Media Specialists, Don't Forget About Your Career & Technical Students!

By Kathy Mulder 4/9/2007

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When is the last time you collaborated with your career and technical education teachers? While it is important to foster academic skills in the media center for students attending traditional four-year universities, there are many students who will be ready for the “real world” at the end of their senior year. Students in career, technical, and industrial programs may be looking for their first job, heading off to technical schools, or they may need to find full time jobs so that they can afford to attend college part time. In this article, I will discuss the natural connections that make a career development collaborative unit an essential experience for your library media program.

The library media center is the perfect place to unite library media specialist, school counselor, and teachers for the important task of getting students ready for their first jobs and ultimately their careers. There are several activities tied to career planning that mirror those of information inquiry. In their book Inquiry Learning through Librarian-Teacher Partnerships, educators Violet Harada and Joan Yoshina describe an inquiry based school as one in which learning is driven by questioning, interactivity, problem-solving, hands-on activities, authenticity, and assessment (2-3). Career planning involves self-questioning about job preferences, making career goals, reflecting on past accomplishments, and reporting those accomplishments in job applications, resumes and cover letters (KW1). Job seekers prepare for interviews, perform, and then reflect and assess how they did. They research employers of interest, ask questions before/during/after interviews, and assess those companies and jobs after the interview.(P2) As you can see, there are many rich opportunities for collaboration. Examine the inset list of specific Indiana standards that relate to career skills.

Keys to Collaboration

Before becoming a media specialist, I worked as a career counselor and coach for individuals with disabilities. In this position I taught job seeking skills from job searching to interview techniques, and everything in between. After becoming a media specialist, I realized that much of job seeking is tied to information and technology literacy, because of the amount of research, planning, producing, and self-reflection that is involved (KW2). As a job coach, I even met with many of my clients at the public library because of the access to helpful career resources and beneficial learning environment.

At first, I noticed a lack of collaboration in my school between different departments, and because career development is a specialty of mine, it made it easier to “sell” a career development unit to my colleagues.(P3) I also took the practical advice of Dorian Hickel’s Formula for Achieving Collaboration: “offer teachers a resource when a lesson is already in place, share ideas with administrators, and if you have faith in your idea do not give up”(Hickel 30).

This unit affords the opportunity to work with staff that media specialists may not traditionally get to interact with on a regular basis. Both the career/technical teachers and the school counselors are involved in introducing job search skills. Unfortunately, many school counselors have very large caseloads, which leaves little one-on-one instruction time that students need for career planning. A collaborative career development unit unites the library media center, career/technical program, and school counselors to help students create their first career portfolio. (P7)

In Curriculum Connections Through the Library Frances Jacobson Harris is quoted as saying, “individuals learn more in a community than they would on their own, without the benefit of the collective(Stripling and Hughes-Hassell 172).” That is why it is so important for teacher-media specialist collaborations in the school. Teachers may teach specific writing skills or specific career paths, but the media specialist is needed to help facilitate the long-term information literacy skills that students will need as they move into the workforce (KW3). The media specialist can also make possible the use of outside sources for learning including guest speakers from the community and resources from other libraries and organizations.(P1) Indiana Standards for Career and Technical Programs indicate that “schools that involve students, parents, employers, and community members in all stages of planning can be sure that new courses meet the needs and interests of learners and the demands of the workplace(4). (P4)

Activities

Veteran media specialist, Marjorie Pappas, said students need “real-world connections and a sense of reality that helps learners see relationships between the theory of school and the practice of the real world around them. (qtd. in Callison and Preddy 191). There are many activities that can be tied into the Information Literacy Standards of the school media center and also the Indiana Academic Standards for career and technical classes. Since many people go to the public library as an adult to do their job search, it is logical to set up this model when students are in high school. Local public and university libraries, who can share resources with library media centers, hold the best collections for career development, including books and web sites such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook, which forecasts over 250 occupations. Many public libraries also hold career skills classes for their patrons, so why not model your library media center in the same way? (P10)

The following are some activities that I have incorporated into past career development units with success. Consider these possibilities in a collaborative unit that makes the most of the library media center while supporting the curriculum to the fullest:

• A job interview is like any other presentation, you must prepare by anticipating questions and providing appropriate information to your audience(KW4). Ways to prepare may include doing mock interviews with other students and videotaping these interviews. Peers could play back the videos and critique them with a class-designed assessment form that ranks each aspect of the interview on a scale (KW5).
• Searching online job databases will give students an idea of jobs that are available in their field. Job searching is not always easy, because like the internet and television, free services almost always have lots of ads. When teaching students about access to several different job sites, the media specialist could also incorporate a lesson on information and media literacy, so that they can learn to wade through the bogus job ads like: “$100K per year, no experience necessary.”(P5)
• Former library and information science dean Daniel Callison emphasizes the importance of going beyond print and nonprint resources and using “human resources” as a spring of information for inquiry projects (Callison and Preddy 216). Bringing in local community businesspeople would be an excellent activity for an inquiry project on career development, because these experts would give not only industry specific advice, but universal advice that all students could apply to their career plans. This would also give students and opportunity to hone their interview and questioning skills(KW6). (P20)
• The library media center, public library, and academic library are filled with resources on career paths, job prospects, job listings, resume/cover letter writing resources, and current periodicals and trade magazines. Many of these resources are also available on the web, and the media specialist can help students and teachers choose and collect the best possible resources for this unit.(P5)
• Consider using a video such as Matching Your Skills, Talents and Ambitions to a Dream Career (Human Relations Media, 2006). (P6) This video provides a six step process to help students discover their career paths. This process can be compared to the information inquiry model students are using in this unit (KW7). After viewing the video, students may discuss their thoughts in a small group to facilitate deeper understanding.

Assessing Performance

This career development unit will go beyond just arming students with a resume and cover letter. It will help them hone their critical thinking and decision-making skills that are essential for building a career. Looking back on ones activities and thinking critically about them can be the best way to learn for future improvement.(P8) A process journal is an excellent tool for measuring growth throughout a unit like this (KW8). The media specialist can serve as the central director of the overall process of creating a career portfolio. As the touchstone for the process, the media specialist could collect journals after each activity and provide written feedback to the students which might help them improve their materials.

Another way students can evaluate their work is by meeting in small groups with other students to get feedback, whether it is from a mock interview or on their career goals list (KW9). Daniel Callison suggests that students may get more out of small groups because shy students will be more likely to talk and the smaller numbers give more time to talk (Callison and Preddy 540).

Yet, another way for students to see how they are doing in the process of creating their career portfolio is to have students rate themselves and others on a sliding scale during different activities. An excellent time to incorporate this would be during cover letter writing, or during interview practice. A set of class determined standards for interviewing would serve students well.(KW5)

Final Product & Thoughts

Paramount in this collaborative unit will be the end product, a portfolio which students will use for job seeking now and build upon in the future(KW10). Students’ career portfolios could include such resources as a list of career goals and objectives, resume, cover letter, job application, letters of recommendation, , digitally recorded interview practice, graphic design samples, annotated skills checklist, and work samples. An electronic portfolio may also be a great idea for students as we are heading into the information age. This would not only show their documents and skills in word processing and spreadsheet software, but it would also showcase their web design and technology skills.(P9)

In 2003, the Ohio Research Study of library media programs revealed that 99.4% of 13,000 surveyed students believed that the library was helpful in their learning. This study also suggested that the best library media specialists are “dynamic agents of learning” not just reactive to student information needs. (Kuhlthau & Todd 4) A career development unit allows the media specialist to be that “dynamic agent” in curriculum development and a key player in the success of students in their job search. Imagine how valuable the students will find a media specialist who was an integral part of putting together their first career portfolio.

A career development unit with your career and technical students, school counselors, and teachers will go far beyond just strengthening job seeking skills for students. It will create a stronger sense of community and interdepartmental trust. Media educator Rebecca J. Pasco asserts, “An effective learning community embraces multiple perspectives and celebrates the individual and shared strengths of the community’s members”(Stripling and Hughes-Hassell 190). This collaborative unit will serve as a model to school administrators and teachers and help them believe in a whole-school approach to meeting curriculum standards, and the leadership role of the media specialist.

References

American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and Association for Education Communications and Technology. Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning. Chicago: American Library Association, 1998.

Callison, Daniel and Leslie Preddy. The Blue Book on Information Age Inquiry Instruction and Literacy. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2006.

“Career Planning and Success Curriculum Standards.” Indiana Academic Standards. January 2006. Indiana State Department of Education. 26 March 2007 http://www.doe.state.in.us/octe/bme/curriculum/pdf/CareerPlanningAndSuccessSkillsCD.pdf.

Harada, Violet H. and Joan M. Yoshida. Inquiry Learning Through Librarian-Teacher Partnerships. Wothington, OH: Linworth Publishing, 2004.

Hickel, Dorian. “A Formula for Achieving Collaboration.” Library Media Connection 23.3 (2006): 30-31.

“Indiana Standards for Career and Technical Programs.” Indiana Academic Standards. 3 January 2003. Indiana State Department of Education. 1 April 2007 http://www.doe.state.in.us/standards/docs-Voced/2003-01-03-CareerandTech.pdf.

Kuhlthau, Carol and Ross Todd. “Findings of the Ohio Research Study.” Ohio Educational Library Media Association. 15 December 2003. 2 March 2007 http://www.oelma.org/StudentLearning/SLFindings.asp.

Stripling, Barbara K. and Sandra Hughes-Hassell. Curriculum Connections Through the Library. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003.

Key Words for Instruction in Information Inquiry (Callison & Preddy 273-577)

KW1 Authentic Learning – Because job seeking skills are so important in the real world, this unit will have excellent relevancy for students, creating goals and documents that they will actually use in their job search.

KW2 Information Fluency – The lessons that students learn on information access and literacy pertaining to job seeking can be applied in their post-high school lives. These skills will serve as the foundation to their long-term career plan.

KW3 Collaboration – Teachers and media specialists combine their professional strengths to offer a more complete learning experience for students.

KW4 Audience Analysis – Students must always consider who will be reading, viewing, or listening to their products. In this case, students may be thinking of an audience of one who is reading their resume, or perhaps an interview panel.

KW5 Rubric – A student designed rating scale provides a standard set of criteria to judge their performance. Student-designed incorporates students’ choice into the activity.

KW6 Questioning – Prior to meeting with community experts, students will form and rehearse questions of purpose and depth.

KW7 Differentiated Instruction – By using a video as part of anchored instruction, the media specialist gives an extra tool for learners who do better with audio-visual materials rather than just textual tools.

KW8 Reflection – Students examine thoughts and feelings about a project to improve their learning and product.

KW9 Student Talk – Allowing students time to talk to their peers and bounce ideas off of one another is very helpful to the learning process. Student perspectives are highly valued in a constructivist environment.

KW10 Portfolio – A collection of students’ career materials shows what they have learned in the unit as well as their achievements thus far in their lives.

Learning & Teaching Principles of School Library Media Programs (AASL 69-70)

Principle 1: The school media program is central to this career development unit because it unites all the faculty involved in student career planning, connects information literacy skills, and provides resources beyond the classroom an school.

Principle 2: Career skills curriculum standards planning and employment seeking require the information skills of access, evaluation, and creativity.

Principle 3: As a leader in curriculum development, the media specialist creates exciting and original collaborative ideas and shares them, with enthusiasm, to colleagues.

Principle 4: By making the entire learning community part of the planning process, the library media specialist can create unique programming with the investment of all participants.

Principle 5: The library media program provides access to local and remote sources which are essential to this unit on career development.

Principle 6: Use of the career skills books, web sites, periodicals, and videos are integral to the instruction of these skills.

Principle 7: The library media program is supporting the needs of all it learners because it considered areas of the school that traditionally have less collaboration and participation with the library media program, career/technical/industrial programs.

Principle 8: Students are involved in an essential part of the inquiry project, continuous reflection, guided by the media specialist.

Principle 9: By using technology tools such as digital video recorders to evaluate performance and software programs to create products, students are learning to use technology in an authentic context. These technology skills will transfer well into the workplace.

Principle 10: The school media program is connected to the larger learning community by setting up the model that it is like the public and academic library for adults in the area of career skills. The library is also connected to the outside community through guest speakers.