Query a Career Profile

Summary

• Students will make connections between the content that they are studying in class and related careers
• Students will make inferences about the skills required for a specific career based on their exploration of a career profile
• Students will create questions and ask their peers about a variety of different careers related to the topics they are studying in science class
• Students will reflect on how their career interests and goals relate to the career profiles they explored

Setting the Stage

Throughout high school science courses, students explore a variety of topics that are relevant for many careers. Gaining exposure to careers that relate to the content they are learning in science class is an excellent way for students to realize the importance of science skills beyond the classroom. Additionally, reading profiles of specific people rather than just general career descriptions allows students to make connections and relate to people working in STEM careers. Students are able to further imagine what it feels like to work in one of these careers by pretending to be their profiled person in peer interviews. Learning about the different paths that people take in STEM careers can help students connect science class to their future goals and life path. 

In this lesson, students read a profile of a person working in a STEM-related career. Students then share what they learned about their profiled person through peer interviews. Finally, students reflect on what they’ve learned about careers that connect to the content they are studying in science class. 

This is lesson 4 of 4 in a set that can be used sequentially or as standalone lessons. The suggested sequence for completing these lessons is:

1. Exploring Career Sectors and Skills
2. How Does STEM Support Non-STEM Careers?
3. STEM Skills and Self-Exploration
4. Query a Career Profile

Materials & Preparation

• Career Profile Query Template Reproducible (1 per student) [Google doc] [PDF] - provide as a paper or e-copy
• Peer Interview Template Reproducible (1-3 per student based on the number of interviews conducted) [Google doc] [PDF] - provide as a paper or e-copy

With Internet Access: 

• Computers or tablets with internet access (1 per student)
• Access Let’s Talk Science career exploration page 
• Career Profile Lists by Topic: Choose one of the following career profile lists based on your current topic of study. Provide each student with an e-copy. 
  • Biology Career Profile List Reproducible [Google doc] [PDF]
  • Chemistry Career Profile List Reproducible [Google doc] [PDF]
  • Climate/Environment Career Profile List Reproducible [Google doc] [PDF]
  • Ecology Career Profile List Reproducible [Google doc] [PDF]
  • Electricity Career Profile List Reproducible [Google doc] [PDF]
  • Optics Career Profile List Reproducible [Google doc] [PDF]
  • Space Career Profile List Reproducible [Google doc] [PDF]

Without Internet Access

• Choose several profiles from the Career Profile List by Topic that are relevant to your current topic of study. Provide students with print or PDF copies of these profiles. 

What To Do

Part 1: Query a Career Profile

• Teachers could explain that students will be learning about a STEM career by exploring career profiles. Students will choose a career profile from the Let’s Talk Science Career Profile resource site that is related to what they are learning in science class. 
• Teachers could provide students with the Career Profile List reproducible that corresponds to the content they are currently working on. If students cannot access the website online, teachers could provide print copies of the profiles. Each student could choose one of these profiles to explore in more depth. 
• Students could read their career profile and answer the guiding questions on the template.
  • Optional: Students could supplement the information obtained from the profiles by accessing the Government of Canada’s Career Planning Job Profiles search. 
• Once complete, students could review the information they collected from their profile, as they will be asked to share with classmates in an interview format.

Part 2: Peer Interviews

• Students could pair up with another student who read a different profile in Part 1. 
• Students could take a few minutes to record questions that they would like to ask about their peer’s career profile on the Peer Interview Template reproducible. Students should choose their questions keeping in mind the scope of the information included in Let’s Talk Science Career Profiles. 
• Each student could conduct a brief interview of their partner, who will answer as if they are the profiled person they just learned about. Students could record their findings on the Peer Interview Template reproducible. 
• Optional: Teachers could repeat this process so that students participate in several peer interviews. 

Part 3: Reflection

• Teachers could lead a reflection discussion about what students have learned from their interviews. Teachers could ask students to write down some thoughts about one of the following questions before participating in a group discussion. Teachers could use the following questions to guide a group discussion. 
  • What skills were required for the careers you learned about? What skills were common? What skills were specific to the career?
  • Which career did you find most interesting? Why?
  • How did the careers you explored connect to the unit that we are studying? What specific content/ information do they use?
  • Describe something that surprised you about the careers you explored. This might be something about the skills needed, the pathway they took to get their or something about the actual job. 
  • What questions do you still have about the careers that you explored?
  • Reflect on your personal skills and knowledge. Could you see yourself pursuing any of these career paths? Why or why not?
  • What steps do you need to take to develop the skills and knowledge that will help you land your dream job?