Promoting Career Awareness and Exploration in Middle School

Promoting Career Awareness and Exploration in Middle School Data. Tools Summer Workshop, July 2007

Globalization The net change resulting from an increase in movement of humans, money, resources, and power throughout the global economy

The World is Flat Main messages • advances in technology and society around the world have “leveled” the playing field of economic competition • rapid change and emerging abilities mean that major changes are inevitable

Friedman’s Assertion: The United State’s position as the world’s economic and intellectual superpower is being challenged… We can either find new ways to work within the new global environment that will allow us to maintain our place, or succumb to those who will.

Rising Above The Gathering Storm —National Academy of Science Our nation’s economic “…vitality is derived in large part from the productivity of welltrained people and the steady stream of scientific and technical innovations they produce. ”

Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future “A substantial portion of our workforce finds itself in direct competition for jobs with lower-wage workers…who live just a mouse-click away. . . ”

How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20 th Century Paraphrased from Time Magazine, Dec. 10, 2006 • View educational standards as minimums rather than goals • Make global trade practices and foreign languages into core courses • Encourage and nurture creativity and innovation

How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20 th Century Paraphrased from Time Magazine, Dec. 10, 2006 • Teach students to find information and judge its reliability but don’t stop there. . . Teach them how to manage it, interpret it, validate it, and act upon it

How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20 th Century Paraphrased from Time Magazine, Dec. 10, 2006 • Give students practice working as members of diverse teams; include a component of competition among teams

The Data. Tools project is funded by U. S. dependence on imported IT workers • Companies who bring foreign workers to the United States pay a fee for their visas (H 1 -B visas) • Part of these fees go to fund programs (such as ITEST) that encourage more American students to consider and enter technological careers

Supply of IT Workers Two different analogies describe the issue of not having enough workers trained in STEM disciplines arriving in today’s workplace: The “pipeline” Students go in, scientists, mathematicians, and engineers should come out--but the pipeline leaks. The “career highway” Students are viewed as cars on a highway. Many lanes with on and off ramps (plus rotaries for changing directions) are available. Some know exactly where they are going, but many are on sightseeing trips…

Current status Interviews with 6 th and 9 th graders in 2000 show that most have only a shallow understanding of how school relates to work. Students showed limited awareness of the knowledge and skills needed for work and little sense of how to develop them.

Developing Career Awareness In elementary school, children are just becoming aware of the world of work and careers Children go to school; adults go to work.

Developing Career Awareness • In middle school, students begin to discover their own skills, interests, and values. • Career exploration activities can help them match these early interests with potential careers.

What can middle school teachers do? • Give students opportunities to assess their own interests and abilities and to become aware of and explore different occupations. • Let them know that interesting careers in science and technology are available. These jobs pay well, and many of them are addressing important and worthwhile challenges.

What can middle school teachers do? Provide students with plenty of experiences in which they use technology to evaluate situations and craft solutions, not just use it as a study aid or production tool.

Essential IT Skills for Middle School Students • Keyboarding Skills • Internet search strategies and developing judgment • Correct Usage of Common Applications • Ability to integrate several technologies into contentbased projects

Massachusetts Instructional Technology Standards “By the completion of eighth grade, students should demonstrate basic to intermediate-level competencies in using applications such as word processing, browser, presentation, spreadsheet, database, and graphics software. ” (2001)

What can middle school teachers do? Encourage students along the academic path(s) that will prepare them for training in their fields of interest.

What can middle school teachers do? Utilize cooperative groups and assign technology-based projects. Overtly refer to the development of workforce skills, and include them in project rubrics.

What can middle school teachers do? Remind students of the realities of living expenses, taxes, workplace environments, and unexpected financial emergencies.

What can middle school teachers do? Encourage students to choose their initial job experiences very carefully…

Gaining IT skills ensures great career flexibility Most fields of work depend upon some form of information technology. Therefore, people who have the skills to invent and implement technology-based solutions are in demand; their skills will always be needed to provide services to other industries.

Our goals for Data. Tools Classrooms • As is reasonable, insert comments, discussions, and activities into your course that will raise student awareness of careers, especially in technology. • Encourage your students to visualize themselves as technologically capable, productive members of our changing society.

And let us know how we can help We’re aware that you’re already teaching your own content. Please let us know if you have suggestions or requests that can help you integrate some career awareness into your courses.