Career Development and Implementation
This microcredential represents a counselor's ability to apply research on career development and decision-making; understand programs and concepts (e.g., work-based learning, e-portfolios, credentials, certifications) to enhance students' career readiness; and implement appropriate tools for assessing abilities, interests, and other factors that contribute to career literacy.
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Utah Effective Professional School Counselor Standards > Standard 1: Collaboration, Leadership, and Advocacy
1.2 - Collaborates to promote academic success for all students to become college and career ready. -
Utah Effective Professional School Counselor Standards > Standard 2: Collaborative Classroom Instruction and Instructional Skills
2.1 - Plans curriculum based on the Systemic Assessment results, Student Outcomes Standards, and School Improvement plan. -
Utah Effective Professional School Counselor Standards > Standard 2: Collaborative Classroom Instruction and Instructional Skills
2.2 - Manages the classroom effectively when implementing school counseling curriculum. -
Utah Effective Professional School Counselor Standards > Standard 2: Collaborative Classroom Instruction and Instructional Skills
2.3 - Uses appropriate selection of communication, and teaching techniques, including formative and summative assessment in order to engage all students. -
Utah Effective Professional School Counselor Standards > Standard 3: Plan for College and Career Readiness Process
3.1 - Facilitates a process of career exploration that may include planning, monitoring and managing individual education and career plans. -
Utah Effective Professional School Counselor Standards > Standard 3: Plan for College and Career Readiness Process
3.2 - Assists in development of each student’s academic achievement and career planning/exploration by providing Career and Technical Education (CTE) Pathways resources and training to assist students in postsecondary and workforce options. -
Utah Effective Professional School Counselor Standards > Standard 3: Plan for College and Career Readiness Process
3.3 - Assists students and parents in understanding and utilizing assessment data and supports student to create a plan to meet goals, course planning, and student needs, as outlined in district or state guidelines.
To earn this 0.5 credit microcredential, you will submit three types of evidence and two written or video reflections to demonstrate your ability to help students with career development and implementation.
Follow the requirements in the "Earning Criteria" section of this microcredential. This is the rubric the reviewer will use to evaluate your submission.
Programs and concepts that enhance students' career literacy could include any of the following: work-based learning, apprenticeships, internships, working with industry partners, e-portfolios, credentials, licenses, and certifications, and developmentally appropriate tools for assessing abilities, interests, values, personality, and other factors that will help students in career development decision-making.
Career literacy is the basic knowledge and skills that students need to navigate the future work environment. The process of planning for college and career readiness and developing career literacy can be accomplished by gathering information on student interests, identifying strengths, and helping students overcome barriers.
Career Readiness:Career readiness involves three major skill areas: core academic skills and the ability to apply those skills to concrete situations in order to function in the workplace and in routine daily activities; employability skills (such as critical thinking and responsibility) that are essential in any career area; and technical, job-specific skills related to a specific career pathway. These skills have been emphasized across numerous pieces of research and allow students to enter true career pathways that offer family-sustaining wages and opportunities for advancement.
Stackable Credential:According to the US Department of Labor, a “stackable credential” is part of a sequence of credentials that can be accumulated over time to build up an individual’s qualifications and help them to move along a career pathway or up a career ladder to different and potentially higher-paying jobs. There are many ways to stack a credential:
• Vertical stacking: This is the general way stacking is thought of, with one credential combined with another to progress toward a higher credential.
• Horizontal stacking: In this type of stacking, a student earns a variety of credentials in related fields that, when taken collectively, prepare them for a specific type of job.
• Value-added stacking: This pertains to adding an area of expertise to an existing degree in order to be better prepared for a specific type of job.
Certificates:Certificates are awarded upon the successful completion of a brief course of study, usually one year or less but at times longer, primarily in public or private two-year institutions of higher education, university extension programs or non-degree granting postsecondary institutions like area career and technical education schools. Upon completion of a course of study, a certificate does not require any further action to retain.
Certifications:Certifications indicate mastery of or competency in specific knowledge, skills, or processes that can be measured against a set of accepted standards. These are not tied to a specific educational program but are typically awarded through assessment and validation of skills in cooperation with a business, trade association, or other industry group. After attaining a certification, individuals often must meet ongoing requirements to maintain the currency of the certification.
License:License is legal permission, typically granted by a government agency, to allow an individual to perform certain regulated tasks or occupations. A license can be obtained by meeting certain requirements set forth by the licenser, usually by completing a course of education and/or assessments. Upon receipt of a license, ongoing requirements may be necessary to maintain the license.
Work-Based Learning:Work-based learning or WBL is career awareness and exploration, work experience, structured training, and/or mentoring at the work site. There are work-based learning activities appropriate for every grade level to support students in developing career awareness, exploring career options, developing appropriate workplace skills, and relating academic skills to real-world applications.
Apprenticeships:Apprenticeships offer students the combination of paid, on-the-job training and related classroom training in a specified career. Apprenticeship programs are registered with the United States Department of Labor and are designed to culminate in certified journeyman-level skills attainment and nationally recognized credentials.
Career Fair:Career Fair activities bring the workplace to the school. Employers representing various industry or career areas are invited to come to the schools where they set up booths or display various equipment or other career-related items for students to see. Students have the opportunity to visit different demonstrations, hear presentations and talk to industry representatives about various aspects of the represented occupation or industry.
Job Shadow:Job Shadow is a work site experience during which a student spends time, typically three to six hours, one-on-one with an employee observing daily activities and asking questions about the job and industry. Job shadowing is a career awareness and exploration activity that allows students to gather information on a wide variety of career possibilities. Such exploration activities help students make good career decisions and assist them in focusing their studies once a career interest is identified.
Student Internship:Student internship is an experience where students work for an employer for a specified period of time to learn about a particular industry or occupation. Internship programs extend formal classroom learning into the community.
Elementary Background Scenario:
Elementary School Counselor Ms. Garcia creates a Collaborative Classroom Instruction lesson to introduce students to the world of work. The lesson includes information on careers in different settings and with different levels of education. At the end of the lesson, Ms. Garcia has each student create a picture of themselves “at work” to post on the counseling center bulletin board.
Elementary School Counselor Mr. Roberts uses elementary level questions for students to learn their Holland Code and the careers that match with their interests during a lesson with fourth graders.
Secondary Background Scenario:
Junior High School Counselor Mr. Whitney meets with eighth-grade students in English class to prepare for the transition to high school. To start the lesson Mr. Whitney has each student complete a pre-survey. The presentation includes information about the CTE options available and how students can earn certifications while still in high school. Mr. Whitney ends the lesson with students completing an exit ticket as a post-survey to determine student understanding of the options available in high school as related to careers.
High School Counselor Ms. Miller uses a student’s results from YouScience in a College and Career Readiness Plan meeting. She uses the information to help the student select courses that fit with future career goals based on both interests and aptitudes.
Category: Preparation and Planning
Submit the lesson plan and results report as described below as evidence of your preparation and planning with career development and implementation.
Using the Lesson Plan and Results Report, which is included in the resources section of this microcredential, submit a lesson plan and results report that demonstrates the use of developmentally-appropriate tools for assessing abilities, interests, values, personality, career development, college and career counseling, and/or decision-making focusing on the Student Mindsets & Competencies of Academic & Learning Development and Life & Career Development.
Category: Implementation
Submit one of the types of student data described in this section as evidence of your implementation with career development.
Analyze your pre- and post- assessment data from the lesson. Using the Lesson Plan and Results Report, which is included in the resources section of this microcredential, explain how this lesson improved student outcomes (access, attainment, or achievement).
Submit an analysis of data from YouScience or Keys to Success for your school. You may use the "College and Career Readiness Student Mindsets and Competencies Action Plan," which is included in the resources section of this microcredential to organize your results and next-step planning.
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: Preparation and Planning
Evidence demonstrates a clear content understanding of career development, college and career counseling, and decision-making.
Criterion 2: Implementation
Evidence demonstrates the understanding and use of programs and concepts to enhance students’ career literacy and improve student outcomes.
Evidence demonstrates the understanding and use of developmentally appropriate tools for assessing abilities, interests, values, personality, and other factors that contribute to career literacy.
Describe how you use theories, models and research on career development and college and career counseling in your Collaborative Classroom Instruction lessons.
Explain how you plan to develop your use of programs and concepts (e.g., work-based learning, apprenticeships, internships, working with industry partners, e-portfolios, credentials, licenses, certifications) to enhance students' career literacy in the future.
Review Criteria
Reflection 1 discusses how the educator uses career development and college and career counseling in building lesson plans for all students.
Reflection 2 discusses strategies with effective use of programs and concepts the educator plans to use for future instruction to help students enhance their career literacy.
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-Career-Development
ASCA position statements describe the organization’s position on specific topics in education and define the role of the school counselor relative to those topics.
Lesson Plan and Results Report
https://www.schools.utah.gov/prevention/_counseling/SchoolCounselingLessonPlanResults.xlsx
Use the Lesson Plan and Results Report to submit your evidence of planning and implementation for this microcredential.
College and Career Readiness Student Mindsets and Competencies Action Plan
https://www.schools.utah.gov/prevention/_counseling/SchoolCounselingMindsetsCompetenciesTemplate.xlsx
You may use this form to help you submit your data analysis as supplemental evidence for this microcredential.
Utah Effective School Counselor Standards Connected with Career Development and Implementation
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n5oNKUxkguDcOTJJ9acF1dHPPlRbHG1c/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109470781895288394264&rtpof=true&sd=true
These are the Utah Effective School Counselor Standards connected with this microcredential.
Nicole Anderson
Heather Baschuk
Jade Christiansen
Nachae Clark
Jamie Greenburg
Paige Murdock
Erin Nelson
Lindsey Robinson
Ashlee Sheppard
Stephanie Tueller
Jill Tullis
250 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3204
Phone: 801.538.7807