Key highlights of topic exploration
After considering the topic of career education, I decided that my project will focus on career planning. I will create a 6th grade classroom. This one-week study should combine theoretical study and seek a placement as an “apprentice” or do a job shadow in the community. This design-based project will enable students to gain input and explore their interests, meanwhile, help students apply project management skills to support career development. Students will think critically and creatively and can effectively manage and plan their own life and future.
Key questions
How can career education help students manage their life?
Possibilities: After this curriculum could allow students to develop connections with others, share ideas, express their own personality, further study, how to manage themselves and have a plan or a certain idea for their career.
Our course will be divided into regular classroom support and activities.
One day-in class
- Theoretical study
- Class activity (Ikigai)
Three days-outside
- Seek a placement as an “apprentice”
- Do a job shadow in the community
Last day–in class
- Individual reflection and share their experience
For EDUC 5990, I will use the BC Curriculum for Grade 6 career education as a model for demonstrating curriculum connections in an inquiry-based learning environment.
Career Education 6
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/career-education/6/core
Core competency
The first is the importance of communication, how to connect with others, share their ideas, express their own personality, learn further, manage yourself and do things well. Second, Knowing and caring about oneself and others and what it takes to find and achieve their goals in the world.
Personal Awareness & Responsibility (Profile 4)
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies/personal-and-social/personal-awareness-and-responsibility
I can recognize my strengths and take responsibility for using strategies to focus, manage stress, and accomplish my goals.
Communicating (Profile 5)
Communication can help students build and maintain their relationships with home, school, community, and social media.
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies/communication/communicating
I communicate confidently, using forms and strategies that show attention to my audience and purpose.
Curricular Competency
- Recognize their personal preferences, skills, strengths, and abilities and connect them to possible career choices
- Explore volunteer opportunities and other new experiences outside school and recognize their value in career development
- Apply project management skills to support career development
This inquiry framework involves many First Peoples’ Principles of Learning (FPPL). The First Peoples’ Principles of Learning (FPPL) will also be linked in the two weeks of activities.
First People’s Principles of Learning:
- Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.
- Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
- Learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions.
- Learning requires exploration of one’s identity.
Activity
When I first came into contact with ikigai before, I found it very novel, as if it opened the door to a new world. We often think about why we are here and what we should really do. This theory can give us some ideas
Ikigai is a Japanese term which means “reason for being”. Each person has their own ikigai (Richards, 2019). In other words, it can explain what is your motivation to get up every day. He also talked about the purpose of our life. Nowadays, more and more people are following the social orientation rather than following their inner demand. Hence, Richards (2019) that what should we do is to think about what we are really supposed to be doing? Moreover, the author stated four elements that are related to the ikigai.
- What you Love (your passion)
- What the World Needs (your mission)
- What you are Good at (your vocation)
- What you can get Paid for (your profession)
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrismyers/2018/02/23/how-to-find-your-ikigai-and-transform-your-outlook-on-life-and-business/?sh=3b1662962ed4)
In addition, the author also mentioned that we will meet many challenges in our life, such as our job. Society has more and more rules to bind people. Meanwhile, people are required to have higher capacity to finish their work. However, some people did not give up their passion for their careers but followed their favorite things to positively change the direction and found ways to inspire themselves to support themselves, which is a good reflection about passion.
Discovering your Ikigai(What is Your Ikigai?)
- What are you Great at?
- What unique skills do you have that come most naturally to you?
- What talents have you cultivated and what do you excel at even when you aren’t trying?
Youth Discover the Trades Programs is a one day event with local tradespeople, students may have found some interest from this program.
https://youth.itabc.ca/programs/discover/
Observing, asking questions and investigating, this is how humans understand the world (Friesen et al, n.d.). The inquiry is based on the rich and vivid topographic map as the starting point, that is, the place where we meet the students in the inquiry (David, 2002). Once everyone adapts to the inquiry, each student will have their own understanding of the career. In the inquiry, we can start to see that the topics outlined in the course guide can be regarded as life topics, life, ongoing, and unfinished conversations, in which we add our own voices for understanding (David, 2002). At the same time, in the process of querying, we can better understand the personality of the student. “Each student, “constructs” an understanding of the venture from his or her own point of view” (David, 2002). Through inquiry and experience, they will know what they are good at or how to develop themselves.
There is also another example that inspired me which is building a learning community is an effective way to help students learn. Teachers help the students are deeply involved in this work and know why it is important to them and the subject. This community is not just to provide students with the opportunity to share their ideas publicly(Friesen et al, 2013). Similarly, teachers have to build a shared relationship, and then students have to develop strategies for asking and responding to each other.
In career education, first through inquiry, establish a learning community to learn what is a career. Then, students try to find one’s own position through the relationship between individuals and others, school and society.
Further questions
- What can I do to find a purpose/calling/career that is well suited to me?
- What should we do to better manage ourselves?
- What change would you most love to create in the world?