I am thrilled to report on a semester-long career research project, spearheaded by Instructor and master storyteller, Dominador Caoile, of the Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center, part of New York City’s Office of Adult and Continuing Education, with additional support from the New York City Department of Education’s Office of Post-Secondary Readiness, Principal, Gloria Williams, and Assistant Principal, Lisa Henderson. All levels of ESL, BE, Pre-HSE and HSE classes participated in the career research project last summer. See the results in their short, dramatic, tear-jerker  below, showcasing research in Healthcare and Technology careers.

How did they structure the research project?

Step 1: Proposing a Project

Teachers submitted a proposal to the principal on their career research project. They included the topic, learning standard, tasks and timeline. See the sample below.

Step 2: Presenting the Proposal to Students

Teachers presented the accepted proposal to students, noting the academic skills and career content to be learned. 

Step 3: Laying the Groundwork

Career-related vocabulary was taught, both general labor market terminology and sector-specific terms.

Students ranked their interest in various sectors, using the 10 Industries activity, the first lesson in the Career Fundamentals CareerKit.

Step 4: Research Begins

Classes spent several weeks researching their career topics. Topics included Health Career Opportunities, Healthcare in Families, Entrepreneurship, Caring for Friends and Family as a Career and others. To find materials on their topics, some used NYSED/CUNY CareerKit readings, while others used information from the career database, JobZone, or other sources. To make the texts accessible to their students, teachers devised activities where students paraphrased, summarized, used images and graphic organizers. 

Step 5: Creating Poster Displays

Students synthesized the information they found, answering their original research questions and news ones that occurred to them during the research process. They incorporated guiding questions, infographics, photos, career descriptions and original texts they wrote themselves about fictive workers based on the information they found about careers. 

Step 6: Preparing to Present

In addition to preparing their displays, they prepared to present their research in front of an audience of classmates, families, the principal, assistant principal and others. They formally invited those important to them who are supportive of the great amount of work it takes to pursue their education. 

Step 7: The Big Day, Celebrating Career Research

The presentation day was a festive and professional celebration, complete with ribbon cutting, sector-related uniforms, a presentation hall brimming with posters, and humming with excitement and information. 

This is a fantastic model for a sustained career research project, from developing a topic idea, to writing a proposal, conducting research, synthesizing and presenting.

Have you done a unique or noteworthy career research project in your class? Let our readers know in the comment box below.