Jordan Hopkins

SCED 503
Assignment #1-Part A

Comprehensive Career Development programs begin at the elementary school

level and carry through to high school. In elementary they begin with career awareness,

students learn about a wide variety of jobs and careers. Middle school leans more

towards career exploration, students begin to conduct research and plan for their future.

In high school students enter in career preparation, students often gain work

experiences in and outside of school. Having it broken down into this format helped me

understand how to best implement my lessons at the middle school level. I also went

into this project with a fresh set of eyes for my team members and myself.

The middle school level is a crucial point in a students academic journey. They

begin to make academic and social connections while building meaningful relationships.

Taking a look at the mindsets, I knew I wanted to focus on one that would have an

impact long after middle school. I chose the ASCA mindset number 4, understanding

that postsecondary education and life-long learning are necessary for long-term career

success. I chose to focus my lesson planning on this mindset because I believe that

while students are in schools, it is our job as educators to build on their skills for future

academic and career success.

Ultimately I thought I would have a difficult time matching lesson plans with the

ASCA mindset, but in turn it happened to be quit simple. I began my lesson planning by

creating a list of what I personally wanted to accomplish and what I wanted my students
to accomplish. I needed to be fully behind every lesson plan in order to have a

meaningful impact. In the fall I was able to see many different types of career based

lessons at all levels. It is easy to believe that teaching students about careers isnt

necessary but I strongly believe that students need to be aware, explore and prepare for

career success. I want my students to walk away from middle school with a positive

feeling about careers. In order to do this I need to find lessons that sparked my

creativity. I quickly searched for lessons on Teacher Source, a website provided for all

Beaverton School District employees. Teacher Source is packed with tons of resources

from signing up for trainings to lesson plans on all levels, counseling and teaching. I

quickly found 3 lesson plans that could work cohesively together. For the other 2

lessons I used one that I created for my Micro Internship class, and I reached out to a

classmate to obtain the last one. Finding the 5 lessons was a relatively quick process

and they all taped into my creativity.

Once I had 5 lessons I began to think of an order in which I wanted each lesson

to lie. I strategically placed a classroom relationship-building lesson first. This lesson is

called, The Dream Tree. Each student is given an outline of a leaf and they are free to

write down their hopes and dreams for their future. Once finished, they place their leaf

on the Dream Tree. The Dream Tree will be displayed in the classroom at all times as a

reminder that we are all working towards a fruitful future. I facilitated this activity with my

peers and overall it went really well. I received a lot of positive feedback. Everyone

agreed that the 5 lessons that I chose would work cohesively together. After we all

presented our lesson plans and conducted our activity, we discussed how these could

be done and tailored to any age group. Each person had very insightful things to say
and gave constructed feedback. It made me wonder if these types of practices are

happening in our schools. If so, how is it being implemented and if not, what can we do

to change that?

In order to ensure that a Comprehensive Career Development program is

successful, school counselors from all levels need to collaborate together. I believe it is

productive practice to sit down and talk with fellow colleagues at least twice a month.

Counselors at each level gets the opportunity to mention whats working and what

improvements need to be made. I have been apart of regional counseling meetings and

learning teams meetings. The regional counseling meeting was an opportunity for

counselors within a certain boundary to come together and talk about important issues.

The learning teams meetings were more exclusively with the counselors and

administrators in that particular school. Being apart of these meetings gave me a

greater perspective on consultation and collaboration. Once I knew we would be

working together in a group for this project, I had a sense of relief because I knew I

wouldnt be alone. I would be able to collaborate with team members and hear their

feedback. I would also be able to lend a helping hand for if one of my teammates were

to get stuck. I always had a negative feeling about group work but now I know what role

I play in groups and how I can advocate for others and myself.

As I begin my school-counseling journey, I am eager to implement a

Comprehensive Career Development program. I am currently interested in becoming a

counselor at the middle school level and I believe I can motivate students to achieve

academic and career success. At the middle school level I know I would personally

implement lessons that are fun and engaging. In order to implement these practices I
need to participate in professional development days that revolve around counseling

and teaching practices. I also need to be an advocate for not only my students but for

myself as well. If I shall enter a school that does not have a career development

program in place, I will do my best to advocate for that. Before starting the school-

counseling program I had always believed that career counseling was made for high

school students, but I was wrong. Reflecting on my education, I would have definitely

benefitted from a Comprehensive Career Development program. I would have left high

school with the tools I needed to become successful in a career; instead I was left

somewhat clueless as to what career success looked like. During my early education I

couldnt tell you the names of my school counselors, and that right there is the problem.

No student should ever go his or her entire educational journey without knowing his or

her school counselor. This is the first step I can take in making a difference in a

students life, just simply being present.

Thinking about this process as a whole, I realized that these skills could be

applied in all aspects of life. It is my job as a school counselor to ensure that my

students have the skills to be successful in academics, their career, and their

personal/social life. After this course I now have the background knowledge of what it

takes to incorporate and build a Comprehensive Career Development program. I also

know what it takes to build lesson plans based on the ASCA mindsets and behaviors. I

have the tools and knowledge to successfully work cohesively as a group to implement

a Comprehensive Career Development program. I am thrilled to take these new found

skills and apply them into my future practice.

References for Lesson Plans:

Chicago Public Schools Office of College and Career Preparation. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Alex Close, https://chooseyourfuture.cps.edu/sites/default/files/individual-learning-plan-
who-are-you-and-goal-setting-guidance-lesson.doc

Miller, Carol (2014). "The Middle School Counselor: 7th Grade College Awareness
Lesson."Retrieved from, http://www.themiddleschoolcounselor.com/2014/09/7th-grade-
college-awareness-lesson.html?spref=pi

Nelson, David (2010). Dream Tree. Retrieved from,

https://teachersource.beaverton.k12.or.us/COU/K-5%20CCR/MS-CCR-deleted/MS-
CCR.3-deleted/DreamTree/Pages/Home.aspx?return=%2fCOU%2f6-8%2520CCR
%2fPages%2fHome.aspx%3fFilter%3dLessonPlan%26c%3d12%26s%3dN%26page
%3d1

Saechao, Yoonwa (2010). Who Are the Copilots in My Life (Believing the College Dream).

Retrieved from, https://teachersource.beaverton.k12.or.us/COU/K-5%20CCR/MS-

CCR-deleted/MS-CCR.6 deleted/WhoAretheCopilotsinMyLife/Pages/Home.aspx?
return=%2fCOU%2f6-8%2520CCR%2fPages%2fHome.aspx%3fFilter
%3dLessonPlan%26c%3d12%26s%3dN%26page%3d2

Sacechao,Yoonwa(2010).WhatWillIBe?Retrievedfrom,

https://teachersource.beaverton.k12.or.us/COU/K5%20CCR/MSCCRdeleted/MS
CCR.1deleted/WhatWillIBe/Pages/Home.aspx?return=%2fCOU%2f68%2520CCR
%2fPages%2fHome.aspx%3fFilter%3dLessonPlan%26c%3d12%26s%3dN%26page
%3d2