Demonstrating Skills in Technological Careers

Summary

• Students will develop the capability to carry out a specific task or skill related to a career of interest 
• Students will develop a plan to demonstrate skills related to a career of interest
• Students will teach skills to their peers through presentations
• Students will reflect on the types of tasks that they would like to complete in their future career

Suggested Courses for Ontario:

GLC2O, TGJ2O, TGJ3M, TGJ4M, TGJ4O

Specific Curriculum Expectations for Ontario:

List of Ontario Curriculum Expectations by course [Google doc] [Word doc] [PDF]

Setting the Stage

Each career and type of employment requires many different skills. Gaining hands-on experience practicing a skill can be even more valuable for students than just researching. Actually practicing a skill can help students decide what type of career they are interested in pursuing. Students may realize that they are very interested in careers involving particular types of tasks. Additionally, presenting these skills to their peers allows students to gain a deeper understanding of their career and task through an engaging activity. 

In this lesson, students will choose a career of interest that is related to their current course. Students will research skills that are required in this career. Then, students will prepare a demonstration of one of these skills. Students will teach this skill to their class. Finally, students will reflect on their own career goals and interests. 

This is lesson 2 of 2 in a set that can be used sequentially or as standalone lessons. The suggested sequence for completing these lessons is:

1. Learning about Technological Careers
2. Demonstrating Skills in Technological Careers

Materials & Preparation

• Computers or other devices with internet access (1 per student or small group)
• Skills Demonstration Planning Sheet Reproducible [Google doc] [Word doc] [PDF] - provide as paper or e-copy, 1 per student.
• Students may require several days to prepare materials for their demonstrations 

What To Do

Note: If teachers have not completed the Learning about Technological Careers lesson, teachers could begin this lesson by having students brainstorm careers that are relevant to their current course. Students could also use Canada’s Job Bank and Let’s Talk Science’s STEM career resource site to explore relevant careers. Teachers could record a list of relevant careers. 

• Teachers could begin by reviewing with students that every career requires many different skills. Some skills are technical and may be specific to one career area and others are transferable to many different careers. In this lesson, students will demonstrate some of these skills to help figure out what kinds of careers they are interested in. 
• Teachers could have students refer to a list of careers relevant to their current course. Teachers could tell students to choose a career from the list that they are interested in.
• Students will be creating a short presentation demonstrating a skill required for that career. 
  • Skills could include tangible competencies such as creating a video, wiring a switch, or can include employable skills or global competencies. 
• Teachers could provide students with the Skills Demonstration Planning Sheet reproducible. Students could begin planning their presentation and do research to learn more about potential careers and skills. Teachers could have students prepare their demonstrations individually, in pairs, or in small groups. 
  • When students have decided on a career and skill, teachers could approve and help students figure out how they could feasibly demonstrate this skill in the classroom. 
• Students could plan their presentation using the Skills Demonstration Planning Sheet reproducible. Students could spend a few days gathering materials, learning, and practicing their skill. 
  • Teachers could give students a suggested amount of time for their presentations. For example, students may get 5 minutes of setup, 5 minutes to present, and 5 minutes of cleanup. Teachers could encourage students to plan their presentations accordingly. 
• Students could demonstrate the lesson to the class in a short presentation.  
  • Optional: teachers could have the student bring up a couple of volunteers who will actually try to learn the skill. This could increase student engagement without requiring students to provide materials for the whole class.  
• After the presentation, teachers could have students reflect using one or more of the following strategies. 
  • sharing constructive feedback about their peers’ presentations
  • writing a journal entry about what they learned and which careers they might be interested in learning more about
  • leading a class discussion around how these skills and careers are related to content they are learning in their class
• Optional: Students could present their tasks at a Skills Canada competition. Students who are interested in competing may want to read the Skills Canada contest rules as they plan their project.