Career Practicum

Instructor: Ms. Bauer- Sigmon

Room: B3.4A

Email: Bonnie_Bauer@eu.odedodea.edu

Course Description: Career Practicum (CWE- Cooperative Work Experience) is designed to offer students opportunities to acquire work experience and skills training through on-the-job experiences. Two important aspects of cooperative work experience are to help students better understand themselves through the actual employment of their skills and aptitudes in real-life settings and to offer student opportunities to build confidence, esteem, and reliability. Some of the topics presented to the students include: completing a job application, job interview procedures, preparing a resume, human relationships, researching careers, and analyzing personal interests, aptitudes, values, and abilities.

The students are expected to make decisions, accept responsibilities, show initiative, and develop and practice interpersonal relationships in the work place. In addition, contact with different occupations will aid the students in making important career decisions. Career Practicum extends students educational opportunities beyond the curricular, physical, and financial resources of the school. The community functions as a classroom for Cooperative Work Experience. Training site supervisors will provide input to assist the instructor evaluating the student’s performance.

Upon completion of the Career Practicum, students should be able to:

· Recognize the relationship between school curriculum and career requirements

· Demonstrate positive attitudes toward work

· Analyze employment opportunities

· Demonstrate social competencies that contribute to successful employment

· Demonstrate individual competencies that lead to marketable job skills

· Demonstrate responsibilities in the world of work

· Appreciate the importance of work in personal fulfillment

· Value the need to forecast future jobs in an occupational cluster

· Formulate a realistic career plan

CONTINUOUS SCHOOL PROGRESS: AFNORTH International Middle/High School’s CSP (Continuous School Progress) goal is, “All students will improve their written communication skills across the curriculum.” The 6 + 1 trait is the model selected to improve school-wide writing in all subject areas. The 6+1 Trait writing framework is a powerful way to learn and use a common language to refer to characteristics of writing as well as establish a common vision of what “strong” writing looks like. Teachers and students will use the 6+1 Trait model to identify areas of strength and weakness as they continue to strive towards continued writing improvement. Success of all students requires that the 6 + 1 Trait become a consistent and integral component of each course taught at AFNORTH International Middle/High School.

The Classroom Component (6+1 TraitÔ) & Pre Placement Orientation

Prior to their placements, all cooperative education students must demonstrate an understanding of the pre-placement orientation expectations. Pre-placement orientation must be scheduled for a maximum of 15-20 hours. An emphasis will be placed on the completion of collaborative writing assignments, hands-on activities, and class participation. The 6+1 TraitÔ Writing model is the basis for a descriptive criteria used to define the qualities of good writing at different levels of achievement. The 6+1 TraitÔ model includes : ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation. These are the appropriate steps for the complete writing process. Students will be given numerous assignments within the semester in which they must demonstrate certain or all traits. Students will have gained an understanding of safety in the workplace and employees’ and employers’ rights and responsibilities. Throughout the classroom component, students will have to:

· Take a field trip / job shadowing experience in a field of choice- (1/2 day to 1 day)

· Create effective resumes, cover letters, and thank you letters for the work search process, using word processing software and appropriate terminology

· Complete job applications effectively and without grammatical and spelling errors

· Demonstrate the ability to communicate their interest in a job placement-(telephone, in person, mail or email).

· Identify common interview questions and demonstrate the ability to respond appropriately and effectively

Scope and Sequence: Many of the significant learning activities in the practicum will be experienced on-the-job or in the work placement. The following topics will be emphasized during any period (s) the student is not at their work placement:

Class Room Component-

Preparing for the job you want

Getting the job you want-interview and application

Functioning successfully in the workplace

The changing nature of work in the twenty-first century

Interests and aptitudes

Making decisions about post-secondary work

Earning a salary

Financial services

Saving, spending, and borrowing

Insurance

Resumes

Post-secondary educational choices

Self-evaluation of job/ work performance

Course grading/assessment and Expectations: Students who have a placement during seminar must be responsible for making up work, finishing or making up labs, receiving teacher assistance, and all seminar functions during other times. A student failing any other class will not be encouraged to use seminar period for Career Practicum.

To pass Career Practicum, students must:

1) Complete the Classroom Component with a C or above

2) Once in the placement, sign in with the instructor at the classroom (B3.2) by the time the tardy bell rings. Students going to their work placement only need to sign in. Any student staying at the school and working on their Career Practicum coursework must return the book and sign out by the end of the period.

3) Only miss their work placement when they have an excused absence or have made other arrangements (under unusual circumstances) previously with the instructor. Students are obligated to notify their supervisor prior to missing their assigned placement as soon as possible, regardless of the circumstances for missing.

4) Sign a contract to ride the taxi that includes accepting the responsibility for arriving to the taxi on time. If necessary, other arrangements can be made if the instructor is notified 48 hours in advance.

5) Maintain a record of the hours they have been at their placement that is signed by their supervisor. This must be turned in to the instructor weekly. A Supervisor’s Rating form will be turned in the last Friday of each month.

Textbooks:

Working Today and Tomorrow- Book and Workbook developed by The Changing Times Education Service Division, EMC Publishing and The Visual Education Corporation.

Homework Policy: Students are responsible for completion of assignments as appropriate. Late work will not be accepted!! Excused absences do not apply.