Working with Students
Thank you for your interest in providing a work-based learning experience for local Sonoma County students. Your participation is key in the students’ successful path and transition into a career.
WHAT IS WORK-BASED LEARNING?
Work-based learning is an instructional strategy that involves interaction with industry professionals that are not employed at the school. Work-Based Learning may take place at school or on a work site and should include the following:
- A sequence of experiences that begins with awareness and moves on to exploration and hands-on preparation
- Clearly defined learning objectives related to classroom instruction
- Collaboration between employers and educators, with clearly defined roles for each
- Intentional and clearly defined student learning outcomes
- Structured assignments before, during and after in order to reflect on the experience and how it connects to what they are learning in the classroom
- Prepares students for success in post-secondary education and careers
1. CAREER AWARENESS: Activities are designed to develop student interest by allowing them to explore a variety of different careers. Could include:
- Career Fairs
- Guest Speakers
- Worksite Tours
- Online Career Exploration
- Classroom Projects
2. CAREER EXPLORATION: Activities are designed to allow students to explore specific career areas of interest and the education/training required for those career paths. Could include:
- Informational Interviews
- Job Shadows
- Guest Speakers
3. CAREER PREPARATION: These capstone activities provide students an opportunity to spend time in the workplace demonstrating skills and being assessed on those skills. Activities could include:
- Job Shadows (typically exploring specific career of interest)
- Internship (paid or unpaid)
Description: Industry speakers may give a presentation on their respective industry, including what it is like to work in the industry and what it takes to enter that industry. Students will apply what they have learned to their own career aspirations and will often link what they learn to current projects.
Tips:
- This may be the first time that the students get an inside look on your industry, so start from the beginning.
- Tell your story and how you entered the industry that you are in. What lessons did you learn along the way?
- Discuss the skills, training, and certificates/degrees needed to enter the career.
- Make it fun. If applicable, visuals or props are a great way to peak interest and improve student understanding.
- Be aware of the different types of learners in the class. There are four primary learning styles: visual, auditory, read-write, and kinesthetic. People learn using a variety of these methods, but one method is usually predominant.
Description: Panels may be assembled to discuss careers, present at a conference or colloquium, give feedback on student work, or to help students prepare for interviews and the hiring process.
Tips:
- When giving feedback, be constructive on the work, but easy on the students. Give suggestions for improvement based on your experience.
- Make any presentation fun. If applicable, visuals or props are a great way to peak interest and improve student understanding
- Be aware of the different types of learners in the class. There are four primary learning styles: visual, auditory, read-write, and kinesthetic. People learn using a variety of these methods, but one method is usually predominant.
Description: A Worksite Tour is a group experience in which students learn about the structure, product, daily activities and workflow directly from employees at a company site. Usually a group activity with no more than 30 students. Students may spend one to six hours observing a variety of employees and/or departments at the worksite. During this organized tour, students are encouraged to ask detailed questions in order to gain industry specific knowledge and become more comfortable interacting with professionals.
Tips
- Explain the various careers within that specific company and/or industry sector.
- Explain the skills, training and schooling required for careers within that industry.
- This is your opportunity to “wow” the students with the “behind-the-scenes” experience.
- Work with the teacher to ensure that the students understand how their class teachings relate to real-life applications on the job.
Description: Industry input when creating and giving feedback on classroom projects can help introduce real-life industry problems and solutions to student’s work that will better prepare them for the workplace.
Tips:
- When giving feedback, be constructive on the work, but easy on the students. Give suggestions for improvement based on your experience.
- Make the project fun, but as close to real life industry problems as possible.
- Make sure the project connects to what they are learning in the classroom.
- Projects can often be combined with other activities, such as tours, guest speakers, and job shadows.
- Be aware of the different types of learners in the class. There are four primary learning styles: visual, auditory, read-write, and kinesthetic. People learn using a variety of these methods, but one method is usually predominant.
Description: Career Fairs provide students exposure to a variety of careers and the opportunity to practice professional behavior through direct interaction with professionals in various industry sectors. Students are given a chance to navigate independently throughout the fair in order to ask questions about careers that may be of interest to them.
Tips:
- Be prepared to discuss the careers and the skills, training, and certificates/degrees needed to enter the career.
- Have lists of available jobs and the job requirements for each.
Description: Mock interviews are meant to prepare the students to enter the job market. The interviews may or may not be industry specific – depending on the teacher and the project. The purpose is to help them understand the hiring process, preparation of answers, proper interview appearance, resume and cover letter writing.
Tips:
- When giving feedback, be constructive but easy on the students. This may be their first ever interview. Give suggestions for improvement based on your experience.
- If the interview is meant to be industry-specific, please include feedback on the skills, training and schooling needed to enter that career.
Description: Organized career exploration activity in which students get a “day in the life” perspective of a particular career through watching a professional perform their daily tasks, interact with clients or customers, and attend meetings and other appointments. Students will expand their awareness of careers and work environments, make connections and observe how employees apply job-specific skills. Ratio will be one partner to one student or small group. Minimum time requirement of 3 hours.
Tips:
- If there are certain aspects of your day or week that are considered “confidential”, work with the teachers and WBL Coordinators to work around that schedule.
- You do not have to “entertain” the student at all times, this may give a false sense of what the career really entails.
- Communicate with the student throughout the day so that the student can understand why and how you are performing certain tasks.
Description: An internship is a culminating WBL activity that occurs within a workplace setting and is connected to programs of instruction and the student’s pathway of study. Internships may be paid or unpaid and/or compensated with grades/credits. The focus of the internship is for the benefit of the intern and does not displace regular employees; it occurs under close supervision of existing staff and should also benefit the employer. Because they involve learning over time the minimum duration is 25 hours (CCPT Internship requirement is 3 weeks or more).
Tips:
- Demonstrate the connections between job requirements and academic skills.
- Always have clear direction and explain why and how to do specific tasks.
- Try to ensure that the tasks given to the intern will help teach and prepare them for the actual career. Avoid “busy work”.
- Treat the intern like they are a part of the team; allow them to build connections with other employees and partners.
- Help the students develop career goals and a plan for achieving them.
Description: Career-related mentoring creates a professional relationship between a student and a mentor. Mentoring is meant to expand student’s network and incorporates a variety of career development activities including educational/career guidance, resume review, educational plan review, etc. This will give the student a stronger understanding of a specific career and its requirements, including the education/skills and innovative ways to enter that career path. Can be done in person, via telephone or online.
Tips:
- Provide an inside look into the career and guide them through a path to enter that career.
- The time commitment should be worked out ahead of time with the WBL Coordinator, teacher, and/or the student.
- Help the student make industry connections that may be able to assist the student before and after entering that career path.
Description: Work-based learning for educators provides a unique professional development opportunity connecting the classroom to the workplace in order to bring more relevance to student learning. Teachers will learn workplace trends and expectations through direct interaction at a worksite. This insight can help the teacher provide an enhanced curriculum by integrating industry trends into classroom learning and student outcomes.
Tips:
- Show the educator different tasks throughout the company, allowing him/her to see the beginning, middle, and end result of a full project, sale, or manufactured product.
- Help the educator create projects for the classroom that mirror real-life projects within the industry.