LESSON8:CONSIDERINGASTEMCAREER
Lessonadaptedfrom:http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/viewtext_printer_friendly/9941
SuggestedTime:Twoorthree4560minuteclassperiods
ATAGLANCE
Occupationsrelatedtoscience,technology,engineering,andmathematics(STEM)areoften
presentedasthejobsofthefuture.Ifyouareastudentwhoisn’tthrilledatthethoughtof
workinginaSTEMfield,itcouldbequitescaryasyouthinkaboutcareers.Forotherstudents,
though,thethoughtofworkinginoneofthesefieldsisexhilarating!Thepurposeofthis
exerciseistohavestudentsdiscussthepersonalcharacteristicsSTEMprofessionalsshare,
predictthedifferencesthatmaybeseenwithinthenexttenyears,describedifferentSTEM
careers,andcompareandcontrasteducationalrequirementsintwodifferentSTEMcareers.
Additionally,thislessonwilldispelthemythsandstereotypesstudentsmayhaveaboutpeople
whochooseSTEMcareers.
ICEBREAKER
Withoutanypriordiscussion,askstudentstodrawascientistonapieceofpaper(provideat
least1015minutes).BesurestudentsknowNOTtoworryabouttheirartisticabilities…and
stickfigureswouldbejustfine.Haveallstudentsgivetheirscientistsnames.
Askstudentstosharetheirdrawingswithapartner.Haveeachpairofstudentsmakealistof
similaritiesanddifferencesbetweentheirdrawings.
Createamasterlistontheboardofwhatascientistlookslike,whatgenderascientistis,and
whatthescientistisdoing.Includeanyspecificcharacteristicssuchas‘wearsglasses,crazy
eyes,weirdhair”etc.
ICEBREAKERDISCUSSION
Discussstudents’perceptionsofwhatascientistlookslikeandwhatonedoes.Donotcometo
anyconclusionsjustyet,asthisinformationwillbereferredtolaterinthelesson.
LESSON/ACTIVITY(willneedcomputerwithInternetaccess–andideallyaprojectionsystem
towatchvideosasagroup)
Lesson1:
ShowthefollowingtwoSTEMCareersvideoclips(QuickTimevideosofapproximately30
secondsinlength)
GradStudents<http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/wpsu09stemcareers_vid_gradstud>
MiddleSchool<http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/wpsu09stemcareers_vid_midschool/>
Askstudentstolistthesimilaritiesanddifferencesofthepeopleinthevideoclips.Compare
thesetothemasterlistofthescientistontheboard.Discusswhetherthestudentsthinkanyof
thepeopleinthevideoclipsmaybecomeascientist,engineer,ormathematician.Havethem
36
explaintheirreasoning.
Showthetechnologyclipsforairguitar,boombox,cursivewriting,thetelephone,
Pong/computergames,andthetypewriter(QuickTimevideoclipsof15secondseach).
Guitar<http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/wpsu09stemcareers_vid_guitar/>
BoomBoxIpod<http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/wpsu09stemcareers_vid_boomipod/>
CursiveText<http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/wpsu09stemcareers_vid_curstext/
PhoneVideoChat<http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/wpsu09stemcareers_vid_phvideocht/>
PongWiiTennis<http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/wpsu09stemcareers_vid_pongwiiten/>
TypewriterComputer<http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/wpsu09stemcareers_vid_typecomp/>
1. Leadagroupdiscussiononhowscienceandtechnologyhastransformedhowwe
communicate,areentertained,andfindoutinformation.
2. Havesmallgroupsofstudentsgenerateupto10objectsthatpeopleuseonaregular
basisthattheirparentsdidn’thavewhentheywerethesameageasthestudents.
3. Createamasterlistofthe10mostcommonitemsontheboard.Leadagroupdiscussion
onwhytheseitemsareusefulandwhatlifewouldbelikewithoutthem.
4. OPTIONAL:Askstudentstochoosefiveofthe10itemsandwriteashortdescriptionof
whattheythinktheitemmightlooklikeorbecapableofdoing10yearsinthefuture.
Lesson2:
Leadadiscussionaboutthechangesintechnologyinthepastfiveorsixyears(dependingupon
theageofthestudent).Usestudentresponsesfromthepriorassignmentandhavethem
explainwhytheythinktheobjectswillchangeinthewaythey’vepredicted.
Discusshowsometechnicaloccupationshavechangedinthepastdecadeortwo(forexample):
computerprogrammer
computergamedesigner
rocketscientist
meteorologist
pilot
telephoneoperator
DNAlabtechnician
automechanic
nationalsecurityagent
Havestudentsdiscusshowrapidlychangingtechnologiescreatenewjobsandradicallychange
oldones,orevenrenderthemobsolete.
DiscusshowSTEMprofessionalscannotworkinisolation,butneedtoworkwithteamsof
peoplewhomayneveractuallymeetinperson,duetoeffectivemethodsofelectronic
communication.Directthestudentstoexploreseveralofthewebbasedcareerinformation
sites(foundonActivity1:7worksheet).Studentsshouldworkaloneorinteamstodescribeat
leastfivedifferentcareersinscience,technology,engineering,ormathematicsfieldsfrom
threeormoredifferentWebsites.
AskstudentstocompletetheirworksheetslistinginformationaboutfivedifferentSTEM
careers.
37
Leadadiscussionaboutwhichcareerssoundthemostinterestingandwhichoneshavethe
highestincome.Showthe“EducationPays”graphfromNationalInstitutesofHealthOfficeof
ScienceEducationthatshowshowthelevelofeducationoneattainsisdirectlylinkedtoincome
<http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/Information/Education+Makes+a+Difference>
Discusstheeducationalrequirementsofseveralcareersdescribedbythestudents.Usingthe
webresources,choosetwocareersfromsimilarfieldsanddiscusswhichonerequiresmore
educationandwhy.(Someofthisinformationisfoundonthegovernmentcareersites.)
Lesson3:
DiscussthefollowingstatisticsfromtheNationalFootballPlayersAssociationandtheNational
BasketballAssociation:
WhataremychancesofbecominganNFLPlayer?
WhilemanyyoungpeopleeveryyearsettheirgoalsonbecomingNFLplayers,itisextremely
difficulttoreachthatlevel.Statisticallyofthe100,000highschoolseniorswhoplayfootball
everyyear,only215willevermakeanNFLroster.Thatis0.2%!Evenofthe9,000playersthat
makeittothecollegelevelonly310areinvitedtotheNFLscoutingcombine,thepoolfrom
whichteamsmaketheirdraftpicks.Asyoucansee,mostpeoplewhowanttobecomeNFL
playerswillnot.Thereforeitisveryimportanttocomeupwithalternativeplansforthefuture.
(Source:NationalFootballPlayersAssociation,2009NFLHopefulFAQs
<http://www.nflplayers.com/aboutus/FAQs/NFLHopefulFAQs/>)
Only60playersaretakeneachyearintheNationalBasketballAssociationdraft,andonly40or
soactuallygetaspotonateam.Mostofthosearecollegestudentsorcollegegraduates.Over
5millionhighschoolboysareplayingbasketballeachyear.So40outof5,000,000isa
0.00008%chanceofbecomingabasketballplayer,muchlessabasketballstar.
Askthestudentswhichismorelikely:someonefromtheirclasswillbecomeaproathleteoran
awardwinningentertainmentstar(movieorTV),orthatsomeonefromtheirclasswillbecome
ascientist,engineer,ormathematicianwhohelpsworkonanewtechnologythatwillhelp
improvepeople’slives.
Usingthelistbelow,askstudentstopredictthecareersthatareexpectedtohavethehighest
growthratefrom2008–2018).Then,usinginformationfromtheDepartmentofLabor
OccupationalOutlookHandbook<http://www.bls.gov/OCO/>,havestudentsdetermineiftheir
predictionswerecorrect.Werethereanysurprises?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Networksystemsanddatacommunicationsanalysts
Homehealthaides
Computersoftwareengineersandapplications
Veterinarytechnologistsandtechnicians
Personalfinancialadvisors
Medicalassistants
38
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Veterinarians
Financialanalysts
Gamingsurveillanceofficersandgaminginvestigators
Physicaltherapistassistance
Pharmacytechnicians
Forensicsciencetechnicians
Dentalhygienists
REFLECTION
WhatwasthemostinterestingpieceofinformationyoulearnedaboutSTEMcareers?Whether
ornotyouhadeverthoughtofpursuingacareerinSTEMbeforetheselessons,whatareyour
thoughtsnow?Isthereoneortwocareersyoufoundparticularlyinteresting?
EXTENSION
Havestudentsresearchonecareerindepthanddeviseaneducationalplanfortheremainder
oftheirschoolcareer(includingpostsecondary)tochoosethepropercoursesthatwouldallow
themtoenteradegreeorcertificateprogramafterhighschoolgraduation.Youcouldalsobring
inguestspeakerstodiscusstheircareersinSTEM.
39
ACTIVITY8.1STEMCAREERINFORMATIONWORKSHEET
Listatleastfivedifferentcareersandthefollowinginformationforeachone:title,education
requirements(degreeorcertification),currentestimatedsalaryrange,demandforthenext
severalyears,typicalworkactivitiesorworkdescription,URLofthewebsite(useatleast3
differentsites).Somesuggestedwebsites/onlineresourcesinclude:
CareerOneStop’sStudentsandCareerAdvisor’sPage
<http://www.careeronestop.org/studentsandcareeradvisors/studentsandcareeradvisors.aspx>
NationalInstitutesofHealthLifeWorks
<http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/feature/index.htm>
AmericanMedicalAssociationCareersinHealthCare
<http://www.amaassn.org/ama/pub/educationcareers/careershealthcare.shtml>
VocationalInformationCenterEngineering,Science,andMathCareers
<http://www.khake.com/page53.html>
WPSUCoolCareersinScience
<http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/5_cool/53_career.html>
NASACareersinEarthScience
<http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/career/>
NOAAOceanAGECareers
<http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/oceanage/welcome.html>
DepartmentofLaborBureauofLaborStatisticsOccupationalOutlookHandbook(OOH)
<http://www.bls.gov/OCO/>
1.Title:
EducationRequired:
SalaryRange:
Demand: Typicalworkactivities/description:
URL:
2.Title:
EducationRequired:
SalaryRange:
Demand: Typicalworkactivities/description:
URL:
40
3.Title:
EducationRequired:
SalaryRange:
Demand: Typicalworkactivities/description:
URL:
4.Title:
EducationRequired:
SalaryRange:
Demand: Typicalworkactivities/description:
URL:
5.Title:
EducationRequired:
SalaryRange:
Demand: Typicalworkactivities/description:
URL:
41