ONE CLASS, MANY DIRECTIONS: EXPLORATION IN THE CLASSROOMTiffany FritzAcademic Advisor and ALS 114 Coordinator Oregon State University

A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT… Academic Learning Services (ALS) 114:

Career Decision Making is a 2-credit, graded elective class that provides structure to students’ academic and career exploration to help them make well-informed decisions regarding their futures.

Restricted to students with less than 90 quarter credits (first and second year students)

ALS 114 meets twice a week – one hour is lecture based and a second hour is small group discussion with activities to help students explore individual career paths.

A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT The class has been housed in University

Exploratory Studies Program (UESP) since 1995

Coordinated and taught by an advisor within UESP with the help of campus professionals, graduate teaching assistants, and interns

I took over the class fall of 2008 – shift in perspective/philosophy

WHY RESTRICT ENROLLMENT? To get first and second year students thinking

about academic options and career development early in their academic careers

Heavily geared towards self-assessment and exploration

Exposes them to resources early in their academic careers

WHO ENROLLS IN THE COURSE? University Exploratory Studies Program

students and students in declared majors Students who have identified a major, but

are unsure what they would like to do with it Students that have identified a career field,

but are unsure how to get there Students that are unsure about both their

academic and career options Students that have been advised to take the

class by their advisors, but aren’t quite sure why they are in the class…

ALS 114 LEARNING OUTCOMES At the conclusion of the course students will:

1. Know how the career/life decision-making model can be used to make exciting career choices.

2. Have identified career-related values, interests and personality and use this information to consider college majors and careers.

3. Know how and where to gather information in the present and future, about college majors, careers, and the job market.

ALS 114 LEARNING OUTCOMES At the conclusion of the course students will:

4. Know how to effectively explore occupational possibilities and obtain the information for informed decision-making.

5. Have developed effective written and oral communication skills for the world of work.

ALS 114 ENROLLMENT DATA 2011-2012 Fall 2011

Total enrollment: 85 students Percentage of the class coded as UESP: 74%

Winter 2012Total enrollment: 85 students Percentage of the class coded as UESP: 69%

Spring 2012Total enrollment: 87 students Percentage of the class coded as UESP: 61%

ALS 114 ENROLLMENT DATA 2012-2013 Fall 2012

Total enrollment: 75 students Percentage of the class coded as UESP:

72% Winter 2013

Total enrollment: 87 students Percentage of the class coded as UESP:

71% Spring 2013

Total enrollment: 74 students Percentage of the class coded as UESP:

62%

Decide and act

Explore academic &

career options

Assess yourself

PHILOSOPHY: CAREER DECISION MAKING MODEL

CAREER DECISION MAKING CONTINUUM

Very Decided

Tentatively Decided

Undecided Seriously Undecided

Indecisive

You know!

Confident, beginning

to implement

In Process!Perhaps feeling

pressure to make the

right choice

Not ReadyActively

exploring, some

anxiety but you know

you’ll figure it out

Feel Overwhelme

dHigh level of

anxiety, unclear of

your goals at this time

Feel Incapacitate

dNo idea where to start, and anxious about

looking

SELF ASSESSMENT – CAREER COMPONENTS

Career Option

s

Personality

Values

Interests

Skills

SELF ASSESSMENT Skills Inventory

Hard skills versus soft skillsTransferable skills

Values Identification and Ranking Strong Interest Inventory Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

EXPLORING ACADEMIC AND CAREER OPTIONS Online Resources

Oregon State University websiteSigi³ Occupational Outlook HandbookCareer Services websiteCollege Presentations

Informational Interviews Roadtrip Nation Career Services/Career Fair Experiential and Service Learning

DECIDE AND ACT Goal Setting (SMART Goals)

SpecificMeasurable Attainable/Action-Oriented Realistic/RelevantTime-Oriented

Money Matters Active Reflection Identification of transferable skills Engaging in the decision making process

ALS 114 ASSIGNMENTS OVERVIEW Assignment Format Learning

OutcomesValues Reflection Paper Out of class 2, 5

Assessments Reflection Paper

Out of class 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

College Exploration Worksheet

In class 2, 3, 4

Informational Interview (Proposal, Summary, Pres.)

Out of class/In class

2, 3, 4, 5

SIGI³ Worksheet In class 2, 3, 4

Career Research Assignment

Out of class 2, 3, 4

Final Paper Out of class 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

FEEDBACK AND EVALUATIONS "This course has taught me a good number

of things about myself. A lot of the activities helped me learn more about myself and I think that is great. My interests have become a lot clearer to me now so I can move forward with the process of making a career decision." (winter 2012)

FEEDBACK AND EVALUATIONS “I really liked taking the MBTI and SII, to see

which jobs fit my type of values and characteristics. I also like learning more about my values. Beaver job net was also a handy tool available for us to use. I had no idea about it before and now I will look into careers using this.” (winter 2013)

FEEDBACK AND EVALUATIONS "Thank you so much for helping me through

my decision making. I feel confident that I have the correct tools if I ever change my mind again. I'm so grateful to have had the experiences I had in your class. Thank you so much!" (fall 2012)

ALS 114 INSTRUCTION Professional Advisors Career Services Counselors Graduate Teaching Assistants Graduate Interns Counseling and Psychological Services

Interns Teaching Faculty

ALS 114 INSTRUCTION…IS IT SUSTAINABLE? Things to consider:

How often is it offered?What is the structure of the class?

Discussion? Lecture?Who do you have teaching the class?What office/department/college is

supporting the course?

QUESTIONS? WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON YOUR CAMPUS?