Course Overview

Designing Your Future, Grade 11, Open, GWL30

Course Description

This course prepares students to make successful transitions to postsecondary work, education, or training. Students explore the realities and opportunities of modern workplaces, while refining their employability skills and learning how to manage their careers. Students target appropriate postsecondary education or training options and begin to implement an action plan for postsecondary success.

Course Notes

Portfolio Development

Throughout this course, students develop and maintain a portfolio. Students collect evidence of their learning in the following areas: personal knowledge and management skills, interpersonal knowledge and skills, and exploration of opportunities. All learning from community-based experience is documented in the students’ portfolios. Students use their portfolios as documentation of learning in this course and as evidence of readiness and competence for a variety of education and career opportunities (e.g., cooperative education applications and interviews, OYAP application and interview process, job application and interview processes).

Cooperative Education

This course can serve as a related course for Cooperative Education credits.

Community-based Learning

In this course profile, students have one in-depth 15- to 20-hour work experience at a single site. This experience is required for Unit 4. This work experience can be scheduled as one or more large blocks of time, as several one-day experiences in or out of the school throughout the course, or as a regular block of time at the end or the beginning of the school day. Teachers should choose a model that best suits their community and school timetable so that students do not miss class time in other subject areas.

Throughout each of the other units, students are expected to engage in a variety of shorter community-based learning experiences (e.g., field trips, job shadows). This can be in addition to or part of the work-experience requirement in Unit 4. If it is part of the work experience requirement, then the work experience must occur regularly throughout the course.

Community-Based Learning Options

single, short experiences at varied sites in each unit throughout the course:
(e.g., job shadows/twinning, field trips)	+	15-20 hours of work experience at a single site for a single block of time
OR
20 hours of work experience at a single site spread throughout the course as several one-day experiences in or out of the school or as a regular block of time at the end or the beginning of the school day

Key Learning Areas

This course profile identifies areas of emphasis for the course. Each of these key areas of learning aligns with one or more overall expectations. Overall and specific expectations are clustered according to the key areas of learning and shape the focus of the units and the unit activities.

Key Learning Area	Overall Expectations
1. identify and predict future changes/trends in education, work and society	EOV.01 - use print, electronic, and human resources effectively to find and make use of relevant information about work and learning opportunities; EOV.02 - produce an analysis of emerging trends in society and the economy and their impact on individuals, workplaces, and career opportunities; TCV.01 - demonstrate an understanding of the transitions and changes they may face in the future and evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses in managing change; TCV.02 - demonstrate the effective use of a variety of strategies and resources for finding work and creating work;
2. locate, access, synthesize, and use information about opportunities for postsecondary education/training, work, and independent adult life (the research process)	IKV.03 - identify ways in which they can make a contribution to their communities and ways in which the community can assist them; EOV.01 - use print, electronic, and human resources effectively to find and make use of relevant information about work and learning opportunities; EOV.03 - demonstrate in-depth knowledge of selected fields of work and selected occupations; EOV.04 - demonstrate in-depth knowledge of selected postsecondary education and training options, scholarships, and financial assistance opportunities; EOV.05 - demonstrate an understanding of businesses and organizations, their operating concepts, and workplace-related legislation and issues.
3. analyse themselves in terms of their knowledge, interests, values, skills, personal characteristics, and accomplishments	PKV.01 - identify and describe their interests, skills, personal characteristics, and achievements, using a variety of assessment strategies, and use this information to determine future goals; IKV.03 - identify ways in which they can make a contribution to their communities and ways in which the community can assist them.
4. demonstrate effective personal, interpersonal and management skill	PKV.03 - demonstrate an understanding of the effective use of the personal management skills, habits, and characteristics that would contribute to success in their selected postsecondary destinations and independent adult life; IKV.01 - describe the elements of effective interpersonal relations and teamwork that contribute to success in postsecondary education and training, work, and community activities; IKV.02 - demonstrate the ability to use effective interpersonal and teamwork skills in a community-based learning activity; IKV.03 - identify ways in which they can make a contribution to their communities and ways in which the community can assist them.
5. describe aspects of the world of work and related implications for education and training	EOV.05 - demonstrate an understanding of businesses and organizations, their operating concepts, and workplace-related legislation and issues; TCV.02 - demonstrate the effective use of a variety of strategies and resources for finding work and creating work.
6. take control of their futures by career planning and through self-directed learning	TCV.01 - demonstrate an understanding of the transitions and changes they may face in the future and evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses in managing change; TCV.02 - demonstrate the effective use of a variety of strategies and resources for finding work and creating work; PKV.01 - identify and describe their interests, skills, personal characteristics, and achievements, using a variety of assessment strategies, and use this information to determine future goals; PKV.02 - create and maintain an effective, comprehensive personal portfolio that summarizes and documents a wide range of their knowledge, skills, interests, and achievements; TCV.03 - use goal-setting and action-planning strategies effectively to prepare for the next transition in their career/life plan; IKV.03 - identify ways in which they can make a contribution to their communities and ways in which the community can assist them.

The Designing Your Future Course Profile emphasizes three broad areas of learning so that students not only learn to recognize and pursue opportunities but also learn to create, shape and construct them in terms of their own potential and actual interests and abilities. The units and activities are designed to help students:

· acquire the habits, characteristics, and skills of a self-directed, life-long learner – one who can set and clarify goals and purposes for learning, plan, take action, gather evidence, assess the action, reflect on and evaluate learning, and modify actions based on new knowledge;

· ask critical questions, as part of an inquiry process, to direct the learning that they need to do and the actions they need to take;

· gain the inquiry skills, interpersonal skills, and personal management skills required for school, work, and life.

The units and activities in the Designing Your Future course profile are designed so that the student can attend to these areas of learning throughout the course, construct the required knowledge, and practise and refine their skills holistically in real situations rather than in an isolated context.

The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10, Guidance and Career Education supports this approach:

“A particularly effective approach is the continuous inquiry process, through which students learn how to define and investigate critical questions and issues. In exploring these issues, students learn how to work independently and with others, how to draw conclusions and construct solutions, how to take responsible action, and how to reflect upon actions taken. In the Guidance and Career Education curriculum, students begin by acquiring self-knowledge and exploring the world around them. They learn by doing. They then synthesize what they have learned by reflecting, analysing, evaluating, making decisions, and setting goals. Finally they apply their learning both in the classroom and in other contexts and evaluate their progress. Students thus learn how to take responsibility for their own learning in preparation for life beyond secondary school.”

Overall Question for Inquiry:

· How do I design and prepare for my education, work, and life after secondary school?

Career Planning Process	Related Questions
Explore opportunities. Investigate and collect information about work and education opportunities.	1. How do I learn about future trends and how they may affect my career/life plan? 2. What opportunities currently exist for postsecondary/training and direct entry to the workplace?
Explore self. Investigate and collect information about self.	3. How do I know what suits me best?
Decide. Based on a synthesis of information, determine potential work and education destinations and make a choice.	4. How do I choose? Am I prepared and able to access the opportunities that I have chosen?
Make Transition. Plan the transition and follow through on the plan.	5. What do I need to know and be able to do to get there? How do I plan for it?
Evaluate. Continuously revisit and evaluate the decision and the plan.	6. Is this right for me?

Units: Titles and Time

* Unit 1	How Can I Predict What Will Influence My Future Education, Work, and Life?	10 hours
Unit 2	What’s Possible?	25 hours
Unit 3	What’s Right for Me?	25 hours
Unit 4	What’s Happening in the World of Work?	30-35 hours
Unit 5	What’s My Plan?	15 hours

* This unit is fully developed in this Course Profile.

Community-based learning experiences are included throughout with a significant 15- to 20-hour experience in Unit 4.

Unit Overviews

Unit 1: How Can I Predict What Will Influence My Future Education, Work, and Life?

Time: 10 hours

Unit Description

In this unit, students develop a broadly focused vision of their future. Using a research process, students investigate trends and predict their impact on future work and postsecondary education and employment. Students investigate the concepts of transition and change and develop their abilities to prepare for and manage periods of change in their lives.

Students compare their present understanding of the current world of work to their predicted futures and to explore strategies for managing and preparing for the changes that they anticipate. Sources for research include information interviews, guest speakers, print, the Internet, and information gained from an experience in the community (e.g., job shadow, field trip, early phase of work experience).

Suggestions for Unit Development

Unit 1 activities focus on:

· Key Learning Area 1 – Future Trends

· Key Learning Area 2 – Research Process

Unit Overview Chart

Act.	Expectations	Assessment	Focus
1.1	TCV.03, TC3.01	Thinking/Inquiry	Vision Quest “What are my hopes and dreams for the future?”
1.2	EOV.01, EO1.01-.02, EO1.04-.07	Thinking/Inquiry Knowledge/Understanding Application	The Research Process “How can I learn about the impact of technology on future work and life?”
1.3	EOV.01, EOV.02, EO1.02, EO1.06, EO1.07, EO2.01-.05	Thinking/Inquiry Knowledge/Understanding Application	Scoping out the Future “What’s affecting future change?”
1.4	TCV.01, IKV.02, EOV.01, TC1.01-.06, EO1.03, IKI.02	Thinking/Inquiry Knowledge/Understanding Communication Application	Handling Transitions and Change “How will I manage change?”

Unit 2: Opportunities: What’s Possible?

Time: 25 hours

Unit Description

Having explored potential change in society and in the workplace, students investigate a broad range of possible future occupations and then focus on selected occupations and their related education/training requirements.

Students:

· research selected fields of work (occupational clusters), assess employment opportunities within these fields, and locate work opportunities in their field of interest;

· research selected occupations and identify the knowledge and skills needed for each;

· research education and training opportunities for entry into those occupations and the scholarship and financial assistance opportunities available.

Students use community-based learning experiences to gather information about occupations, the nature of the workplace, and postsecondary education and training opportunities. Sources for community-based research include field trips, guest speakers, representatives of business, industry and education in the broader community, and e-mail, personal, and telephone interviews.

Throughout the activities, students apply a variety of personal management skills and document their skill development in their portfolios. Students identify the personal management skills that can contribute to success in their selected postsecondary learning or work and evaluate and summarize their own personal management strengths and weaknesses.

Suggestions for Unit Development

Unit 2 activities focus on:

· Key Learning Area 2 – Research process;

· Key Learning Area 6 – Taking control of the future through career planning and self-directed learning.

Unit Overview Chart

Act.	Expectations	Assessment	Focus
1	EOV.01, EO1.01, EO1.02, EO1.03, EO1.04, EO1.05	Thinking/Inquiry Knowledge/ Understanding Application	Gather information about selected fields of work for a spectrum of work possibilities.
2	EOV.03, KV.O3, IKV.03, EO3.01, PK3.3.01-.05, IK1.01	Thinking/Inquiry Knowledge/ Understanding Application	Research a selected field of work and investigate the knowledge and skills required to work in this field Document own personal management skills in portfolio and compare to those required for occupations within the researched field of work.
3	EOV.04, IKV.02, EO4.01, EO3.02-.09, IK2.03	Thinking/Inquiry Knowledge/ Understanding Application	Research related education and training opportunities.
4	EOV.01, OV.03, EOV.04, O1.06-.07, EO3.01-.09, IK1.03	Communication Knowledge/ Understanding	Communicate results of research in a report and review the implications of this research as a critical question in the career planning process.

Unit 3: What’s Right for Me?

Time: 25 hours

Unit Description

In this unit, students:

· assess their personal characteristics, interests, skills, and achievements by examining their Designing Your Future portfolio and by analysing the results of a variety of inventories and personal assessments;

· examine how knowledge, preferences, abilities, and characteristics change as they mature and learn more;

· develop interpersonal skills that will help them manage conflict and stress by analysing case studies and community-based experiences, role playing, and participating in simulations;

· network to create supports that facilitate job search and career development.

Students choose pertinent information from their portfolios to conference with others and to present to an employer, staff sponsor, or community worker for paid or volunteer work.

Through a variety of experiences, students apply what they know about themselves to define and refine postsecondary options, community involvement choices and workplace preferences. Students use their knowledge of change and transitions to outline plans for transition to postsecondary education and work.

Suggestions for Unit Development

Unit 3 activities focus on:

· Key Learning Area 3 – Self-knowledge;

· Key Learning Area 4 – Personal Skills;

· Key Learning Area 6 – Taking control of the future through career planning and self-directed learning.

Unit Overview Chart

Act.	Expectations	Assessment	Focus
1.	PKV.02, PK2.01, PK2.02, PK2.03	Knowledge/ Understanding	Update current portfolio (organizing, selecting, reflecting, self-assessing).
2.	PKV.01, PK1.01, PK1.02, PK1.03	Knowledge/ Understanding	Determine desires, abilities, temperaments and assets (DATA).
3.	IKV.01, IKV.02, IK1.01, IK1.02, IK1.03, IK1.04, IK1.05, IK1.06, IK2.01, IK2.02, EO1.03	Application	Apply communication, teamwork, conflict-management and problem-solving strategies in a job shadow or other community-based activity.
4.	PKV.03, PK3.01, PK3.02, PK3.03, PK3.04, PK3.05	Communication Thinking/ Inquiry Application	Apply a variety of personal management skills in a job shadow or other community-based experience. Manage strengths and weaknesses. Collect evidence of personal skills for portfolio. Analyse the experience to determine learning and next steps.
5.	TCV.01, TC1.01, TC1.02, TC1.03, TC1.04, TC1.05, TC1.06	Thinking/ Inquiry Application	Outline strategies for planned and unplanned change and assess personal transition strategies for managing change.
6.	PKV.02, PK2.03, PK2.04, PK2.06	Communication Application	Developing Personal Marketing strategies – developing a focused portfolio for a specific purpose (e.g., interviews) based on personal skills, knowledge, and abilities; developing networks.

Unit 4: What's Happening in the World of Work?

Time: 30-35 hours
(Activities 2 and 3, the community-based learning experience, 15 to 20 hrs of the total 30 to 35 hrs.)

Unit Description

In this unit, students learn about the realities of the workplace while refining their job search and employability skills through a work experience. Students use classroom learning and work experience to gather information about fields of work and the nature of the workplace, including labour unions, workplace legislation, business organization, and management.

Students locate work opportunities in a field of interest, produce effective resumes, and demonstrate their ability to present their skills effectively in employment interviews. They also demonstrate the ability to market their business and self-employment ideas. Work experience is the primary teaching and learning strategy for the expectations in this unit. Expectations from the policy Cooperative Education and Other Forms of Experiential Learning, 2000, Ontario Ministry of Education, apply.

Suggestions for Unit Development

Unit 4 activities focus on:

· Key Learning Area 2 – Research Process;

· Key Learning Area 4 – Personal Skills;

· Key Learning Area 5 – Knowledge of Work/Education;

· Key Learning Area 6 – Taking control of the future through career planning and self-directed learning.

Unit Overview Chart

Act.	Expectations	Assessment	Focus
1	TCV.02, C2.01.08, PKV.01, PK1.01, EOV.05, EO4.02, EO4.03	Application Communication	Preparing for Community-based Experience: Summarize personal skills; review and apply job search skills in preparation for community-based learning. Develop awareness of work legislation, labour unions (historic development/current role).
2	EOV.01, EO1.01-.03, IKV.02, IK1.02	Thinking/ Inquiry	Participation in Community-based Experience: application of interpersonal, personal management and research skills
3	EOV.05, EO4.02-03	Knowledge/ Understanding	Participation in Community-based Experience: Observe and report on employee rights and responsibilities, current factions/change.
4	PKV.01, PKV.02, PK2.03, PK2.04, PK2.05, PK1.03, PK3.03	Research/ Inquiry Application	Reflecting on Community-based Experience: Document, assess, and present learning from work experience.

Unit 5: What’s the Plan?

Time: 15 hours

Unit Description

In Unit 5, based on their classroom and community-based learning and on the evidence in their portfolios, students synthesize and confirm what they know about themselves and the world of work. Students decide on a work destination, determine an education pathway, and plan a course of action considering barriers and influences. To do this, students review each of the steps in the career planning process, consider the answers to the critical related questions, and rationalize a course of action.

Suggestions for Unit Development

Unit 5 activities focus on:

· Key Learning Area 6 – Taking control of the future through career planning and self-directed learning.

Unit Overview Chart

Act.	Expectations	Assessment	Focus
1	TCV.03, TC3.01, TC3.02, TC3.03, TC3.05	Application	Synthesize personal learning from the course by answering the related questions in the Career Planning process. Outline a course of action.
2	PKV.01, PK1.01, PK1.02, PK1.03	Knowledge/ Understanding	Confirm personal skills, interests, characteristics, and abilities.
3	IKV.03, IK2.01	Thinking/Inquiry Communication	Determine personal role in terms of contributing to community.
4	PKV.03, TCV.03, PK3.02, PK3.03, PK3.04, PK3.05, TC3.04, TC3.06	Thinking/Inquiry Application	Plan strategies for transition based on knowledge internal and external influences. Rationalize and affirm a course of action.

Teaching/Learning Strategies

Learning expectations will be met through:

· Direct instruction: whole class and small group

· explicit teaching

· demonstration

· explicit teaching and use of thinking skills and strategies

· explicit teaching and use of self-assessment and reflection

· Interactive Learning

· small-group cooperative learning

· small-group discussions

· interviewing

· Indirect Instruction:

· guided teacher- and student-directed inquiry

· individual and group research

· reflective discussion

· Experiential Learning

· simulation, role playing

· community-based learning experiences

Teaching and learning activities include:

· choice, where possible, in student tasks and assignments;

· multiple opportunities for practice and feedback;

· the use of graphic organizers (e.g., Venn diagrams, mind maps, tables);

· opportunities to use information technologies;

· opportunities for students to use their learning preferences (e.g., learning styles/multiple intelligences) to learn and demonstrate learning;

· portfolio development.

The Portfolio Process

The portfolio process includes developing, maintaining, and using the portfolio as follows:

Students collect evidence of their learning in the course, select samples from it for their portfolios, reflect on what was learned and determine their possible next steps. Students refine their portfolios for use in student-teacher or student-peer conferences and for a variety of application and interview processes (e.g., college/university, employment, leadership positions).

Students in Designing Your Future may use the portfolio they developed in Career Studies (GLC2O) or they may create a new portfolio. The organization of the Designing Your Future portfolio is similar to the Career Studies portfolio because it is based on many of the same curriculum strands.

Career Studies Strands	Designing Your Future Strands
Personal Knowledge and Management Skills	Personal Knowledge and Management Skills
	Interpersonal Knowledge and Skills
Exploration of Opportunities	Exploration of Opportunities
Preparing for Transitions and Change	Preparing for Transitions and Change

Students can divide the portfolio into three sections that relate to their learning in the course:

· Personal Skills;

· Exploration of Opportunities;

· Planning Ahead.

Community-based Learning

Community-based learning is experiential learning. Experimental Learning is learning acquired though practical experience. This Teaching/Learning Strategy involves an on-going cycle which involves experiencing, analysing the experience, deriving personal meaning and learning from the experience, and applying this learning in another situation. In other words, learning results not from experience but as a result of reflecting on the experience.

In Designing Your Future, students have a variety of opportunities for community-based learning. For each community-based experience, attention is given to each of these phases.

Community-based learning refers to planned learning activities that take place in the community, including:

· work experience (one to four weeks);	· field trip;
· job shadow (one half to three days) (e.g., at a parent’s workplace, at the workplace of a current co-op student);	· job twinning (one half to one day observation of a cooperative education student at his/her placement);
· college and university tours;	· information interviews outside the classroom;
· industry tours.

In the Designing Your Future course profile, students have numerous opportunities to gather evidence of learning from both school and community-based learning situations, reflect on this learning in terms of their abilities and interests, evaluate their experiences in terms of their education and career goals, and determine their next steps. Students relate their learning in this context to other school, life, and work situations. Through this process, students develop the skills required to take responsibility for their own learning and to design their own futures.

The use of guest speakers (e.g., employers from the community, career panels, college/university liaison officers, skilled trades workers and apprentices, social service agencies and seniors/family to share “life stories”) is also a way of bringing the community into the school and providing current, relevant information for students.

Work experience can be designed in many ways:

· as one or more large blocks of time (e.g., one to four weeks);

· as several one-day experiences in or out of the school (e.g., once/week);

· as a regular block of time at the end or the beginning of the school day.

Students placed in the community for more than one day require a pre-placement orientation (including instruction in health and safety at the workplace) and a Personalized Placement Learning Plan and Work Education Agreement as outlined in Cooperative Education and Other Forms of Experiential Learning, 2000, Ontario Ministry of Education.

Whenever possible, it is recommended that the community-based learning experience be scheduled so that students are in class the next day to reflect, in a structured way, on their experience.

Assessment & Evaluation of Student Achievement

In the Designing Your Future course profile, assessment tasks are focused on expectations clustered around the key areas of learning identified earlier. Assessments are both formative and summative. “Early tries”, student applications of new concepts and skills, are assessed formatively and provide students with valuable feedback designed to improve their understanding or performance. Summative assessment is used for “later tries” after students have had opportunities for practice and feedback

A variety of assessment strategies is used for student demonstration of learning.

Assessment Method	Assessment Strategies
Pencil-and-Paper	quizzes, tests, reports, essays
Demonstrations/Performances	community-based learning experiences, projects, skills demonstrations, role playing, organizing career fair, and simulations
Personal Communication	journals, student-teacher conferences, interviews, portfolio

Checklists, rubrics, tests, rating scales, and performance appraisals from community-based learning experiences are used to determine how well students have achieved the expectations. Assessment tasks, whether in the classroom or in the community, are designed as ‘real-world’ experiences to be as meaningful and relevant as possible.

Sample Assessment: Community-Based Experiences

A Personalized Placement Learning Plan allows the teacher, in collaboration with the student and the employer/supervisor, to define the workplace/placement tasks that provide opportunities for students to demonstrate achievement of the curriculum expectations related to the placement. Assessment tools (e.g., checklists, rating scales) can be designed and included with the Personalized Placement Learning Plan for use by the employer/supervisor to provide feedback on how well students performed the tasks.

Example 1: Unit 1, Activity 4

Summary of Activity	Curriculum Expectations (Specific)	Demonstration of Learning (tasks that provide opportunities to demonstrate achievement of the related expectations)	Assessment Tools
Students participate in a short half or one day community experience (e.g., job shadow, field trip, initial visit to work experience site)	IK1.02	Observation of interpersonal skills by employer or staff adviser	Checklist: interpersonal skills
	TC1.01, .02, .04, .06	Description of personal and practical challenges along the path to their tentative postsecondary education or work destination and, using a problem-solving model, determining potential strategies	Checklist: written description or oral presentation in a small group
	TC1.05	Self-assessment of transition strategies supported by documentation (portfolio evidence)	Reflection Rubric, Appendix 12
	EO1.03	Report or Presentation or Journal	Checklist of critical contents: description of workplace and nature of work

Example 2: Unit 4, Activities 1 through 4 – Work Experience

Summary of Activity	Curriculum Expectations (Specific)	Demonstration of Learning (tasks that provide opportunities to demonstrate achievement of the related expectations)	Assessment Tools
Students prepare for, participate in, self-assess and reflect upon a 15-20 hour work experience.	TC2.01-.08, PK1.01	Personal Promotion Package including job search strategies	Rubric
		Initial Interview (mock or by employer)	Checklist: interview skills
	IK1.02, PK3.04	Observation of interpersonal and self-management skills by employer or staff adviser	Checklist: interpersonal and personal management skills
	EO1.01-.03, EO4.02-.03	Report, journal, chart of employee rights and responsibilities, role of labour unions	Checklist of key content
	PK1.03, PK2.03, PK2.04, PK2.05, PK3.03	Conference, videotape, or report highlighting: · learning in the workplace · evidence of learning (portfolio) · areas for resume update · self-assessment of personal skills · next steps for learning	Rubric

Seventy per cent of the grade will be based on assessments and evaluations conducted throughout the course. Thirty per cent of the grade will be based on a final evaluation in the form of an examination, performance, essay, and/or other method of evaluation.

Final 30% Summative Evaluation

The final 30% summative assessment component should address several of the expectations that relate to the key areas of learning identified previously. Since the career planning process, research process, and skills of life-long learning are critical to the key areas, final assessment task should address these concepts.

Sample 30% Evaluation Task: Students collect evidence of learning throughout the course and store it in their portfolios. For the final evaluation task, students select evidence that relates to each of the key learning areas.

Students explain, in a teacher-student conference, report, presentation, or personal video, to the class or small groups, samples of evidence that:

· describe the world of the work;

· illustrate the research process;

· demonstrate self-knowledge;

· demonstrate personal skills;

· show that they know how to direct their own learning;

· show that they can plan for their future.

For each piece of evidence, students self-assess their learning in the area, indicate possible next steps for learning in the area, and describe other situations in which this area of learning might be used.

Accommodations

The following considerations apply to each of the units in this course.

· Any student or group of students may require accommodations in response to specific needs at different times and in varied circumstances.

· Appropriate accommodations should be part of the planning of each unit activity in terms of the particular students in the class and their specific needs.

· Instructional and assessment activities must take into account the strengths, needs, learning expectations and accommodations as identified in the Individual Education Plan whether students are formally identified or not. (Regulation 181/98)

· Accommodations to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and evaluation may include but are not limited to:

· simplified tasks and activities;

· expanded expectations and opportunities for enrichment;

· data charts into which students will record information;

· more time for learning and completion of activities;

· use of specialized equipment and assistance;

· modified work load;

· for students with weak writing skills, a wide range of options for recording and reporting work (e.g., drawings, diagrams, flow charts, concept maps);

· use of available adaptive technologies to assist students (computer-assisted learning);

· use of assessment strategies that match student learning strengths;

· charting key words for student note-taking;

· oral reports; scribes (student or teacher) in note making;

· use of peer helpers to assist students working in small groups;

· use of tape recorders or computers as an alternative to written responses.

· Some students with an IEP may require modification of selected expectations to meet the students’ needs. As outlined in Ontario Secondary Schools, 1999, the principal will determine whether achievement of these modified expectations warrants successful completion of the course.

· For community-based learning experiences, consult with cooperative education teachers, Special Education teachers, and community organizations that facilitate placement of students with exceptionalities.

(Adapted from Grade 9 Learning Strategies Course Profile – Public District School Board Writing Partnership, 1999
and Grade 9 Essential Science course profile, Public and Catholic District School Boards Writing Partnerships, 1999).

Resources

Bolles, Richard Nelson. What Color is Your Parachute? Berkeley, California: Tenspeed Press, 2000.

Campbell, Judith, Anne Clifton, and Kelly Hoey. Careers 10. Don Mills, ON: Pearson Education Canada, 2000. ISBN 0-13-031552-4 OCC No. 1057

Campbell, Colin. Where the Jobs Are. Toronto, ON: McFarlane, Walter & Ross, 1997.

Clifton, A., T. Blackbourn, L. Galen, F. Ward, and J. Twist. Getting Assessment Right, Guidance and Career Education, Grades 9 and 10. Data Based Directions, 2001.

DeLima, Flavian. Bridging the Skills Gap: The Job Hunter’s Career Handbook of Top Employers. Etobicoke, ON: Canadian Employment Youth Alliance Group, 1998.

Lawson, Ken. K.I.S.S. Guide to Managing Your Career. New York, NY: Darling Kindersley Publishing Inc., 2000.

Live Safe! Work Smart! Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Labour, 2000. ISBN 0-7794-0226-X

Plue, Leo, Warren Palmer, and Cheryl Karakokkinos. Careers Today and Tomorrow. Toronto, ON: Irwin Publishing, 2000. ISBN 7725-2852-7

Wallace, Lee. Career Studies 10. Scarborough, ON: Nelson Publishing, 2000.

Misener, Judy and Susan Butler. Horizons 2000+. Whitby, ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 2000.
ISBN 0-07-087411-5

CD-ROM

Get A Life! A Guide to Channelling Your Future. Durham District School Board, 2000.

Websites

Note: The URLs for the websites have been verified by the writers prior to publication. Given the frequency with which these designations change, teachers should always verify the websites prior to assigning them for student use.

Internships/Mentoring/Volunteering

The Mentors Corporation – www.peer.ca

Biotechnology Youth Internship – www.bhrc.ca

Environment Canada’s Science Internship – www.ec.gc.ca/sci_hor/index.html

Women in Trades and Technology – www.wittnn.com

Cultural Human Resources Council – www.culturalhrc.ca

Volunteer Canada – www.volunteer.ca

Job Research

Career Gateway – www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/career

Canada Work InfoNet—Labour Market Information – www.workinfonet.ca

Worksearch – www.worksearch.gc.ca

Sector Overviews – www.strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_indps/engdoc/home page.html

Realm Magazine – www.realm.net

Career Journal – www.careerjournal.com

Education/Job Training

National Association of Career Colleges – www.nacc.ca

School Finder – www.schoolfinder.com

Resume Writing

Career Lab – www.careerlab.com

Job Star – www.jobstar.org

Self-assessment and Career Research

Youth Resource Network of Canada – www.youth.gc.ca

OSCA – http://osca.ouac.on.ca/index.htm

Bridges—Career Explorer – www.on.cx.bridges.com

Career Cruising – www.careercruising.com

Trades and Technology

Skills Canada – Ontario – www.skillsontario.com

Ontario Construction Secretariat – www.iciconstruction.com

Apprenticeships – www.madewiththetrades.com, www.apprenticesearch.com

OSS Policy Applications

· The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12, Guidance and Career Education

· Choices Into Action: Guidance and Career Education Policy, 1999

· Cooperative Education and Other Forms of Experiential Learning; Policies and Procedures for Ontario Secondary Schools (for models of community-based learning experiences)

Coded Expectations, Designing Your Future, Grade 11, Open, GWL3O

Personal Knowledge and Management Skills

Overall Expectations

PKV.01 · identify and describe their interests, skills, personal characteristics, and achievements, using a variety of assessment strategies, and use this information to determine future goals;

PKV.02 · create and maintain an effective, comprehensive personal portfolio that summarizes and documents a wide range of their knowledge, skills, interests, and achievements;

PKV.03 · demonstrate an understanding of the effective use of the personal management skills, habits, and characteristics that would contribute to success in their selected postsecondary destinations and independent adult life.

Specific Expectations

Self-Knowledge

PK1.01 – identify their strongest transferable skills through an analysis of their school, community, leisure, family, and work achievements;

PK1.02 – produce a summary of their interests, areas of specialized knowledge, and related achievements and identify occupations and leisure activities that require their strongest transferable skills;

PK1.03 – identify the transferable skills and personal characteristics most valued by employers in the fields that interest them and assess how their own skills and characteristics can contribute to their employability in these areas.

Portfolio Development

PK2.01 – explain the benefits of the portfolio process (e.g., for communicating abilities and achievements, for self-directed management of their learning);

PK2.02 – describe the purpose and content of comprehensive personal portfolios and portfolios targeted for specific audiences;

PK2.03 – identify the knowledge, skills, and personal characteristics that they will document in their comprehensive personal portfolios;

PK2.04 – select and organize documentation from various sources (e.g., in-school and out-of-school activities, community involvement) for their comprehensive personal portfolios;

PK2.05 – explain their choices of specific portfolio items as evidence of selected knowledge, skills, and personal characteristics.

Personal Management

PK3.01 – identify and describe the personal management skills, habits, and characteristics that would contribute to success in their selected postsecondary learning or work destinations and explain their importance;

PK3.02 – describe the range of individual differences in how people manage themselves in dealing with issues such as risk, stress, change, time, planning, and personal finances;

PK3.03 – produce an evaluation of their own personal management strengths and weaknesses, including references to how they handle change, stress, time, planning, and personal finances;

PK3.04 – demonstrate the effective use of time and priority management strategies to achieve and maintain a balance among their school, work, and leisure goals;

PK3.05 – identify effective risk, stress, and anger management strategies and use them appropriately.

Interpersonal Knowledge and Skills

Overall Expectations

IKV.01 · describe the elements of effective interpersonal relations and teamwork that contribute to success in postsecondary education and training, work, and community activities;

IKV.02 · demonstrate the ability to use effective interpersonal and teamwork skills in a community-based learning activity;

IKV.03 · identify ways in which they can make a contribution to their communities and ways in which the community can assist them.

Specific Expectations

Interpersonal Relations

IK1.01 – identify and describe the interpersonal and teamwork skills that contribute to success in postsecondary education or training and employment;

IK1.02 – demonstrate the effective use of interpersonal and teamwork skills in their community-based learning activities (e.g., cooperative education placement, community involvement, work experience) and produce an evaluation of their use of those skills;

IK1.03 – demonstrate an understanding of how to communicate with different audiences;

IK1.04 – describe the skills necessary to act as an advocate for themselves or others in situations involving prejudice or discrimination;

IK1.05 – describe respectful and responsible behaviours that are used at school, in the community, and on the job;

IK1.06 – demonstrate the effective use of strategies to reduce conflict and reach mutually agreeable solutions in a variety of settings.

Connecting With the Community

IK2.01 – identify ways in which they can use their interests, skills, and knowledge to contribute to the development of their community or its members;

IK2.02 – demonstrate the ability to develop networks and other supportive relationships with individuals and groups in the school and community for assistance with career exploration and planning;

IK2.03 – identify the types of resource people and support programs available to help students in postsecondary institutions.

Exploration of Opportunities

Overall Expectations

EOV.01 · use print, electronic, and human resources effectively to find and make use of relevant information about work and learning opportunities;

EOV.02 · produce an analysis of emerging trends in society and the economy and their impact on individuals, workplaces, and career opportunities;

EOV.03 · demonstrate in-depth knowledge of selected fields of work and selected occupations;

EOV.04 · demonstrate in-depth knowledge of selected postsecondary education and training options, scholarships, and financial assistance opportunities;

EOV.05 · demonstrate an understanding of businesses and organizations, their operating concepts, and workplace-related legislation and issues.

Specific Expectations

Accessing and Managing Information

EO1.01 – determine the specific types of information they need to make effective decisions about work and learning opportunities;

EO1.02 – locate print, electronic, and human sources of career-related information and assess the sources on the basis of identified criteria, including bias, authority, usefulness, and personal relevance;

EO1.03 – use community-based learning experiences (e.g., paid or unpaid work experience, cooperative education) effectively to gather information about fields of work and the nature of the workplace;

EO1.04 – communicate effectively with appropriate people in person, by telephone, or by e-mail to gather career-related information;

EO1.05 – use appropriate vocabulary, behaviour, and conventions to conduct personal information interviews;

EO1.06 – summarize their collected career-related information, using appropriate charts, graphs, tables, and software;

EO1.07 – communicate the results of their career-related research, using a variety of media (e.g., video, print, computer).

Trends

EO2.01 – identify and explain the impact of economic and societal trends (e.g., globalization, new technologies) on individuals, workplaces, ways of working, and workforce composition and make predictions about future developments;

EO2.02 – describe changing patterns of work life for men and women in Canada generally and in their own communities (e.g., changes in job security, increased prevalence of part-time and contract work, greater participation of women in the workforce);

EO2.03 – identify fields of work, jobs, and self-employment opportunities – in local, regional, national, and international contexts – that are growing as a result of identified trends;

EO2.04 – describe employment-related trends (e.g., the relationship between education levels and earnings or employment rates), using statistical information such as labour market analyses, occupational outlook projections, and census data;

EO2.05 – identify and describe emerging alternative work arrangements, in both local and national contexts (e.g., contract work, portfolio work, talent pooling, telecommuting).

Opportunities

EO3.01 – describe selected fields of work in detail, and assess types of work opportunities and emerging trends within these fields;

EO3.02 – compare and describe selected occupations in detail, identifying the education/training routes needed for entry and the knowledge and skills required for success;

EO3.03 – identify and describe potential self-employment opportunities, using an analysis of needs in their school or community;

EO3.04 – identify and describe selected community involvement and/or leisure opportunities that can contribute to their postsecondary work and learning goals;

EO3.05 – describe in detail and compare selected postsecondary learning options (e.g., specific programs in colleges, universities, or private training institutes; apprenticeships, internship programs; distance education);

EO3.06 – produce a comparison of selected postsecondary institutions on the basis of identified criteria, including location, size, and financial requirements;

EO3.07 – describe selected scholarship/financial assistance opportunities and evaluate them on the basis of identified criteria;

EO3.08 – describe the learning environments, approaches to learning, and learning skills necessary for success in selected postsecondary education or training programs;

EO3.09 – explain the role that knowledge of the French language and culture, and of other languages and cultures, can play in expanding opportunities in Canada and abroad in the context of the global economy.

The Workplace

EO4.01 – identify and describe various types of businesses and organizations (e.g., non-profit organizations, incorporated companies, sole proprietorships and partnerships) in a selected field of interest and explain basic operating concepts (e.g., finance, production, distribution, marketing, administration);

EO4.02 – explain the historical development of labour unions and describe their current role and the collective bargaining process from the point of view of employers and employees;

EO4.03 – describe key features of legislation governing human rights, employment, and workplace health and safety (e.g., Employment Standards Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act) and relate these to their observations of how the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers are addressed in their workplace experiences.

Preparation for Transitions and Change

Overall Expectations

TCV.01 · demonstrate an understanding of the transitions and changes they may face in the future and evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses in managing change;

TCV.02 · demonstrate the effective use of a variety of strategies and resources for finding work and creating work;

TCV.03 · use goal-setting and action-planning strategies effectively to prepare for the next transition in their career/life plan.

Specific Expectations

Managing Change

TC1.01 – describe the practical and psychological challenges and the positive experiences that are part of secondary school graduates’ transitions to new roles and environments (e.g., work, postsecondary education/training, independent adult life);

TC1.02 – demonstrate an understanding of the personal and practical challenges that they may face during career transitions they will experience as adults;

TC1.03 – describe transition strategies that may be helpful to them in directing and managing their own careers;

TC1.04 – demonstrate an understanding of ways of thinking that help people adjust to new situations and environments (e.g., proactive problem solving);

TC1.05 – produce an evaluation of their own abilities to manage planned and unplanned change by analysing effective and ineffective strategies they have used in the past to manage each kind of change;

TC1.06 – describe strategies and/or ways of thinking they need to use or develop in order to prepare for the transition to their first postsecondary destination.

Work Search

TC2.01 – locate and select appropriate work opportunities (summer, part-time, full-time, contract) from electronic and print sources in the “open” (publicly advertised) job market;

TC2.02 – identify and expand the network of contacts that may assist them in accessing the “hidden” (unadvertised) job market in a field of interest;

TC2.03 – identify strategies for finding and predicting employment and self-employment opportunities in a field of work of interest to them (e.g., networking, analysing local news stories);

TC2.04 – produce effective, up-to-date résumés and cover letters for a selected field of work, using word-processing software and employing appropriate vocabulary and conventions;

TC2.05 – create effective on-line résumés and describe the benefits and disadvantages of both on-line and traditional résumés as work search tools;

TC2.06 – demonstrate the ability to present their skills effectively in interviews for work;

TC2.07 – demonstrate the ability to market their business/self-employment ideas and use appropriate software to produce promotional materials (e.g., business brochures, work proposals);

TC2.08 – identify school, government, and community resources and programs that assist entrepreneurs.

Goal Setting and Action Planning

TC3.01 – identify the fields of work, the occupations within these fields, and the self-employment ideas that most suit them and explain why, with reference to their self-knowledge and knowledge of work opportunities;

TC3.02 – produce an evaluation of selected postsecondary learning options, with reference to personally relevant criteria;

TC3.03 – explain how they plan to continue their learning immediately after high school and summarize the advantages and disadvantages of their choices;

TC3.04 – use problem-solving strategies effectively to reduce internal barriers (e.g., skill gaps, health problems) and/or external barriers (e.g., financial constraints, lack of local opportunities) that could interfere with the achievement of their work, learning, and personal goals;

TC3.05 – produce a plan and a backup plan, for inclusion in their annual education plan, describing how they will accomplish their work, education/training, leisure, and community involvement goals;

TC3.06 – identify the financial implications of their postsecondary choices and produce a plan describing how they will manage their finances after high school.

Unit 1 | Course Profiles Main Menu

Acknowledgments

Course Description

Course Notes

Portfolio Development

Cooperative Education

Community-based Learning

Key Learning Areas

Units: Titles and Time

Unit Overviews

Unit 1: How Can I Predict What Will Influence My Future Education, Work, and Life?

Unit 2: Opportunities: What’s Possible?

Unit 3: What’s Right for Me?

Unit 4: What's Happening in the World of Work?

Unit 5: What’s the Plan?

Teaching/Learning Strategies

The Portfolio Process

Community-based Learning

Assessment & Evaluation of Student Achievement

Sample Assessment: Community-Based Experiences

Final 30% Summative Evaluation

Accommodations

Resources

CD-ROM

Websites

OSS Policy Applications

Personal Knowledge and Management Skills

Overall Expectations

Specific Expectations

Interpersonal Knowledge and Skills

Overall Expectations

Specific Expectations

Exploration of Opportunities

Overall Expectations

Specific Expectations

Preparation for Transitions and Change

Overall Expectations

Specific Expectations