, video)
Interactive Resource (i.e. webpages, multimedia learning objects, chat services)
Sound (i.e. music playback file, audio compact disc, recorded speech or sounds)
Text (books, letters, poems, newspapers, etc.)

Interactive Resource URL:
http://www.livebinders.com/

Resources instructor will use:
Projector
Laptop
Smart board
VCR/DVD player

Instruction/Activities
Direct instruction:
The LMS shows two short videos on “good” and “poor” interviewing techniques. [Note: She has previously worked with students in the school media club to enact the interviews and create the videos.] Students discuss the differences between the two video clips and identify behaviors that make for a successful and professional interview. In addition, the LMS addresses the importance of the pre-interview preparation, the note-taking procedure during an interview, and the post-interview work. She distributes and explains the interview check-log that everyone will use to assess the interviews.

Modeling and guided practice:
The LMS and teacher role-play a mock interview. Using the interview check-log, students provide feedback on the mock interview. The instructors emphasize the importance of knowing how to spontaneously ask relevant follow-up questions during an interview.

Independent practice:
Using their own set of interview questions, students work in triads to role-play how they might conduct their interviews. While two students assume the roles of interviewer and interviewee, the third student observes the interaction and completes the check-log for the interviewer. Students continue this activity until all three members of a group have had the chance to serve as interviewer, interviewee, and observer. They provide advice and feedback to each other.


Have you taught this lesson before:
No

Strategies for differentiation:
Students have different sets of interview questions depending on the careers they have chosen and on the individuals being interviewed. The instructors also allow considerable flexibility in the content of the individual e-portfolios. They encourage customization in the portfolios so that these products reflect students’ personal voices and identities.