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Description of Unit

This multidisciplinary task focuses on exploring careers, career portals, English language arts, social studies, and mathematics. Students will explore various careers and the educational and experiential paths necessary to access those careers. Students will use research skills to plan a path to the career, including creating a post-secondary path that will lead to the career; investigating work environments that might be specific to the career; and finding resources that are available to help them pursue the career. Students will seek out and interview a community member who currently works in their chosen career field. Students will ask about how the community member became involved in the field and inquire about the advantages and disadvantages of the career. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in the interview process that would be necessary for that career.

This guide links the I Could DO That! unit to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for eighth graders. I Could DO That! is a career and technology education unit that allows students to research interesting career paths and develop a career plan based on their research findings. This unit also has interdisciplinary connections to social studies, English language arts, and mathematics. Students will gather research based on their interests and have conversations with community members who have relevant careers. The following document includes the applicable TEKS and the details of the I Could DO That! unit. The final section of this document presents the applicable Texas College and Career Readiness Standards adopted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) on January 24, 2008.

Phase I. Learning Experiences

  1. Introduce students to the concept of a career. Have students review these career-related resources as an introduction to learning about new careers: Conduct a whole class discussion on what is means to have a career vs. a job   (http://www.diffen.com/difference/Career_vs_Job). Facilitate learning by asking guided questions for critical thinking, such as the following:
    • What are some careers you have thought about as possibilities for your future?
    • Based on family, friends, or other experiences, describe careers you are already familiar with.
    • What training and education are required for the careers that interest you?
    • What do you think the pros and cons are of working toward one of these careers?
    • What do you expect your quality of life to be like if you pursue one of these careers?

  2. http://www.diffen.com/difference/Career_vs_Job
  3. Have students complete a career inventory to help identify strengths related to their career interest. Possible resources include the following:
  4. Based on the career inventory results, students will be divided into career cluster groups to summarize career opportunities within their respective cluster. A career cluster group is a group of careers that require the same skill set and educational background.
  5. Students will develop a high school graduation plan by selecting the endorsement(s) for the career selected. Discuss how a solid high school foundation will make post-secondary education accessible.
  6. Career cluster groups will research current and emerging fields related to their cluster. As a team, students will brainstorm some unanswered guiding questions to research. Students will practice writing strong guiding questions. Examples include the following:
    • What is the origin or the first career in this cluster?
    • How has this career cluster changed over time?
    • What, if any, ethical issues surround this career cluster?
    • What are other similar career clusters?
    • What special vocabulary is associated with this career?
  7. Choose a career that none of the students have selected to use as an example. Line up someone for the class to interview, either live in class or via video conference. Talk to students about how to write appropriate interview questions. Have students work in small groups to come up with several interview questions per group. Make sure to check their interview questions before the time of the live interview. Discuss different methods that students could use to record the answers during the interview (e.g., typing notes, writing brief notes, recording the conversation with permission). The teacher should start off the interview by modeling how to greet the guest and start on the interview questions. The teacher should also model how to document the answers to the interview questions. The teacher should then let each group ask a question in turn until the allotted interview time is up.
  8. Discuss plagiarism with students. Teach them how to take notes to prevent plagiarism and how to cite secondary and primary resources.
  9. Students will work together to share their research in a short five-minute video. Documentation of the sources at the end of the video is required.

Phase II. Independent Research

A. Research process

  1. Selecting a topic. Students will need to choose a specific career within their career cluster group to research (including academic requirements). Students should research which colleges are in the top ten in their chosen field. Once they find a list of top colleges, the students should choose one of the colleges to research. Information to research will include academic requirements, the cost of achieving the post-secondary education required for this career, the cost of interest on student loans, locales where they would like to pursue their careers, and how career choices impact the balance of personal and professional responsibilities.
  2. Asking guiding questions. Once students have selected their specific career, each student should think of three to five guiding questions. Examples include the following:
    • What are the current market needs for this career?
    • What is the longevity projection for this career?
    • What are the requirements for continuing education?
    • Based on the education requirements for the specific career, what are the opportunities for a change in career?
    • What are the opportunities for entrepreneurship within the specific career?
    While these examples are general, the student’s questions should be specific to the chosen topic. The questions should lead to research-based opinions. The student should also develop a hypothesis, thesis, or position statement and some possible answers to the questions.
  3. Creating a research proposal. The student should include numerous components in the research proposal, including the following:
    • Technology
    • Three to five guiding questions
    • A person to interview and questions to ask
  4. Conducting the research. After the teacher has approved the proposal, the student will begin using the resources he or she has identified and others he or she may encounter. During this stage, the student will need to create a log, note cards, or resource process sheets to record the sources he or she uses and what he or she learns from each one.

B. The product

Each student will create a digital presentation that includes the following information: the career inventory, academic requirements for the career, the cost of achieving the post-secondary education required for the career, the cost of interest on student loans, the locales where he or she would like to pursue the career, an interview with an individual in the career field, the impact of the career choice on the balance of personal and professional responsibilities, and supporting documentation to answer the guiding questions.

C. Communication

Each student will give a 10–20-minute oral presentation and participate in an unscripted question and answer session with the panel. The panel should consist of community members (preferably professionals in the career cluster) and district staff. The panel will use the TPSP rubric to assess the presentation of the task.

D. A completed project consists of:

  1. The research proposal
  2. A log, note cards, or resource process sheets
  3. Digital Presentation
  4. Interview notes or video
  5. Work cited page
  6. An audiotape or videotape of the panel presentation, including an unscripted question and answer session
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