Week 4 - The PLP Begins

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” Henry Ford

“If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. For where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained. Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing.” Saint Augustine

This week, we will focus our energy on learning how to achieve career goals.  We will begin by taking what we did Friday and actually reaching out to professionals to help design our Personal Learning Plan.  We will work the PLP on Tuesday and Wednesday (work in progress/Living Document), hear from a guest speaker on Thursday, and Blog on Friday.  Our guest speaker is the CEO of Premier Medical Group and is a great resource for learning what work is all about.  

Here's a breakdown of our week:

Monday:

Use Friday's notes to contact someone in HR at one of the companies you researched and find out whether your understanding of educational and skills requirements are accurate.  Then, 

Discussion of what we’ve learned.  How have the safety tests, professional speakers, and analysis of blogs lead us to understand what success in the workforce entails?

Tuesday – Wednesday

-Students complete Personal Learning/Development Plan

            -Understand what “begin with the end in mind” actually means

            -Pollyanna world professional scenario

            -Work backwards

                        -levels of promotion

                        -postsecondary requirements

                        -high school requirements

                        -clubs, activities, affiliations

                        -academic excellence standards

-Students share out PLP and whole group discusses methods to improve upon process.  What was stated well?  What may have been missing from the plan?  How can we all learn from this development plan?

-Electronic presentation can also serve as artifact

-Might we want to record on video or audio and begin a YouTube channel or podcast?

Thursday:

Guest Speaker: Use your note-taking skills to identify 

-Education requirements, academic requirements, training

            -What type of standards did you have throughout high school? College?

            -How do you become successful?  How do you remain successful?

            -What to avoid along the path

            -Work hours, work/life balance, life as a professional

            -Continuous Improvement

            -The good, the bad, and the ugly about the job

Friday:

Blog about this week.  We covered a lot of stuff and your understanding of what we covered is important.  Let me know if we're moving too fast or too slow.  What else would you like to cover before we proceed with the portfolio artifacts (blogs, podcasts, videos, etc).

Your entry should be a minimum of 300 words.  I look forward to reading.

That's it for the week.  See you Monday!

The Living Document - Using Blogger Productively

We all have personal brands and most of us have already left a digital footprint, whether we like it or not. Proper social media use highlights your strengths that may not shine through in an interview or application and gives the world a broader view of who you are. Use it wisely.

Amy Jo Martin

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/interview.html#kxdwTWhfRdjCFu0H.99

This week we will begin working on one of the most important social media resources that can help separate "us" from "them."  This week's focus is on the birth of our living document that will grow and evolve throughout the year - the blog. 

Why blog?  Just as we learned Friday about making YouTube videos, each submission should get better, which improves our writing skills.  Beyond improving writing skills, a blog is a great talking point and asset to have when interviewing or applying for college or a job.  As your writing matures, you provide your readers (and potential employers) with insight into how your hard work generates results.  Therefore, as long as you focus on improving yourself as you make each entry, you're providing substantial proof of your self-improvement.  Also, there aren't that many students who have the opportunity to devote class time to reflection.  This blog is your chance to separate yourself from others!

We will start the week with a lecture on proper use of social media, during which we will practice taking notes and organizing our thoughts.  Yes, your thoughts will be submitted for a grade, so please write as neatly as possible and take pride in identifying the most important things you hear during class.  From there, you will create your blogger account and have an opportunity to find some blogs that relate to your area of focus elective and career, as well as following a blog that relates to one of your interests outside your area of focus elective.  That's right.  You will get to read for leisure in this class!

Here's a breakdown of our week:

Monday

What is a “living document” exactly? What does a good blog look like? How can this blog benefit you w/r/t college admissions and job opportunities?  How can a blog (and any social media) potentially hurt college admissions and job opportunities? Think before you hit send lecture and practice taking notes

Tuesday

Set up Google and Blogger account

-Students set up Google and Blogger account and search blogs related to their desired career path and one of their leisure activities

-Students add a comment to at least one career-related blog and leisure-related blog

Wednesday – Thursday

-Students compose a 300-word blog post about what they think this course will be about

-Students follow one another on Google+/Blogger

-Students comment on at least two other blogs in the class

-Analyze & Critique each blog:

            -How does this blog compare to the ones you followed earlier this week?

            -Does the blog follow the conventions of standard written English?

            -Does the author come off as intelligent? Interesting?  Why/Why not?

Friday

In my absence, you will be able to catch up on any WBL classwork you haven't finished. Once you're all caught up, you will begin an exercise in backward design.  Here are your instructions:

1. Identify your dream career
2. Search out a business that exists in this field (preferably in or near Clarksville) 
1. Note as much contact information for this business as possible
3. Conduct a job search (Monster and Indeed provide solid resources) for this position
1. List as many skills and other requirements for the position
2. Note the educational requirements and professional certifications needed for this position
4. Find out which postsecondary opportunities exist for this career
1. Note High School educational requirements to earn admission to this school

We will continue with this assignment into next week.  Please email your findings to mattspinella@gmail.com to let me know how much of this assignment you have completed. 

That's it for this week.  I'll see you Monday!

And So It Begins

“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you.
You must travel it by yourself.
It is not far. It is within reach.
Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know. 
Perhaps it is everywhere - on water and land.” 
― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

This week marks the first full week of our journey in course 6105 - Work-Based Learning: Career Practicum, though each of you has already traveled quite a bit just to get here.  I plan to utilize this blog to guide us through our year so that everyone has an opportunity to know where we are going and what we are doing each day, either in class or at our placements.  

Although I am a member of the Department of Education's Work-Based Learning Leadership Council, this is my first year actually teaching Career Practicum.  This means I am just as new to this course as you are.  Throughout the year, we will work our way through the curriculum, utilizing the resources provided in the WBL Toolbox to master the WBL State Standards.  

Now that we've completed our mandatory safety test, we can begin our journey with our first week of tasks.  Please read below for a simple breakdown:

Monday: Walk Through Personalized Learning Plan
Clear Target: We can analyze a Personalized Learning Plan
Objectives: Define terms related to 21st Century Learning, Understand framework for WBL  course 6105, Walk through personalized learning plan
When we begin class Monday, I will distribute a PLP Packet to each student and explain that this packet will act as a guide for them as they navigate through this course.  We will review the terms associated with 21st Century skills and discuss the importance of preparedness on the job.  When finished, students will have time to absorb the information included in the PLP and reflect on how this will guide them through the year.  As an exit assignment, students will write a "crystal ball" prediction of how the PLP will help them achieve their short-term and long-term goals.

Tuesday: CHOP!
Clear Target: We can analyze the effectiveness of work ethic in all areas of life
Objectives: Discuss work ethic, View video about work ethic, apply concepts of CHOP! to school, job, and life scenarios
Today, our discussion and classwork revolves around a video about CHOP! Students will take notes on at least 10 elements of the video that stand out to them and discuss the importance of CHOP! in all aspects of their work.

Wednesday: Student WBL Profile and Self-Assessment of Skills
Clear Target: We can analyze personal strengths and weaknesses 
Objectives: Define terms related to self-assessment, complete WBL Profile and Self-Assessment of Skills
I will distribute the Student Work-Based Learning Profile and Self-Assessment of Skills and explain the relevance of each form.  We will analyze each form and independently, students will complete each.  We will discuss our personal strengths and weaknesses and learn how to improve each work-based skill.  Students will use these forms as they progress through the year to track personal growth and mastery of each skill.  Forms will be reviewed for a grade kept in student folders.

Thursday: Analysis of WBL State Standards
Clear Target: We can analyze and critique work-based learning skills
Objectives: Read through WBL Standards, Analyze standards, Discuss methods for mastery of each standard
Today's class is designed to give a clear picture of what each student will focus on as we go through the school year.  I will distribute a copy of the WBL Standards and we will read through each, focusing on methods of mastering each standard.  As an exit assignment, students will highlight the standard they feel most excited to work on and explain how they feel a professional exhibits mastery of that standard in their career.

Friday: Note-Taking Framework
Clear Target: We can apply concepts of understanding to highlight important details
Objectives: Review note-taking fundamentals, understand concepts of note-taking, practice taking notes
I will lecture on the purpose of guest speakers and how to take notes appropriately when a speaker is in class.  I will provide an example of notes from college lectures (my own notebook) and demonstrate how to take notes on a lecture/speech.  I will explain that guest speakers will provide guidance on what each job entails (ex: what do you do as a CNA?), what education is required, how to get an interview, how to achieve and maintain success on the job, and what type of opportunities exist in the field.  We will watch a YouTube video about how to be an effective YouTuber and take notes.  I will demo my notes and explain how I organized my understanding of the video.  Below is a clip of the video we'll watch:

So that's it for our first week!  I hope you enjoyed this entry and have a great time as you begin your journey.  Thanks for reading!