Career Talk Show

Summary

• Students will create a talk show where the talk show host interviews guests in a variety of careers 
• Students will explore and incorporate stylistic features of the talk show/television programming genre 
• Students will work independently or in pairs to research and record information about interesting careers with a STEAM background

Setting the Stage

Talk shows are a staple of daytime television. The reason for their popularity varies but includes the participation of “regular folks” or the opportunity to learn about the work and lives of various celebrities. Talk shows are relatively easy and inexpensive to produce. The content of talk shows range from pop culture fluff to politics to scientific discoveries to morality to support. In this lesson, students will be introduced to the talk show genre and create videos of individuals role-playing guests who talk about their careers. 

Materials & Preparation

• Computers or tablets with internet access (for students)
• Ability to watch a YouTube video (for students)
• Download the Career Talk Show slide show [Google slides] [pptx] [PDF] (for teacher and potentially for students)
• Download the Career Talk Show STEAM Career Search Reproducible (1 per student) [Google doc] [Word doc] [PDF] - provide as a paper or e-copy

What To Do

Part A

• Teachers could begin this lesson by introducing students to the talk show or television programming genre. The introduction could be limited to a description of a television program where a group of guests discuss a range of topics determined by the talk show host. Teachers could show a few examples of talk shows (Ellen, Oprah, etc.) that employ different styles (i.e. humorous vs. serious/informative) and how the shows are structured (beginning, middle, end). Teachers should discuss the types of questions the guests are normally asked and the theme/tone of the interview (informational vs. humorous), what makes for an interesting interview (coach them to include audience interaction). 

Part B

• Teachers could use the ready-to-use Career Talk Show slide show as they introduce this lesson and assignment [Slide 1].
• [Slide 2] Students could be directed to identify a career or career sector that is of interest to them. They could do this by completing a Personality Quiz, such as the one available at https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test. A test like this can help students to discern their personality traits and possible careers of interest.
• [Slide 3] Using the Let’s Talk Science Careers resource site, students should explore different sectors that emphasize STEAM careers. Students should select a career profile related to a career that is of interest to them. They will use this profile as the basis for engaging in a “talk show” where they will be asked questions related to the career. To supplement the information contained in the profile, students could use the Government of Canada Job Bank website.

Part C

• [Slide 4] Teachers should organize students, or students could form their own groups of 3 to 4 students. Students will each choose one of the career profiles from the Let’s Talk Science Careers resource site to be their “career”.

In their groups, students will plan their talk show script, and brainstorm how they are going to engage their audience when talking about their STEAM career. Each member of the group will be interviewed about their “career”. The role of Talk Show Host should be rotated among members of the group. Students could use the Career Talk Show STEAM Career Search Reproducible to focus their research and prepare for the interview.

To scaffold this project, teachers may want to give students specific guidelines such as time requirements (e.g., interviews should be between 3 and 5 minutes) or topics that must be covered (e.g., categories on the STEAM Career Search Reproducible).

• [Slide 5] Teachers could share the Engaging Your Audience YouTube video with students, and have students answer questions, such as the following, to assess comprehension
  1. How many seconds did people’s attention span drop to, in 2015, after the rise of social media? A: 8 seconds
  2. Why do you want to ‘change up’ your presentation a bit (include facts, pictures, related stories, videos, etc.)? A: People’s attention span decreases within the 20 minutes, so they won’t remember much information past the beginning
  3. Why should you get the audience involved in the conversation? A: Increases memory, they feel like they collaborated, and connect to content more
• Teachers could have students conduct their “talk show” in front of the class, with each group rotating into the show’s “set”. Alternatively, students could record the talk show interviews and upload to a secure YouTube channel.

Let’s Talk Science appreciates the work and contributions of Andrea Marshall, Rebecca Lovisek,Tory Shaw and Stephanie Campbell in the development of this lesson.