| Step | Description | Expected Student Results |
| 1 | Topic Selection Student Task: The student will write an introductory letter to their mentor, including their interests and activities. They will include a description of their area of primary career interest, citing specific reasons why this career is of interest. They will submit their paragraph and will be matched with a mentor with interest and/or experience in that area. Mentor Task: The mentor will reply by asking questions about student interests and offering his/her own insight. Through the questioning, the mentor will try to help the student narrow the primary interest if necessary that he/she would like to explore further. |
Student Task: The student will write an introductory letter to their mentor. THE FIRST PORTFOLIO ENTRY will be an introductory letter from student to mentor that includes their school and extracurricular interests and activities. The letter will include a description of student's primary area of career interest and will explain the specific reasons for their focus on that career. After the mentor reviews and responds to the student's portfolio, the student will respond to mentor with a well-written, correctly punctuated letter thanking mentor for their interest and answering any questions raised by the mentor. |
| 2 | Career Research Step 2, Student Task #1: Students will research, analyze, and synthesize information about two careers, then type one informational summary paragraph on each career (total of two paragraphs) to submit to their mentors for feedback. They will include all information required by their teacher in their write-ups. Career research paragraphs must include information from a minimum of three valid research sources. (Students may not cite Wikipedia as a source but may link to primary sources from Wikipedia references) The web address (html) or bibliographical information for each source must be listed in a bibliography after the research paragraph to indicate where the information came from. Students will submit paragraphs for mentor and teacher feedback. Step 2 Student Task #2: Students will watch a minimum of five minutes of career videos for both of the top careers they have chosen, take notes on important information from each video, and summarize what they have learned. Students may watch one five-minute video or multiple shorter videos for each career as long as the total time is at least five minutes per career. Students will record the URLs of all videos accessed to provide to their teacher and mentor. Students will follow directions written by their teacher for this activity and will submit the information in the required format to their mentor for analysis and feedback. Mentor Task: After the student has identified two careers that are of the most interest to him/her, the mentor will send the student suggested research keywords and helpful websites to use during internet research and/or videos on their two selected career areas of interest. In addition, the mentor should send the student some specific questions related to exploring the careers to help provoke thought and further study. |
Career Research Step 2 Student Task #1: Students will research, analyze, and synthesize information about two careers, then type one informational summary paragraph on each career (total of two paragraphs) to submit to their mentors for feedback. They will include all information required by their teacher in their write-ups. (see below for requirements) Career research paragraphs must include information from a minimum of three valid research sources. (Students may not cite Wikipedia as a source but may link to primary sources from Wikipedia references) The web address (html) or bibliographical information for each source must be listed in a bibliography after the research paragraph to indicate where the information came from. Students will submit paragraphs for mentor and teacher feedback. Each Career Informational Paragraph should include the following information along with other interesting information that the student and mentor discover about the career through their research together: 1. "Career cluster" overall field of interest (examples: Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics; Marketing, Sales & Service; Human Services; and so on as found on career cluster inventory.) 2. The name of the specific career 3. Education and skill preparation/requirements (In other words--what type of degree/training is required for an entry job in this field?) 4. Specific duties that someone in this career will perform 5. Possible challenges/difficulties that may be encountered in this job 6. Expected salary range for someone in this field (compensation) 7. Outlook for future job growth in this field 8. Describe what a student in high school can do to prepare for this job (include courses to take in high school, volunteer/summer jobs/etc would be helpful to a student wishing to enter this field) 9. Possible potential employers for someone working in this field (Hospitals? Schools? Companies? 10. What are some other career fields that are related to this field? In each career paragraph, students will write a Conclusion Section. In the Conclusion Section, they will answer both of the following questions: 1. From what you have learned through your research, do you feel you are suited to this career? 2. Why or why not? 2. What do you need to do this week/month/and year to work towards a career in this goal? Step 2 Student Task #2: Student Task: Students will watch a minimum of five minutes of career videos for both of the top careers they have chosen, take notes on important information from each video, and summarize what they have learned. Students may watch one five-minute video or multiple shorter videos for each career as long as the total time is at least five minutes per career. Students will record the URLs of all videos accessed to provide to their teacher and mentor. Students will follow directions written by their teacher for this activity and will submit the information in the required format to their mentor for analysis and feedback. Student Task: Students will communicate with mentors throughout the development of their research paragraphs, send rough drafts of their work, and upload their research paragraphs to the Telementor site for mentor feedback. |
| 3 | Step 3 Mentor Task 1: The mentor will help the student to identify two professional organizations and discuss the benefits of membership in professional organizations. Mentor Task 2: The mentor will help the student identify one top professionals who is active in each of the professional organization students research The student will identify one top professional who is active in each professional organization they research. (total of two top professionals) and write a paragraph detailing their accomplishments and explaining why they are considered important in their fields. The student will distinguish between professional organization and a company. The student will identify at least two professional organizations in their career field of interest. They will compose an entry for EACH organization describing/including the following: 1. Name of the organization 2. Benefits of membership 3. Cost of yearly membership (include student membership if offered) 4. Professional publications of the organization 5. Annual conferences/dates/locations 6. Two top professionals identified within each organization. Student should download and save a photo of each top professional identified along with information about why they are considered important in their field and organization. 7. E-mail contacts for at least two top professionals identified within each professional organization. |
Step 3 Student Task: Research and Writing Activity 1: the student will learn about what a professional organization is and understand the importance of professionals joining a professional organization. The student will discuss the importance of professional organization membership with their mentor to demonstrate understanding. Activity 2: The student will identify one top professional who is active in each professional organization they research. (total of two top professionals) and write a paragraph detailing the professional accomplishments, education, and credentials and explaining why each professional is considered important in their fields. The student will distinguish between a professional organization and a company. Writing task for Activity 1: The student will identify at least two professional organizations in their career field of interest. They will compose an entry for each organization describing/including the following: 1. Name of the organization 2. Benefits of membership 3. Cost of yearly membership (include student membership if offered) 4. Professional publications of the organization 5. Annual conferences/dates/locations 6. Two top professionals identified within each organization. Student should download and save a photo of each top professional identified along with information about why they are considered important in their field and organization. 7. E-mail contacts for at least two top professionals identified within each professional organization. Student Research Activity 2: In addition to reading and writing Activities 1-2, the student will locate, download, and save a graphic symbol of the professional organization in high resolution to be used later in their portfolio, PowerPoint, and on their project poster. |
| 4 | Mentor Task: The mentor will help the student identify professionals working in their field of interest (either local, regional, national, or international) and develop a contact list of e-mails for at least 5 "every day" professionals. The mentor will assist the student in composing a letter and list of interview questions that may be modified for each professional. The mentor will further assist the student by e-mailing the student's questions to professionals and posting the response(s) to the student through the Telementor site. Mentor Task: Ask the student what questions they think would be important in an interview. Discuss with the student differences in an oral interview and in an e-mail interview. Mentor Task: Guide students as they write a brief introductory paragraph describing their project. This paragraph will be sent along with their interview questions. Stress to the student the importance of correct grammar and punctuation in an interview. Review and help students revise their introductory paragraph and interview questions. Mentor Task: Please assist the teacher and student by e- mailing the student's questions to the professionals and by posting the answers for their students on the ITP website. If you don't hear back from a professional, please follow up with the individuals contacted to determine whether or not he/she will be able to answer the student's questions in a timely manner. Student Task: The student will work with the mentor to develop a short introductory paragraph and questions for the e-mail interviews. The introductory paragraph should be a note explaining their career interest and purpose of their research. They will respond appropriately and immediately with a thank you note when interview responses are received. |
The 4th student portfolio entry will include an introductory letter and list of interview questions to be sent to at least five professionals working in the student's area of career interest. Activity 1: The student will work with their mentors to locate e-mail contact information for five "every day" professionals in preparation to send interviews for information. These professionals may be local, regional, national, or international. Activity 2: The student will work with the mentor to create/compose/develop a short introductory letter to each professional working in their field of interest. The introductory letter should explain their career interest and purpose of their research. The student will write a draft of their introductory letter and post it to their mentor for editing and approval. The mentor will e-mail the student's letter and questions to the identified professionals. Sample letter to a professional: Dear Professional, I am a ninth grade student in Louisiana and am interested in the career field of chemical engineering (you fill in your selected career field). I am researching this field as part of a class project with the help of a professional mentor through the International Telementor Program this semester and have developed some interview questions to help me learn more about this field. If you are willing to answer my questions, I know it would help me to expand my understanding about what it takes to be a professional in this career field. Please send your answers to my mentor through her(you fill in his or her) e-mail and she (select his or her) will send them to me. Thank you very much for your time and for considering this request. Sincerely, Your First Name After students have created their letter, they will work with their teacher and mentor to develop a list of ten interview questions designed to elicit information about the career field. Use the following guidelines and see the interview question template as examples. Students should consider the sample interview questions provided by their teacher and should brainstorm additional questions with their mentor in order to gain as much information as possible from the professional interviews. Students should write questions in such a way that they cannot be answered with one word or yes/no answers and so that each question will elicit a generous amount of information interesting to the student. Students should NOT JUST COPY/PASTE THE SAMPLE QUESTIONS! Really think about what YOU want to know and revise them accordingly. Students should send the messages to their mentor for suggestions and editing. Incorporate their feedback into the final version of your interview questions and send back a final copy. TELL YOUR MENTOR WHEN YOU ARE DONE EDITING THE QUESTIONS AND WOULD LIKE THEM TO GO AHEAD AND SEND THEM TO PROFESSIONALS. SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (modify to fit your interests/career field and work with your mentor to make them the best they can be!) 1. Please describe your current job title and position and responsibilities including some of the daily tasks you perform. 2. What classes did you take in high school and college that you feel were the most helpful in preparing you for this career? 3. What type and level of education did you have in order to qualify for your current position? 4. Please describe the physical work environment of your work place. 5. What type of other professionals do you work very closely with on a regular basis and how do you interact with these professionals? 6. Do you consider your work to be interesting? Why or why not? 7. Please describe what you consider to be the most enjoyable and least enjoyable parts of your job and why you feel this way. 8. What are some of the biggest challenges a professional in your position deals with on a regular basis? 9. Knowing what you have experienced in your professional life and the future outlook for this career, would you still select this career for yourself and would you recommend it to someone my age? Why or why not? 10. Is there any additional advice you have for someone my age who is interested in this field? After submitting introductory letter and questions to mentor, student should proceed to the next portfolio. Waiting for interview responses sometimes takes several weeks. During this time, the student will continue to research and work on unfinished research and writing for other portfolios. As each interview is posted for the student, students will stop whatever other research they are doing immediately and will write an appropriate thank you note back to the professional following the guidelines provided by the teacher. Thank you note guidelines have been provided by the teacher and students have been given a written copy of them to follow as well. Thank you guidelines may be found in Portfolio 6. Students should respond to the interview with a thank you note within two days after receiving the interview and then will work on a summary of the interview as well. THE THANK YOU NOTE ALWAYS COMES FIRST because it is extremely important that the professionals who respond know that their time and efforts are appreciated by the student! As soon as the thank you note is written, it should be uploaded to the mentor so that he/she can send it to the professional immediately. |
| 5 | Portfolio 5: Conducting College Research and Analyzing Professional Interviews Mentor Task: During Step 4, the mentor contacted professional individuals via phone or e-mail asking them to answer student interview questions and submitted the questions to those individuals via e-mail. During step 5, the mentor will hopefully receive the student's interview questions via e-mail. When answers are received from the professionals, mentors will post the interview responses to students through the telementor site. Mentor Task: While waiting for interviews to be returned, the mentor will work with the student to help them explore college/university websites and learn information about the admissions requirements, degree/program offerings, cost, and other important topics as outlined in the student task section. Mentors should challenge students be sure that their chosen schools offer their major field of interest and challenge students to thoroughly research their chosen universities. Mentor Task: As interviews are received and students summarize and respond with a thank you note, mentors will help proofread and make suggestions for improvement on student thank you notes. After they are refined, mentors will forward student thank you notes to each professional. In addition, they will proofread and collaborate with students as they evaluate information received during interviews and will provide feedback to students as they summarize interview responses. This process carries over into Portfolio 6. Student Task for College Research while waiting for interviews: International Telementor Portfolio 5 Assignments: The students will use the Internet to research three universities/colleges or training programs of interest that have highly respected programs in their chosen career field. At least one university must be in Louisiana. BEFORE a student selects a particular university as one of their three to research, students should search university degree offerings to be certain that their degree program of interest is offered at that particular school. Students will communicate with their mentor to ask their advice about university programs and will discuss their findings and collaborate with mentor for assistance and to expand their learning opportunities throughout this step. Students will use keywords/college websites/ and other information that the mentor suggests to locate other universities/colleges that offer programs in their field of interest and read about several before selecting three universities to research in-depth. Written entries should be organized by university and will include the following information. Students may organize the information for each of their three colleges in a separate spreadsheet, paragraph, or list format depending on what they prefer Here is the information that must be included in a separate written portfolio entry for each of the three college/universities chosen by the student: 1. The college/university name and web address 2. The city and state- location of the college/university 3. Distance from home (use Google maps or map quest to find distance) 4. Cost of attendance, including: a. Tuition (list by semester or quarter depending on the university and total for the year) b. Required fees c. Cost of dorm or apartment (room) for campus housing d. Cost of the meal ticket for on campus meals that you feel best meets your needs 5. Admissions requirements including required ACT/SAT scores and grade point average if listed 6. Admission application deadlines for the current year 7. Scholarship primary application deadlines for current year 8. Specific reasons why you chose to explore this college/university 9. Other important information (sports, ROTC, music, debate, other scholarships you plan to apply for) |
Student Task: Students will work on college research as outlined below while waiting for interviews. International Telementor Portfolio 5 Assignments: The students will use the Internet to research three universities/colleges or training programs of interest that have highly respected programs in their chosen career field. At least one university must be in California. BEFORE a student selects a particular university as one of their three to research, students should search university degree offerings to be certain that their degree program of interest is offered at that particular school. Students will communicate with their mentor to ask their advice about university programs and will discuss their findings and collaborate with mentor for assistance and to expand their learning opportunities throughout this step. Students will use keywords/college websites/ and other information that the mentor suggests to locate other universities/colleges that offer programs in their field of interest and read about several before selecting three universities to research in-depth. Written entries should be organized by university and will include the following information. Students may organize the information for each of their three colleges in a separate spreadsheet, paragraph, or list format depending on what they prefer Here is the information that must be included in a separate written portfolio entry for each of the three college/universities chosen by the student: 1. The college/university name and web address 2. The city and state- location of the college/university 3. Distance from home (use Google maps or map quest to find distance) 4. Cost of attendance, including: a. Tuition (list by semester or quarter depending on the university and total for the year) b. Required fees c. Cost of dorm or apartment (room) for campus housing d. Cost of the meal ticket for on campus meals that you feel best meets your needs 5. Admissions requirements including required ACT/SAT scores and grade point average if listed 6. Admission application deadlines for the current year 7. Scholarship primary application deadlines for current year 8. Specific reasons why you chose to explore this college/university 9. Other important information (sports, ROTC, music, debate, other scholarships you plan to apply for) 10. What their job placement rate is 12. Who is hiring their students. Student Task: Students will search college major requirements for their major of interest and will complete a 4 year schedule of classes for their college undergraduate degree program. Student Task for Analyzing Professional Interviews: As soon as each interview is received, students will read and analyze information provided by the professionals. They will record information about each professional and summarize/write a portfolio entry detailing information from each professional interview. In addition to including the information provided by the professionals, students will include any new insights they learned about their career of interest. Students will upload a separate summary for each individual interview for mentor approval AND will immediately write a thank you note as outlined in Portfolio 6. The mentor will make suggestions for improvement and forward the student’s finalized thank you not to each professional who responds as soon as possible. |
| 6 | Creating a Personal Mission Statement and a Plan of Action From all the information that has been gathered, the student will create a Plan of Action. The plan will outline in detail the steps that are needed for the student to be successful in his/her area of interest. It will include courses to take, jobs to have, contacts to make and any other information that the mentor and student decide is important for the particular area. Since it often takes several weeks for students to get interview responses back from professionals, students may jump ahead to this portfolio task and begin working on it with their mentors while they wait for interviews to be returned. It is helpful to students if mentors can share examples of mission statements and give suggestions for creating their plan of action while they are waiting for interviews to be returned to keep collaboration going and encourage them as they wait for their interview responses. As soon as interview responses are returned, students should promptly respond with a thank you note and summary reflecting on the professional interview response. Mentors can give valuable insight into how to respond and what they think is the most important advice contained in the interview and should correspond with the student about various aspects of the interview response and challenge students to really consider the information and not just read and forget it! Student Task: The student will create a plan of action through correspondence with their mentor and reflection on personal goals. |
The seventh portfolio entry will consist of two parts, the plan of action and personal mission statement. Student Task: Students will create a Personal Mission Statement and a Plan of Action and using the following guidelines. They will consult with their teacher and mentor while developing their Mission Statement and Plan of Action. The mission statement should express their values, goals, and what they perceive as their life mission. Students should look online and discuss mission statement examples with their mentor. The students should also read examples of personal mission statements from the file their teacher has posted on the school workgroup. Students will proofread their statement and upload it for mentor approval. Developing a Personal Mission Statement—A Mission Statement describes your goals and values The mission statement should express your values, goals, and what you perceive as your life mission. Students should look online and discuss mission statement examples with their mentors. Personal Mission Statement Example: I value my family, my country, and my freedom. I believe in God and in the value of hard work. I truly care about helping others learn and reach their potential. I strive to have a positive attitude, to be kind to others and to help where I am needed. I know I can succeed in my personal goals because I know what I believe in and have set positive goals for myself. I will ask for help from those around me who have my best interests in mind and will work hard and take advantage of learning opportunities. I know I can and will succeed because I have faith in God’s support and am willing to work hard to make my dreams a reality. Read mission statements on student posters around the room and then develop your own using the template below. Template for creating a personal Mission Statement: Mission Statement I value________________________________ and ______________________________________ I believe in__________________________ and in _____________________________________ I truly care about_____________________________and __________________________________ I will keep_____________________________________________________ __________________ I will try to _________________________________________________________ _____________ I will strive for______________________________________________________ _______________ I will work towards__________________________________________________ __________________ I plan to_______________________________________________________ _________________ I will dedicate myself to_______________________________________________________ ________ I know I can and will succeed because__________________________________________________ _ Creating an updated Plan of Action From all the information that has been gathered, the student will create a Plan of Action. The plan will outline in detail the steps that are needed for the student to be successful in his/her area of interest. It will include the name of their area of interest, courses to take, jobs to have, contacts to make and any other information that the mentor and student decide is important for the particular area. They will send this entry to their mentor for feedback. Plan of Action Template (should be modified to meet individual student needs/actions/intent): My primary area of interest is the field of__________________. I plan to read ___________ to continue learning as much about my interest as possible and to develop positive habits. I plan on volunteering at ________ to learn more about my area of interest during the next _____________months/years. My current career goal is to (study, earn a degree in, become…) ___________. In order to reach this goal, I plan to apply to and attend_______________ university/college (you may list alternate universities too) and major in _________________. I will contact the _____________at my university of interest to request information and prepare for college entrance and success. The high school and/or college courses (primary curriculum areas) I am currently enrolled in that are most directly related to my interests include ___________________. In order to prepare for a successful start to my postsecondary education, this semester, I am currently addressing the following three educational, social, and/or personal goals (list three areas)___________________ ___________________ and __________________to try to improve my chances of future success. To meet my goal, I plan to develop a better understanding of the following area(s) of college/university interest (examples: schools with excellent programs in my field of interest, scholarships that I would qualify to receive, activities at school, admissions standards, and so on.)____________, _______________, ______________during the next month. In addition, I plan to ______________during the next two months to learn more about ____________. During my first year of college, I plan to ________. During the second year of college, I anticipate _______________. My third year of college, I will be ________________. My fourth year of college will be spent_____________________. Five years from now I plan to_____________________. I hope to live___________________ After that, I will go____________________ and do________________and be__________________. I anticipate success in my future college and career because I have prepared ___________________. I believe I can and will meet my goals because I am determined to _______________. The student will upload the plan of action to the mentor for approval and input. After interaction with mentor, student will print their plan of action and personal mission statement and put it in their portfolio |
| 7 | Sharing the Plan Mentor will encourage student as they prepare and present their project to an appropriate audience. They will discuss oral presentation skills and give advice and professional tips to help students present their work in an orderly, professional manner. Student Task: Student will share their final project product plan with an appropriate audience. |
Students will present their work to an appropriate audience using visual aids, note cards, and applying presentation tips/oral speaking skills practiced in class throughout the semester. Students should dress appropriately and ensure that all materials are prepared. Student will write thank you letter to mentor detailing specific areas that have been especially beneficial during the project. Students will use proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and businesslike format and will provide specific details about the many ways their mentor has helped them throughout this project. |
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