Essential Questions: How do the career paths relate to who you are? Engagement (Hook): Have two students—one male, one female—dressed in white lab coats with stethoscopes sticking out of the pockets. The class is to decide what jobs are represented (Female is to be physician. Male is to be a lab technician or nurse). Sometimes it is easy to categorize jobs as male or female occupations, but do jobs truly have gender? Procedures: Instructor Procedures/Instructional Strategies: Review information career path information from the previous lesson: What is the building and fixing path? What is the health care path? What path focuses on helping others? Creative and performing arts? Working with nature? Which path involves working with others to make and sell a product? Divide class into small groups to present information gathered during their interviews with workers (see completed Worker Interview questionnaire). Ask the students to decide which career path each job belongs to and whether the job is considered a male or female job. (NOTE: The purpose of this question is to create an awareness of students’ unintentional stereotyping of occupations—with the goal of increasing students’ awareness of their subtle/hidden biases.) Discuss gender role stereotyping and males and females in non-traditional work roles. Distribute the Job and Gender Role Survey to student groups and review the directions. When groups have finished, they will be encouraged to debate and discuss (with a friendly attitude) opinions as a group, and then as a class, concerning “men only” and “women only” jobs. Students will be asked if there are reasons why some careers should not be open to both genders. Student Involvement/Instructional Activities: Students will participate in the review process. Students will present the information they discovered during their interviews with workers. Group members will listen and participate in discussion. Student groups will complete Job and Gender Role Surveys and participate in group discussion.
Career Path Survey Name _________________________ Grade _____ *Adapted for Middle School Subjects from Krista Flowers’ Model, Mid Rivers Tech Prep Consortium Career Path # 1 is Activities That Interest Me medicines in a pharmacy sick people with animals with sports injuries anatomy and disease surgery Personal Qualities That Describe Me and caring listener at following directions carefully and careful In My Free Time I Would Enjoy in a hospital care of pets and taking care of myself School Subjects/Activities That I or Do Well Education How Many Did I Pick? Career Path # 2 is Activities That Interest Me weather or measuring earthquakes flowers/trees or gardening rocks and minerals fish or other animals in a chemistry lab Personal Qualities That Describe Me with problems lover active solver In My Free Time I Enjoy in FFA or 4H with a chemistry set School Subjects/Activities That I Enjoy or Do Well Studies How Many Did I Pick? Career Path # 3 is Activities That Interest Me or writing stories or articles and building scenery for plays photographs in a play or movie to or playing music Personal Qualities That Describe Me my hands to create things In My Free Time I Would Enjoy Working on a school newspaper or yearbook in a play pictures or drawing School Subjects/Activities That I or Do Well How Many Did I Pick? Career Path # 4 is Activities That Interest Me things together buildings on cars or mechanical things math to solve problems tools Personal Qualities That Describe Me using my hands at following instructions In My Free Time I Enjoy stage sets for a school play Drawing sketches of cars or mechanical things on cars School Subjects/Activities That I Enjoy or Do Well Career Path # 5 is Activities That Interest Me people computer programs to do math letters, forms, banners, etc. records, taking notes at meetings with numbers files and paperwork Personal Qualities That Describe Me to use machines to be around people In My Free Time I Would Enjoy in a speech contest or debate a computer in a local hospital office School Subjects/Activities That I Enjoy or Do Well Career Path # 6 is Activities That Interest Me people solve problems with kids with elderly people food involved in politics a mystery Personal Qualities That Describe Me at making decisions listener In My Free Time I Would Enjoy young children with a community project kids in a School Subjects/Activities That I Enjoy or Do Well