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As Dr. Simonsen stated in the presentation, career awareness is the stage where students will learn more about careers that match their interests and strengths, and research more about the career's requirements. The Career Development Continuum also lists career-focused projects and assignments as being components of this stage.
MyNextMove.org

Although this video isn’t the most exciting, it’s a great tutorial on how to use this website to support career awareness. I even learned about a feature on the website I wasn't aware of! I use this website weekly in my classroom to help students to learn more about specific careers they show an interest in. I have a graphic organizer they must complete for each career they research. They must identify a career, provide a generalized description of what it is, list specific job duties, provide information on the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the job, education requirements, hourly/monthly/annual pay, and they must evaluate if they would like to have that job or not based on the information they learned.

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This is a basic introduction to My Next Move.

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According to the Module 2 video by Dr. Simonsen, "as teachers and transition facilitators, we should create multiple opportunities for students to learn about the jobs they're interested in and clarify their interests." One of Dr. Simonsen's suggested methods was to achieve this is by having students attend a career fair. The video linked below highlights ninth grade students, teachers, and service providers that attended the 2016 Career Fair held in Jackson, Mississippi. The theme of "every scholar every day is ready for life" provides an opening to the video. This is also a recurring theme throughout the video. The career fair provided an effective way to introduce Jackson students to new ideas about career options so that they have a better understanding of what is out there. Several individuals interviewed noted that this fair gave them exposure to unknown careers or allowed them to gain more information about a particular career of interest. Students were able to put their hands on job training tools and machinery used in particular jobs. They also gained clarity about various fields of interest by speaking to professionals that actually worked in that area. This video is a great example of schools providing opportunities for student career exploration.

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The 3rd Annual Career Exploration Fair -- Jackson Convention Complex , November 16, 2016. Hosted by Alignment Jackson, a nonprofit advancing the economic and social well-being of our community by facilitating a city-wide partnership in support of the academic achievement, career readiness and overall health of Jackson's youth.

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In the exploration stage, students learn more about careers that match their interests and strengths. In this stage, our students learn more about the requirements to be successful in a specific career area. This could be in the form of a job fair or job shadowing with a mentor. Students often change their mind during this phase.

The shadow program created by Pflugerville High School is an excellent example of what schools should be providing during the exploration stage. Students have to go through the process of contacting somebody in the field, going through an "interview", and then spend time shadowing so they can see what it entails to get into that field.

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Job shadow program gives Pflugerville High School students hands-on experience

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As Dr. Simonsen stated, “In this stage students are exploring different careers and how they match their interests or strengths. Students are also moving beyond the title of the occupation and get a little more as to what the job entails. Students can take the Career Cluster Inventory by rating activities on Likert rating scale, based on 80 questions. The results will yield a report based on the 16 career clusters that can be saved in the portfolio. Students can restore their career cluster inventory results at any time. The scores are listed from highest to lowest. Highest meaning that career cluster is the best fit according to questions answered.

Students can click on any career cluster that they would like to review to learn more about topics and related information, such as occupations, quick facts, helpful high school courses, employment outlook and videos that give a more in-depth description related to that specific career cluster. This inventory helps students who are in the early stages of career exploration.

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Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education

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Assessments Example - Career Cluster Inventory

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A detailed overview of one of the assessments available in the Alaska Career Information, the Career Cluster Inventory. This assessment helps connect the user's interests to their top career clusters.

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Per Dr. Simonsen’s presentation of Career Development, as students move into the career exploration stage, they learn more about careers that match their interests and strengths, and research more about the career’s requirements.  It is to help students move beyond “I want to be a doctor”, to understanding what that will really entail.
Luecking defines career exploration as an opportunity for youth to be briefly exposed to workplaces to learn about jobs and the skills required to perform them. Visits and meetings with employers and people in identified occupations outside of the workplace are types of career exploration activities from which youth can learn about jobs and careers.  Typically, such visits are accompanied by discussions with youth about what they saw, heard, and learned.  It also allows students to discuss how the job requirements relate to their current classroom curriculum.
There are many ways for students to explore a career based on their interests and personality and learn what specific requirements are needed in order to achieve this goal.  This video, provides a step by step tutorial of a career interest profiler.  O*NET Online helps students understand what they want to do for a living and understand the skills, educational level, salaries and many other attributes to be successful in that career.

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Demonstrates how to use O*Net Online to take the career interest profiler which can help you understand what you want to do for a living and understand the skills, educational level, salaries and many other attributes to be successful in a career.

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The career preparation phase prepares our students for the career area that they have chosen. This is the time they work on specific skills in technical programs, internships or paid job experiences. We are usually working on interview skills and work etiquette during this time also.

I am employed by Crowder College. The clip that I have attached is regarding their technical program. High school students in our surrounding area are invited to attend our program to gain job experience in dozens of areas. When they complete the program, they leave with job experience, college credits and some with jobs offers.

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Crowder Technical Education Center offers programs to area high school students in the school districts of Neosho, McDonald County, East Newton, Diamond & Seneca. Programs allow students the opportunity to gain career experiences while still in school.

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As Dr. Simonsen stated in the presentation, career preparation is the stage when students learn specific skills and gain experiences that will prepare them for their chosen careers. The Career Development Continuum also lists work experience, internships and apprenticeships as being workplace settings/activities that are part of this stage. Project Search provides real-life work experience and training in employability and independent living skills for students with significant disabilities.

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Project Search: New Pathways for Young Adults with Disabilities

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One of the most important steps to our student's success is career awareness. Per Dr. Tilson, exposure precedes interest. A student does not know they are interested in a career if they have never experienced it. I completely agree with this theory. It is key to allow exposure to the maximum amount of career areas. It is often time consuming and financially  burdensome to plan and coordinate the trips needed for this exposure. Kids.gov provides videos online of dozens of careers. There were careers available that I didn't know existed. This allows more exposure through their Career Spotlight Program.

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Per the presentation by Dr. Simonsen, Career Awareness is the first stage in identifying appropriate work based learning experiences for our specific students.  Youth will learn about the world of work, and it’s all about helping children learn that there are a variety of career options and helping students learn about their own personal attributes.
I completely agree with Dr. Tilson that exposure precedes interest.  In this day & age, there are many ways of exposing children to many career options.  Teachers can utilize online tools and bring the job experience to them through virtual field trips.  As I teach in a low-income school district, we utilize this quite a lot for our students.
Most young children are often exposed to community helpers and other general jobs.  This video, for example, explores interesting and unusual career options with a fascinating array of people who have dared to follow their dreams. Their visits range from Florida cracker cowboys to a marine biologist working with dolphins, to a judge and dancer who've crafted successful second careers to an artist whose LEGO sculptures and books reach a global audience. The cast learns that flexibility, persistence and imagination can be good allies when it comes to considering a profession.
It creates a notion that there is a ton of very job-specific professions, within every given field, and exposes children to more interests.

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Keefhaver_Jessica_Careeer Awareness_ Field Trip to the Money Factory

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Keefhaver_Jessica_Careeer Awareness_ Field Trip to the Money Factory

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As Dr. Simonsen stated in the presentation, career awareness is the stage when students learn about the world of work, and that there are a variety of career options available to them. Additionally, it is the stage where teachers should be helping students learn about their own personal attributes and interests through the use of specially designed activities, career interest inventories or other career assessments. The Career Development Continuum also lists workplace tours and field trips as a setting in which career awareness activities can take place. For many students, getting out into the community may be challenging, or their community may not provide a wide variety of experiences. Using virtual field trips like this one can help students learn about careers beyond their community, especially in rural or low-socioeconomic communities.

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Horner_Mary_ Career Awareness_ What is Conover Online?

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Horner_Mary_ Career Awareness_ What is Conover Online?

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Conover is an online program that introduces students to different careers with the touch of a button. As stated in the Module 2 video by Dr. Simonsen, career awareness is "all about helping children learn that there are a variety of career options and helping students learn about their own personal attributes and interests." The district in which I am currently employed uses this program to educate our students about different careers. In this video, you will learn about the of Conover online program, as well as its flexible pricing. Students begin by logging in to their accounts and taking a career interest inventory. Based on the results of this inventory, the Conover program introduces the user to different career fields. They are also able to watch videos that introduce them to different work sites. This program has been successful in making students aware of careers they may not have considered or even known about.

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Conover Online removes the limitations of traditional software systems. We moved everything to the cloud so you can access our programs anywhere! Watch the video to find out more!

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As Dr. Simonsen stated, “Career preparation refers to the stage when students learn specific skills and gain experiences that will prepare them for their chosen careers.”  This video highlights West-MEC, which focuses on providing Career Technical Education to students who are still in high school.  Students are able to participate in an educational programs, such as automotive collision, avionics, IT security, medical assisting, coding etc. Taking part in CTE programs, helps students prepare for the career that they want, while allowing them to gain the hands-on experiences they need to get a jump start on their career.

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West-Mec, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) District opened a new campus in September 2014. The new campus offers automotive collision technology, medical assisting, climate technician and veterinary sciences programs.

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Providing students with a variety of careers is essential in growing their awareness as to what types of jobs are out there.  As Dr. Simonsen stated, “It’s critical to expose students to a broad range of experiences, environments, and career fields so that they know they have options, especially for youth with disabilities who may have been more isolated than their peers.” The video clip highlights the Northwest Youth Careers Expo with hands-on activities and employers who shared different career fields at the expo.

We can help students identify their interests and choose career fields that are of interest to them by exposing students to career expos. At our school we have the opportunity to attend at least two youth career expos per year. Students are always surprised when they try out equipment and find something of interest and more importantly a career that they never thought of before!

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What is there to see and do at the Expo? Here's some of the cool stuff, hands-on activities, and employers you might see at the Expo. The 2016 NW Youth Careers Expo is on February 24, 2016. The annual NW Youth Careers Expo is the Northwest's premier career-education event, attended by more than 5,000 students and more than 120 employers.

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Dr. Simonsen described career exploration in the Module 2 video. She stated that career preparation is when students "learn specific skills and gain experiences that will prepare them for their chosen careers."
In this video, Eaton Regional Educational Service Agency is presented. This agency provides students with career preparation opportunities throughout the school year. They allow eleventh and twelfth graders to learn hands on job skills that will prepare them for the workforce while they earn credits towards a high school diploma. Some students can even  earn college credits. This video also describes a number of available programs. They even included a few traits of individuals who may enjoy a particular program. The programs presented include computer support,  insurance and risk management, heavy equipment operator, heavy equipment repair, mechatronics and robotics, welding, auto collision repair, automotive technology, construction technology, CAD/pre-engineering, animal science and zoo management, mobile app and web development, computer graphics/animation and 3D, fashion design, criminal justice, emergency services/fire science, law enforcement, and health technology. While the video is over 14 minutes long, it provides brief descriptions and career opportunities for each program. This is a perfect example of career preparation.

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EatonRESA Career Preparation Center Promotional Video

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Eaton RESA Career Preparation Center with Lansing Community College offers career preparation programs for high school students. Students can learn a transferable skill, earn high school credit, and have an opportunity to earn college credit. Located in Eaton County, Michigan at Lansing Community College's Main Campus and West Campus.

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Gardner_Robert_Career Preparation_Program Gives Students with Special Needs Real World Job Experience

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Gardner_Robert_Career Preparation_Program Gives Students with Special Needs Real World Job Experience

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Career preparation refers to the stage when students learn specific skills and gain experiences that will prepare them for their chosen careers.  As mentioned by Dr. Simonsen, it is one thing to learn about the job requirements of being a nurse, but quite another to work in a hospital.
These hands-on training experiences help students learn specific skills and work behaviors that will prepare them for success.  Some students participate in career training certification programs such as Career Technology Education, or CTE, during high school.  Others participate in apprenticeships.  Work-based on experiences should culminate in paid work experience while still in secondary school.  In fact, paid work experience has been found to be the most significant predictor of post-school employment for youth with disabilities.
The process of applying for a job and meeting the expectations and demands of paid jobs are truly the most authentic learning experiences a student can have.
I really liked watching these videos.
First, from Brick Township, New Jersey.  Brick Township High School offers a Structured Learning Program, which allows students with special needs to work as interns at various participating businesses.  This allows the students to gain experience in the school before they transition to a supported workplace.
Second, the work experience program at Alpha Secondary gives students with special needs a part-time job a learning experience.  This provides the students an opportunity to showcase the skills learned from the school environment into an established work setting.
Finally,  the Kirklees Council REAL (Realistic Employment for Adults with Learning Disabilities) Employment Agency works closely with local employers to help adults with learning disabilities find jobs and receive free training at work.  I thought this was a great program to assist special needs adults in finding employment and providing them with the necessary training after completing high school.

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Program Gives Students with Special Needs Real World Job Experience