Summary
This professional development is designed to promote a college-going culture (life post-secondary school). College culture is typically thought of as a four-year university, but the term actually also entails other options after high school. As educators, we must prepare our students to think of their future. Career Cafés help promote and provide an opportunity to inform students of the options after high school. This session is designed to introduce educators to the Career Café strategy to help students prepare for their future.
Essential Questions
Why is it important to educate students about careers?
How does promoting career awareness within public schools advance college readiness?
Learning Goals
Participants will learn what a Career Café is and the significance as to why they are important.
Participants will begin to plan a Career Café for students at their site.
Materials List
Paper, pencils, pens
Chairs, for use in a circle
Sticky Notes
Student Survey Samples
Career Café Resource Handout (attached)
Engage
Change to the slide, "Chain Notes." Pose the question, "Why is it important to educate students about career diversity?" Participants will get into groups of four. Each group will use one sheet of paper to list 10 or more reasons it is important to engage students in career knowledge during the secondary years of education. Provide a few minutes for participants to create a list as a group. After a few minutes of writing stop the groups and have them pass their papers to another group (pass all papers to the right). Providing another minute allow groups to read over the list they received and add new ideas/reasons to that list. If time permits pass the papers one more time to another group and allow them to read and write new ideas/reasons. After the papers have been passed, read, and added to, allow participants to share out some of the items listed on the papers they received. Lead a discussion on the importance of promoting career knowledge.
Change to the slide "Session Goals." Briefly go over session goals with participants. This provides a roadmap of the session and sets the path for the rest of the professional development session.
Explore
Change to the slide "Guiding Questions." Explain that participants will listen for answers to these questions during the video, and after the video they will get a chance to turn and talk to a neighbor about these questions.
Change to the video slide. Play the video by either clicking on the link or the embedded video.
After the video, change to the slide "Think-Pair-Share." Allow participants a minute to reflect on the video and the guiding questions. Instruct participants to find an elbow partner. Give them a two to three minutes to discuss their thoughts from the questions and the video. After a few minutes have participants share out to the whole group for two to three more minutes.
Change to the "What Students Say About Career Cafés" slide, and read through the six bullet points with participants. Then present the question, "After reading the bullets listed, how does student need influence the goals and benefits of a Career Café?" Instruct participants to quickly turn and talk to a neighbor about how the student need impacts a Career Café. Then show the last part of the slide, "Top Four Influences on Career Choice Reported by Students," and ask the question, "Does this change anything you just said and if so how?"
Explain
Change to the slide "Creating a Career Café." Instruct participants to each bring pen, paper and their chair to create a large circle. After everyone is seated present the first question on the slide, "What does a Career Café look like?" Use Roundabout Conversations to facilitate conversation. Below are the instructions for this activity.
Allow participants time to jot down their ideas that answer the question.
Split the group in half (can count off by ones and twos or use another group strategy that is quick to split the group in half). One half of the group makes a circle facing out and the other half makes another circle around the first group facing in. The inside circle shakes hands with a partner on the outside and introduce themselves.
The presenter stands in the middle of the inside circle so he or she may better hear and monitor the discussion and responses.
Have partners share their written responses with each other.
After a minute or two of sharing, have the outside circle move to the left to shift partners (presenter can play music and when the music stops the people stop or presenter can have circle shift 1,2,3 or any number of people to receive a new partner). Each person will have a new partner and share again with their thoughts and ideas about what a career café would look like.
After another minute or two allow participants to return to their seats and share out some of the ideas they shared and heard.
Click the presentation slide to show the next question, "What steps do we need to take to implement a Career Café?" Follow the same Roundabout Conversation steps, one through six, as listed above for this question.
Then do the same for questions three and four on the PowerPoint slides.
Extend
Change to the "Career Café" slide. Have participants return to their seats. Prepare in advance then pass out the "Career Café Resource Handout" and instruct participants to begin working in table groups to create a plan for the Career Cafés they will be hosting in the near future. Tell participants to use what they just talked about during the roundabout conversations paired with the packet to help guide and organize a plan of action. Be sure to include an approach for community members and recruiting students to attend in the plan. The planning group will also need to create a flyer promoting the Career Café and look at interest surveys on the internet using some of the links provided also on the "Career Café Resource Handout."
What are our next steps?
Who is going to be the main contact person?
Do we create a sign-up sheet with dates that different teachers are in charge of planning and organizing?
Where are we going to host? Which room or area of the school can be used?
How are we going to fund the food for the lunches?
How do we promote?
How many students will be allowed to attend each session?
Do we need one or two sessions each time (use lunches to help determine this schedule)?
How do we prepare our speakers? (Remember they are not usually accustomed to speaking to students)
After groups have started to wrap up their discussions and action plans, allow some groups to share out some of their ideas what next steps they would need to take. The additional "Career Café Speaker Orientation" documents found in Attachments, can be sent to career speakers. Be sure to modify this PowerPoint to include your sites contact information and location. This will guide your career volunteers on how to best present to students, outlining expectations for their presentations.
Evaluate
Change to the "3-2-1." slide, and have participants complete the following activity independently. Each person will use sticky notes to write down three items learned about Career Cafés. Following this professional development session, write down two action items that you will use to help plan, organize, etc. or two action items that you will use to support the plan, organization, etc of a Career Café. Lastly, write one question or item you are still struggling with about Career Cafés.
At the end of the session (and if time allows), participants may share out their questions. This will provide an opportunity for the presenter to clear up any misunderstandings or misconceptions about Career Cafés. It will also provide an opportunity for the participants to reflect on their learning from the session.
Follow-up Activities
Research Rationale
Career Cafés promote career and college awareness early to young students. A study published in 2011 found that "roughly half of college students in engineering made that decision while still in high school, making this a critical time period" (Hall, C., Dickerson, J., Batts, D., Kauffmann, P., & Bosses, M., 2011). Research also shows that students who demonstrate a strong talent and interest in STEM are most influenced to become interested in STEM through extracurricular experiences (VanMeter-Adams, A., Frankenfeld, C., & Liotta, L., 2014).
Resources
3-2-1 instructional strategy: K20 Center. (n.d.). 3-2-1. Instructional Strategies. Retrieved from https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f5059a7b
Barr, L., & Harrington, C. (Eds.). (1991). Energize!: Energizers and Other Great Cooperative Activities for All Ages. Quest International.
Chain Notes instructional strategy: K20 Center. (n.d.). Chain notes. Instructional Strategies. Retrieved from https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f50621a4
Hall, C., Dickerson, J., Batts, D., Kauffmann, P., & Bosse, M. (2011). Are we missing opportunities to encourage interest in STEM fields?.
Kagan, S. (1989). The structural approach to cooperative learning. Educational leadership, 47(4), 12-15.
Mason, E., Ockerman, M. S., & Chen-Hayes, S. F. (2013). Change-Agent-for-Equity (CAFE) Model: A Framework for School Counselor Identity. Journal of School Counseling, 11(4), n4.
Moody, B., Kruse, G., Nagel, J., & Conlon, B. (2008). Career development project for incarcerated youth: Preparing for the future. Journal of Correctional Education, 231-243.
Roundabout Conversations instructional strategy: K20 Center. (2016). Roundabout conversations. Instructional Strategies. Copyright 2015, Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. Retrieved from https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/fe96d3de46cfdc1f385aab7e75009704
Think-Pair-Share instructional strategy: K20 Center. (n.d.). Think-Pair-Share. Instructional Strategies. Retrieved from https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f5064b49
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2016, March 15). Earnings and unemployment rates by educational attainment. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm
VanMeter-Adams, A., Frankenfeld, C. L., Bases, J., Espina, V., & Liotta, L. A. (2014). Students who demonstrate strong talent and interest in STEM are initially attracted to STEM through extracurricular experiences. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(4), 687-697.
YouTube. (July 18, 2016). Career café - K20 center. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JaivPbGi7M