This blog was created to serve as a practice exercise
in EDM 510, Microcomputing systems, Group C.
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What Career Fits You?
This blog serves to introduce different career options to middle school students through research. What is a career as a Veterinarian like? A Doctor? A Computer Programmer?
As students move into high school, different technical programs will be offered at different schools. Career exploration as a middle school student could help direct a student toward a specific program.
CREATIVE ASSIGNMENT
Research careers online. Each student will choose a career to summarize and share with the class. There will be a Q & A after each speech for classmates to participate in.
RESOURCES
Career One Stop offers self-assessments, career profiles, career videos, comparison of occupations, wages, and more. This site is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. It is full of career information.
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Career exploration is an excellent idea! Students need to learn to set goals and have some sort of direction in their lives. Short term goals, such as graduating high school, coupled with long term goals like a career can help keep students focused on self-improvement and advancement. Having goals with specific requirements also helps students stay out of trouble. If my goal is to become X, I know that I cannot use drugs or get into any legal trouble and I need good grades in order to get into the schools needed for success. Career planning is great!
ReplyDeleteCertain parameters I would add to the topic would be things that would help set these goals for the students. Topics such as general education requirements, baseline ACT/SAT scores, etc. Also having someone do a bibliography on someone in that field can help set up a good role model.
Your ideas for the extra parameters are excellent. I think giving students an idea of test scores required to enter college and general education requirements can help guide them in their college search. Also, I love the mentor idea. If students could meet someone in the field, it could help them see themselves in that person's position. For me, I would have an easier time believing I could do something if I heard someone else's story first hand.
DeleteThis is a fantastic idea!! My 8th grade teacher had us do something similar, and it's how I found public relations, my original degree. My master's in education is supplementing that now.
ReplyDeleteI really think you could make this a blog assignment! Students could create a blog and be required to make certain posts about different elements of the career. They could also be required to incorporate multimedia. One blog post could be an interview with someone in the field. One post could be about salary, etc., etc. Then students could be required to read their classmates' blogs and comment. This would be beneficial to all as some may have common interests or may find a career they never knew existed.
I definitely agree with Scott about the educational requirements. Many students have no clue what is required for certain professions. It's a bit of a reality check, and it's much needed!
Thank you for your input Chelsea. I like the idea of career exploration being a blog that students continually add to. I also think students would be exposed to a variety of careers by reading the work of their peers.
DeleteI think career exploration in middle school is a great idea. These days, many high schools have classes that allow you to receive college credits, which is great for students who already have somewhat of an idea of what they want to be when they grow up. Also, in my home town, my school partnered with the county commissioners to allow 8th-12 graders an opportunity to work during the summer in various jobs at the local courthouse and places like that. I was only in middle school, but those opportunities really opened my eyes up to all of the many different career paths there are, and the requirements that come with them.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea to let 8th-12th graders work summer jobs in different career fields. I think the more exposure you can give students to the real world, the better. Even if students do not decide to take that career route, they see the inner workings of real jobs, interact with people in the workforce, and gain an understanding of what it takes to do those jobs. Maybe if this course was offered in middle school, students could go on to do a summer apprenticeship in that area.
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