For years, I have been told that we need to make students aware of science-based careers, or careers in your content area should be a focus. Most teachers I know, have no idea how to do this effectively. Some teachers have guest speakers come to class, do career fairs, research career assignments, and quite a few other spin-off ideas, but most do not do anything at all. I have tried several ways and have had very little interest from students, and I wanted to make the experience authentic and engaging.
With the competency-based classroom instruction that I do, I decided that my lens was too broad and that it could be refocused in a way that included careers. Now I teach my instruction with specific careers in mind. I make different competencies that are based on a central topic. Each competency is a job that is related to that topic. Each competency is then built with that job's daily tasks in mind with the end goal being something that would showcase what that job is like while conveying the content ideas.
Weather-
a. Meteorologist predicts the weather based on radar images,
b. Forensic meteorologists predict the weather based on given data
c. Engineer-develop something that protects from weather, or measures weather, or uses the weather in some way
d Scientist conduct a weather-related experiment
e. Professor teaches something about the weather
f. Satellite Imagery specialists use satellite data to explain current weather conditions.
Conservation of Energy -
a. Engineer - make a product that uses the idea of conservation of energy, like a rube-goldberg machine, or electric generation.
b. Scientist conduct an experiment that tests the law.
c. Professor teaches about the law.
d. Electrician use the law to create an electrical circuit.
e. Automobile crash test facility workers can use the law to show how long it takes to break, or how much damage will be done to a vehicle, or suggest specific materials the vehicle should be made of to minimize the damage.
f. HVAC workers can use the information to regulate the temperature of a specific area, and make a space hotter or colder.
Cells -
a. Engineer can show how CRISPR technology can engineer organisms.
b. Scientist can experiment with cells.
c. Professor can teach about cells.
d. Doctor can explain how cells are interconnected in the body
e. Farmer needs to know about cells for husbandry.
f. Activist can be for or against cellular technology or the moral use of information associated with cells, like GMOs, stem cells, biological weapons, and many more.
The content can be applied to so many different situations. These different situations allow for individualized education while increasing engagement and allowing the students to experience a career that they may never have known existed. Engineer, Scientist, and Professor are three that are in every unit I teach. These three careers are associated with all topics we cover, and it makes it easier for me to plan. It also allows for students who want to do experiments and students who want to build things defined pathways. Also for students who want to just do the easiest one, I tell them to do the teaching career as it is the most straightforward.
The question of why are we learning this is never asked in this type of teaching because students understand how this content is applied to real-world scenarios and jobs. Students may not always like the choices offered, but not all jobs connect to our units in easily understandable ways. Some careers take many years to understand the various connections, and there is no way students will be able to understand how to do that job with the limited time we have. But much of our content is directly related to various careers, like nail technician, mechanics, painting, construction, and many many more careers. It is up to teachers to show how this content is related to everyday life, even if it is just day-to-day things like cooking and cleaning, or where your water and food originates.
Not all students want or need to get a college degree. With this in mind make sure that you have a mix of careers with and without a degree. The work does not have to be exactly like someone in that field would do on a day-to-day basis. The students just need to see how the information is connected and get a glimpse of what that career is like. The money aspect is great but does not motivate all people, and researching degrees needed for a job can be overwhelming for a variety of reasons. These simple connections can make a big difference in participation levels and abilities to apply the content in various ways.