How do I know that the career information I am using is good? COMP OMPARING RESOURCES SUMMAR UMMARY OBJECTIVES PREP REPARA ARATION MATERIALS COMPUTER USE SUBJECT AREAS Students research occupations of choice using different career information resources. Students will complete worksheets analyzing how well the resources met their criteria. Students will sell their resource to the rest of the class, and the class will select their resource of choice. Students will: 1. Explore the difference between a job and an occupation. 2. Describe occupations in terms of important characteristics and requirements that are meaningful when deciding on an occupation to pursue. Become acquainted with and choose different occupational resources to use: ecis (Go to ecis (www.idahocis.org ) At the homepage, find the blue column title Information: Occupations. Go to the Occupations file, find Broadcast Technicians and print out all the topics. Check the At-a-glance facts with Step Workers in this occupation clues to make sure it is current especially the wage information. Also run the ninety-second video so you know what settings to choose for your video options you may need some information from your network administrator.) Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), printed version or http://stats.bls.gov/ocohome.htm America s CareerInfoNet, www.acinet.org/acinet/ Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor, http://lmi.idaho.gov/ O*NET http://online.onetcenter.org Review Step 5. If students have not created their CIS Folders then use the CIS Folder Quick Start to teach them how. To get the quick start, go to www.idahocis.org and from the ecis homepage click on CIS Tools. From the menu find and print the CIS Folder Quick Start. copy one per student. Schedule a computer lab with Internet access, projection capabilities and CIS access for student use. Blackboard, whiteboard, or flip chart and markers Chosen occupational resources Career Information Worksheet one per student Occupational Information Resource Study Sheet one per student Quality Career Information defined Optional, CIS Folder Quick Start one per student CIS: Occupations, Occupation Sort, Internet Any, Guidance, Personal Finance, Economics, Technology, Speech, Social Science TIME REQUIRED Three class periods 2005 I continued 1
GROUP SIZE Class, small groups Day One STEPS 1. Introduce the class to ecis if you have not already done so. Start by explaining that it is a system that has information to help them with career development. Let them know that for this lesson they will focus on the information in ecis that has to do with exploring occupations. 2. Read the following clues and have the students try to guess which occupation you are describing (the occupation is Broadcast Technicians). Workers in this occupation. Work with microphones, cameras, tape recorders, and control panels Some specialize in audio or video Sometimes work on location, but mostly work indoors May work evenings and weekends Usually train through broadcast technology or electronics course work Take courses to keep skills up-to-date Many are certified Earn $27,760 per year (national average) Record or broadcast radio and television programs 3. If they do not guess correctly, tell them the name of the occupation. Ask, how many of you are familiar with the occupation Broadcast Technician? Does any one know someone who works as a Broadcast Technician? Lead a discussion on how the importance of exploring occupations before choosing one. 4. Next, explain that there is a difference between a job and an occupation. Write the following on the board: Data Communications Analysts, Data Communications Specialist for Teton Wireless Television, Inc. Explain that one is an occupation and the other is a job. 5. Have them log into ecis. If they have not done so, first, have each student create their own My CIS Folder having a folder means the students will be able to save and track research in ecis. Pass out a copy of the CIS Folder Quick Start. 6. From the ecis homepage, find the section titles Other Places To Go then click on Glossary. Have students look up the terms Occupation and Job. Definitions: Job = Activities performed on a regular basis in exchange for payment. A single position at one company. Occupation = A group of related jobs that have similar duties, levels of responsibility, skills, knowledge, and physical demands. For example, Civil Engineer is an occupation, while the Engineering Design position at ABC Engineering Company is a job. This is also a component of CIS that provides descriptions of occupations. It includes information about wages, employment, interests, work setting, and more. 7. Let them know that CIS covers occupations not jobs therefore; an occupation title may be broader (more general) than job titles they may be familiar with. For example, their Uncle Pete might work as a Rates Analyst for Idaho Power but his occupation is Mathematician. continued 2005 I 2
8. Demonstrate how to get to the Occupations file in ecis. Then show the students how to use the alphabet bar and keyword search to find a particular occupation when the list is ordered by title. Next, demonstrate changing the list to by cluster. Click on the Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media cluster to find Broadcast Technicians. 9. Project the Broadcast Technicians file. Review the list of topics (what they can discover about each occupations in ecis). Show the ninety-second video about Broadcast Technicians. 10. Explain that for many of the occupations have a Real World Interview related to the occupation. This is an interview of someone who works in the occupations. Show the interview and explain that the interview is covers personal interests related to the occupational skills required, plus what the person likes best and least about this type of work, what a typical day is like, and advice on how to get started in the field. 11. Show students how to get to the Occupation Index (top left). Give students 5-10 minutes to explore occupations on their own. Once the time is up, have each student pick an occupation they are unfamiliar with. Have students read about the occupation in preparation for questioning. 12. Divide the class up into groups of three. Have one person in each group start out sharing with the group a general description about the occupation. Then group members can ask questions related to the topics in ecis. Allow them to look up answers they may not be able to answer. Each student gets 5 minutes. Day Two 13. Introduce students to the occupation information in CIS, the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), America s CareerInfoNet, and O*NET. Then divide the class into four groups, one for each resource. (Note: you may also include any other resources used in your curriculum.) Provide each student with a Career Information Worksheet. Ask students to help one another complete these worksheets for an occupation of interest, using their group s assigned resource. Each student in the group will choose an occupation of their own to research to help gather more information about the group s resource. 14. Discuss what quality means in career information. Use the Quality Career Information Overhead (also see the instructional note) to define the important features of quality. 15. Assign each group to learn all that they can about their resource to sell it to the class in six minutes the following day. Encourage them to read introductions and search into websites to learn about the organizations providing the resources. Give each group an Occupational Resource Study Sheet to help them organize their analysis of the key qualities of their resource. Day Three 16. Allow each group six minutes to sell its resource to the class. 17. Upon completion, ask the class to vote on the resource of choice and discusses why the winning resource is best. 18. Discuss the importance of currency, accuracy, localization, and comprehensive career information for occupational selection. Review how color, graphics, writing style also affect resource of choice. Discuss how this information will be useful to them in the future. continued 2005 I 3
ALLIED ACTIVITIES Getting What I Want ASSESSMENT STRA TRATEGIES TEGIES Students will: 1. Research an occupation of interest in small groups and then report and sell their resource to the class. 2. Complete the Career Information Worksheet. 3. Complete the Occupational Study Worksheet. 4. Express what is important for a quality resource and what is unrelated to quality but influences resource choice STUDENT WORKSHEETS Career Information Worksheet Occupational Information Resource Study Sheet OVERHEADS Quality Career Information POR ORTFOLIO Career Information Worksheet and Occupational Information Resource Study Sheet could be included in portfolio. INSTRUCTIONAL NOTES Quality Career Information Defined Using Occupation Sort Classification Systems SOR ORTING Subject: Any, English, Guidance, Social Science, Technology, Career-Related Learning Grade Level: 9, 10, 11, 12 CIS Component: Occupations, Occupation Sort STANDARDS Idaho Counseling Program Model Standards: Academic/Technical Development - Standards A, C Career Development - Standards A, B, Personal/Social Develepment - Standard B Idaho Achievement Standards: Language Arts and Communications - Reading, Listening, Speaking, Viewing SCANS: Resources, Information, Interpersonal, Technology, Thinking skills 2005 I 4
NCDG: Understanding the relationship between educational achievement and career opportunities, career information skills, Career planning skills ASCA: Academic Development, Personal and Social Development EDUCA DUCATIONAL GOALS Bloom s Taxonomy: Comprehension 2005 I 5
NAME Career Information Worksheet Occupation: What do people in this occupation do? (Work Activities): What kinds of situations or settings do they face, such as interpersonal relations and physical working conditions? (Working Conditions): What physical activities are required? (Physical Demands): What are they required to know and do? (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities): What are some of the interests common to people in the occupation? (Interests): continued 2005 I 6
How do people in this occupation prepare for it? (Preparation): What do employers look for when they hire for this occupation? (Hiring Practices): What kind of licensing or certification is required and how do they get it? (Licensing/Certification): How much do people in this occupation earn? (Wages): How many people are employed in this occupation in Idaho and nationally? (Employment): What factors affect employment in this occupation? (Outlook): How do people in this occupation move up? (Advancement): 2005 I 7
NAME Occupational Information Resource Study Sheet Based upon your occupation research, complete this worksheet. Resource you used: 1. What types of information were provided for your occupation? 2. How does the resource organize or categorize the occupations included? 3. How current is the information? 4. What geographical areas are covered? 5. What was your subjective assessment of the quality of the information? 6. Other selling features for the resource: 2005 I 8
Quality Career Information ACCURATE: true, verifiable and not deceptive CURRENT: applicable to the present time RELEVANT: applies to the interests of the individuals who use it for the decisions they are facing SPECIFIC: contains concrete facts UNDERSTANDABLE: can be comprehended by the people that need to use it COMPREHENSIVE: includes all the important categories within its scope of coverage UNBIASED: delivered by an individual or organization that has no vested interest in the decisions or plans of the people who are receiving it COMPARABLE: presented consistently throughout 2005 I 9