This week, we're going to have true differentiation regarding the focus of our tasks. Those of you who are beginning your placements will hit the road and begin your work. Those of you who will be leaving in the next week will focus on completing the necessary pages of your PLP and sharing out your expectations/trepidation moving forward. Finally, those of you who have not yet secured a placement will work on finding an appropriate placement for your senior experience. By the end of the week, we'll have a good amount of material to post a worthwhile blog entry. Below is a list of goals and a breakdown of what we will do each day:
Those With Placements:
- Focus on the technical skills you learn during training
- What do you do?
- What type of tools do you use?
- Is there software you need to learn about? How user-friendly is it?
- During your observations, pay close attention to the technical skills of your mentor
- Please use the same questions above
- Is there a clear difference between your skill and your workplace mentor's?
Those Scheduled to begin 9/26:
- Confirm your start date/hours
- Coordinate completion of pages 8 - 10 of the PLP with employer and guardian
- What type of technical skills will you need to succeed?
- What do you expect to do in your first week?
- Think about how nervous you are about the placement. How will you handle your nerves?
Those Without Placements:
- Inquire with Nia Association regarding openings they may have (utilize their "Contact Us" page)
- Find businesses that would fit your desired career path
- Reach out to businesses that hire high school-age part-time employees
- Call/walk in/apply online
- Log all your contacts to make sure you are organized
**If you have interviews scheduled during class time, please let me know in advance so I can get clearance from the office for you to leave the building**
Monday
On Monday, we will begin class with a discussion of something I like to call E-Linking. This is an exercise I used to do when training new employees in sales positions to get them comfortable with asking questions, listening, and gaining confidence interacting with people. I'll explain what E-Linking is about, and after a brief explanation, you'll partner up with someone to practice. After you've finished the exercise, you'll report out in Edmodo how this exercise helped you.
After our E-Linking exercise, we will discuss feasible options for your placements. Based on your transportation and after-school commitments, each of you will have a specific list that fits your circumstances. Once you've put together a strong list of possibilities, you'll likely be ready to prioritize your calls for Tuesday's class period.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, I will be out of the building with a few students on school business. Those of you who are in class will use the list you composed Monday to reach out to all the employers on your list. Begin by contacting Nia Association and then reach out to the remaining businesses on your personalized list. You'll log all your contacts using the Google Sheet I created. If you have additional time in class and have any missing assignments (a few of you do), please work on completing those. If you have no missing assignment, please work on updating your Weebly page and/or come up with some ideas you can add to your YouTube page to build your digital footprint. If you have placements scheduled to begin in the next week or two, work on completing those last 3 pages of the PLP and help other students in their pursuit of a placement.
Wednesday
Wednesday will be role play day. We're going to role play various scenarios you may encounter at your placements, such as angry customers, handling questions you may not know how to answer, being asked to pick up someone else's shift, requesting someone else to pick up one of your shifts, etc. Each scenario will accompany a short discussion of whether or not the student handled the scenario properly and opportunities to re-do when necessary.
Thursday
Some of your internships are Monday through Wednesday, so you may be joining us for the first time this week. Those of you who were out in the field Monday through Wednesday will begin class by explaining what you did at your placements. Did you have to fill out a lot of paperwork? Did you have to take certain safety tests? Did you receive training of any kind? Or did you get right to work? You'll let us know about your week and how you like your jobs so far.
After this, we'll ask you to help us develop other scenarios students might encounter on the job. We'll use the remainder of the period to go over some different role play scenarios and critique each student's performance.
Friday
Friday will be your day to provide us with a status-update on where you stand, where you wish to be moving forward, and how you plan to get there. Those of you who have been working will type up a blog entry very similar to what you reported out in class Thursday. You'll discuss what you did for the week, what went well, what didn't go so well, how you like your placement, and what your plans for the year are. Those of you who will begin your placements in the next week or two will address your feelings and nerves about beginning your placement. Use the questions above to guide your writing. Finally, those of you who haven't yet secured a placement will discuss your plan to find a placement and detail your progress. Again, the questions above will help frame your writing.
I will be available for all of you if you wish to bounce questions off me or need assistance with your writing. Please don't hesitate to call me over. I'm here to help you.
Let's have a great week! See you in class.
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