O*NET: Free Career Source

by Renee Tonquest
CTE Cluster Specialist
Health Science

Working over the past few months with the development of our new Career Portals materials has allowed me to become more familiar with the O*NET website.  O*NET is the nation’s free source of occupational information which contains hundreds of occupation-specific career descriptions.  This site is much more than a tool for the Career Portals course.  You can search for careers by keywords, your interests or you can browse over 900 career options sorted by specific industry. It may be used throughout your life in the event you decide to change jobs later on. 

Listed below are just some of the many resources you can access through the O*NET site. 

Career Exploration Tools http://www.onetcenter.org/tools.html

You can use these tools for self-directed career exploration tools to plan career options. These tools are also a great resource for students who are thinking about their future career plans. 

O*NET Work Importance Locator  http://www.onetcenter.org/WIL.html?p=3

The O*NET Work Importance Locator is a self-assessment career exploration tool that allows you to identify what is important in a job. It will help you identify occupations that you may like based on the similarity between your work values and the characteristics of the occupations.

Green Occupations  http://www.onetcenter.org/green.html

You can also specifically search for green increased-demand occupations, green enhanced skills occupations, and green new and emerging occupations on the O*NET website. 

Bright Outlook  http://www.mynextmove.org/find/bright

The Bright Outlook section highlights careers that will grow rapidly over the next few years; will have large numbers of openings; and are new and emerging. 

Professionals face aggressive competition for the most desired positions in the workforce.  It is essential to be able to use a variety of online tools to research careers and occupations.  Take a few minutes to explore the O*NET website; it may be perfect for you classroom or your personal life. 

Resource

O*NET OnLine. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2015, from http://www.onetonline.org/

Career Portals: Window to the Future

By Dr. Violet Dickson

Cluster Specialist

Arts, AV Technology & Communications

Information Technology 

About a month ago, I took my 16-year-old grandson to visit the Graphic Design and Illustration class at the LaGrone Advanced Technology Complex in Denton ISD. Garret had taken some art classes during his freshman and sophomore years and had expressed an interest in graphics design, but he really didn’t know anything about the CTE program or what it had to offer. As a cluster specialist for the Arts, AV Technology and Communications Cluster, I wanted to make sure that my grandson had the opportunity to explore the possibilities that were available to him through the CTE program in his school district, so he could make an informed decision regarding his career focus.  

After his initial visit to Mrs. Wilson’s graphics design class, he was - in his words – “Stoked!”

She explained how the CTE program worked, gave him an overview of what he could expect in her class, and showed him many professional-looking projects that her students had completed. She also showed him examples of things he would learn to do with the computer software programs that were available to students in her class. The classroom visit was followed by family discussions at home, online research to find out more about the local CTE program, and a preliminary and a final meeting with his school counselor.

I am very proud to say that Garret made the decision this past week and finalized the scheduling changes so he could enroll in the CTE program in the fall, with the purpose of focusing on Graphic Design and Illustration in the Arts, AV Technology and Communications Cluster.

This experience got me to thinking about the incredible opportunities CTE programs offer students every day. Today’s CTE programs are a far cry from the vocational education courses that were available in my day.  CTE courses are designed to meet the needs of today’s students in a global economy and a digital age and to prepare them for success in college and careers by equipping them with “the academic knowledge—as well as the technical and employability skills—they need to find productive careers and lead fulfilling lives.” Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education (http://www.ed.gov/blog/2014/02/celebrating-cte-month/).

The following is an excerpt from a CTE “fact sheet” provided by the Association for Career and Technical Education (www.acteonline.org).

What is Career and Technical Education?

1. Encompasses 94 percent of high school students and 12 million postsecondary students.
2. Includes high schools, career centers, community and technical colleges, four-year universities and more
3. Educates students for a range of career options through 16 Career Clusters® and 79+ pathways
4. Integrates with academics in a rigorous and relevant curriculum
5. Features high school and postsecondary partnerships, enabling clear pathways to certifications and degrees
6. Fulfills employer needs in high-skill, high-wage, high-demand areas
7. Prepares students to be college- and career-ready by providing core academic skills, employability skills and technical, job-specific skills

When you consider all the benefits of being in a CTE program, you may wonder what we can do to inform students, parents, and teachers and make them aware of the college and career possibilities that are available through CTE.

Well… in addition to working on new advanced-level practicums for the CTE career clusters, the UNT Education Excellence grant team members have also been working this year to develop a year-long Career Portals course for 8^th grade students. The Portals course will provide teachers with exciting and engaging lessons that guide students through a year of career exploration by investigating a different career cluster every two weeks. 

The Career Portals Module is filled with lesson plans for teachers that include step-by-step, hands-on activities that introduce students to various career possibilities. Students learn how to write resumes, develop portfolios, research career and college requirements, and participate in “engaging” activities that allow them to sample many different careers from each of the career clusters.

I’m excited about all of the work we’ve done this year and the new resources that will be available for teachers in the fall through this website: www.cte.unt.edu - New advanced-level practicums for the CTE career clusters and a new year-long Career Portals Module that will hopefully open the “Window” to many students’ future!

New Framework for CTE

by Kristin Petrunin Marketing Cluster Specialist

This fall I had an opportunity to attend the Association for Career and Technical Education Research conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference was full of great ideas for CTE students, educators, and administrators. Across all of the information presented at the conference, one specific idea seemed to answer CTE’s most pressing need. What is CTE?

Dr. Jay Rojewski and Dr. Roger Hill (2014) created an evolutionary framework for 21st Century CTE. The framework was not cluster specific and did not promise to contain all of the answers for the field. It was a solid starting point for addressing what CTE needs to become. Three components were suggested to create lasting and durable outcomes for students in the 21st century workplace. 

Final Thoughts
CTE is often accused of cluster loyalty instead of holistic career success. What if we started to address this framework within all career clusters? Have we become engrossed in relaying course content instead of preparing students for individualized career decisions? Is it possible to include this framework within current coursework?

The Call for Classroom Global Awareness

by Holly Smith
Cluster Specialist
Business Management Administration
Finance, Marketing

Without checking the answers, see if you can identify the cluster by the following TEKS:

1. The student understands professional communications strategies. The student is expected to:
   (A) adapt language for audience, purpose, situation, and intent
   (F) listen to and speak with diverse individuals
2. The student integrates knowledge and presentation skills related to diplomacy when representing the United States to host-country officials, media personnel, and traveling officials. The student is expected to:
   (A) demonstrate the ability to provide host-country officials with information on United States government and culture
   (B) organize exchange programs to enable future host-country decision makers to acquire familiarity with the United States institutions, customs, and culture
3. The student explores concepts related to cultural diversity. The student is expected to:
   (A) identify significant similarities and differences in international culture
   (B) explain the variety of world markets
   (C) describe marketing factors and practices that impact other cultures.

ANSWERS:

1. Arts, A/V Technology and Communication
2. Government and Public Administration
3. Transportation, Distribution and Logistics

When I talk to CTE teachers about the impact we can make on our students by teaching global etiquette and global awareness, I always ground the discussion by referencing TEKS beyond the scope of my clusters of Business Administration and Management and Finance. While global awareness certainly fits best in the class Global Business, the topic is also covered in almost cluster explicitly; and, in every cluster in a general statement for at least one class.

Here are some quick ways we can infuse some global awareness into any class:

1. Use the professional development, 2-part series found here on our site to introduce our students to cultural etiquette in a select number of countries. http://cte.unt.edu/business/best-practices.
2. Consider getting a copy of Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands by Terri Morrison. You will be hard-pressed to find a better reference book for learning etiquette of every culture, from the tipping policies to how to hand out business cards.
3. If buying a book doesn’t fit your classroom budget, try using the CIA Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
4. Use Journeysinfilm.org and incorporate their free lesson plans that accompany their global documentaries.
5. Need some apps? I suggest these free apps (in both Android and Apple versions).
   API Study Abroad – app is a peer-to-peer information exchange with current, former and future exchange students.
   World Flag Currency Converter – convert dollars into any currency around the globe
   Subway Maps – Subway maps of the world

Want some games for global awareness? Use worldlicenseplates.com to create flashcards of 20+ countries. On the back, put facts about each country.

Or, send your students on a journey from Texas to the L’Ouvre. When they have their trip planned, including travel costs and logistics, exchange rate for their funds, how to travel around Paris, then have them go to the L’Ouvre’s website and take a virtual tour. Ask them questions about how to tip their waiter, the best method of traveling the city, how people greet each other, etc. For even more global awareness tips, find my presentation at TCEC this summer in Houston, Texas. For more information, click here: http://www.tcecconference.com/summer.

Staying in “the Zone”

by Violet Dickson

Cluster Specialist, Arts, AV Technology & Communication

“Instruction must be oriented toward the future, not the past.” Vygotsky

 

During Spring Break, I had the opportunity to work with a group of newly certified teachers in Trinidad to help them design a new curriculum for 15-18 year old young men in their Youth Training Center. The curriculum would be designed around Trinidad’s competency standards for vocational qualifications, so once students completed the program, they could receive certification in the area of Technical Assistance in TV and Video Production. With valuable skills and certification, these students would have a much better chance of getting a good job with a bright future.

 

As I worked with these teachers to develop lessons for the course, my focus was initially on how to create a logical flow so each lesson would build on skills and concepts learned in the previous lesson, allowing students to connect new learning with past experiences and prior knowledge. I was reminded of how important it was, when teaching students something new, to help them make necessary connections by working within their “zone of proximal development”. However, I soon realized that I was participating in an exchange of ideas with a group of adults where our interactions flowed back and forth, and at various times, I was both the teacher and the learner; the practitioner and the facilitator.

 

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is not a new concept. It originated with Vygotsky, a Russian theorist and psychologist during the Russian Revolution, whose writings were unknown in the West until they were published nearly 50 years later. According to Vygotsky, all learning occurs in this “zone”. The zone refers to the distance between what a student is capable of doing independently, and what a student can potentially achieve when provided with educational support from an adult or through collaboration with more knowledgeable peers. In other words, it is the range of possibilities that a person can achieve with collaborative assistance from others who have knowledge or skills in a particular area. 

 

Vygotsky believed a person’s zone of proximal development was not stagnant, but continuously changing as he or she completed increasingly more difficult work over time with direction and support. This concept originally referred to one's ability to solve problems within a social context. However, Tharp and Gallimore (1988) pointed out that it could also be expanded to examine other zones, including cultural zones, individual zones, and skill-oriented zones. 

 

Tinsley and Lebak (2009) identified a "Zone of Reflective Capacity" in their study of adult learning. This zone shares some of the same attributes of the ZPD, but focuses more on an adult's capacity for reflection as he or she collaborates over an extended period with other adults who have similar goals. Tinsley and Lebak found that, as adults shared ideas, feedback, and analysis during collaboration, their trust, respect, and mutual understanding of each other grew as did their ability to examine their own practices and reflect on their own learning. 

 

Here's a look at a step-by-step process by which teachers can apply the zone of proximal development/the zone of reflective capacity when working with adult learners:  

1. Provide a social context of support where participants become well-acquainted with each other’s practices and viewpoints. 
2. Provide a structure for collaboration where those of varied backgrounds and levels of knowledge can discuss topics openly. 
3. Make sure the assistance is relevant to the participants’ own purposes. 
4. Make sure that the assistance provided enables participants to achieve or perform (in collaboration with others) at a level beyond what he/she could do on their own. 

The journey I shared this spring with a group of teachers from Trinidad illustrates what individuals can accomplish when they work together to improve instructional practices. My strength was in designing curriculum, but I needed a better understanding of Trinidad culture as well as that country’s educational standards. I also needed the teachers’ level of expertise in the field of TV broadcasting in Trinidad. On the other hand, they needed my expertise in designing appropriate experienced-based lessons that would engage the learners as well as meet the standards required for certification.  

 

Through this process, I learned that teachers, like all learners, can operate within the zone to construct new understandings and draw on the guidance and assistance from a range of resources available to them through others (Tharp & Gallimore, 1988). As we “stay in the Zone”, we become better equipped to “aim our instruction toward the future, not the past” (Vygotsky, 1978). 

 

For more information, see:  

• Crawford, K. (1996) Vygotskian approaches to human development in the information era. Educational Studies in Mathematics. (31) 43-62. 
• Lebak, K. & Tinsley, R. (2010). Can inquiry and reflection be contagious? Science teachers, students, and action research. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 21, 953-970. 
• Tharp, R & Gallimore, R. (1988). Rousing Minds to Life. Cambridge University Press. 
• Tinsley, R. & Lebak, K. (2009). Expanding the Zone of Reflective Capacity: Taking separate journeys together. Networks, 11 (2). 
• Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

 

  

What do the Arts have to do with STEM?

by Kathy Belcher

Manufacturing and STEM Cluster Specialist

 

Many educators and professionals advocate including the Arts with the integrated disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Including the Arts will lead to the proposed change to STEAM. Whether STEM or STEAM, the major emphasis is integration of the curricula, in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, rather than curricula taught as five isolated disciplines.

Including the Arts is a natural component that enhances and supports STEM curricula:

·         Arts education is a key to creativity

·         Creativity is an essential component of and spurs innovation

·         Innovation is necessary to create new products and industries

·         New industries, with their jobs, are the basis of future economic well-being (White)

An interesting example of the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and the Arts was recently featured in the Arts & Life section of The Dallas Morning News. The article highlights Kevin Page, a character actor in Robocop, and artist who created an innovative technology to assist him with pointillism painting. This is a painting technique in which many small dots of color are applied to the canvas to form an image. Georges Seurat, who is considered to be the father of pointillism, spent two years creating the famous painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte shown in the picture above. The painting is approximately 7-by-10-foot in size.

In only six weeks, Kevin Page created Sunday Afternoon: A New Pointillist Interpretation, his 8-by-6-foot interpretation of Seurat’s masterpiece.  How is this possible?  Page has a couple of patents pending on the robotic technology he used to apply the tiny dots of color to his canvas. The software-driven robotic paint tool, with a video camera mounted near the tool, allowed him to create in weeks the same effect that Seurat spent two years creating. 

Page reflects, “Science is the why of things, technology is the how of things, art is the meaning of things”. His occupation as an actor and artist was the creative stimulus to innovate robotic technology that assisted him in painting his interpretation of Seurat’s masterpiece in a fraction of the time. This is an excellent example of what the Arts have to do with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. So, how can CTE teachers integrate the Arts in STEM and other disciplines to stimulate creativity and innovation needed to ensure new products, new industries, and a growing economy?

References:

Granberry, M. (2013, January 28). Character actor adds robotic painting tool to his resume: POINT MAN. The Dallas Morning News, p. E2, E6. 

White, H. (2010). Why STEAM? Retrieved from STEAM Website http://steam-notstem.com/