Career Exploration

Personal Assessment and Goal Development

Academic Achievement

Education and Career Research

Career and Technical Student Organizations

Experiential Learning

Summarize the results of a career assessment tool (such as, but not limited to, instruments determining interest and aptitudes, personality traits, learning styles, career choice alignments, personal values, etc.) to develop a personal profile. Ensure summaries cite specific textual evidence from the results, such as individual strengths and abilities, and compare and contrast results with prior knowledge or opinions. Throughout the course, continue to reference the results of the profile to connect individual strengths and interests with goal-setting, planning, and projects.

With the support of a career assessment tool, engage in self-reflection to evaluate personal goals, skills, and interests to apply findings to research a career pathway or career sector.

Create, monitor, and revise long-term (over two years), mid-term (one-two years), and shortterm (less than one year) personal goals, defining desired personal, education, career, and earning milestones. Define relevant key terms where appropriate. Evaluate factors that may influence these goals, including family responsibilities, individual values, and economic conditions.

Compare information in personal profile and desired short-, mid-, and long-term goals and identify areas where support and development may be needed. Create, and continue to build throughout the course, a personal toolkit of multiple available resources {physical and digital) to assist with educational achievement, personal growth and development, and career advancement. Vet resources for the toolkit by assessing the extent to which each resource addresses a particular claim or recommendation for addressing a challenge or problem.

Evaluate current academic progress and how it aligns to future career goals. Identify and articulate academic strengths and areas for improvement.

Apply knowledge of personal academic strengths and weaknesses to know when and how to ask for help, when needed. Understand what resources are available to positively influence school performance. Identify strategies for improving educational achievement and performance.

Research and select appropriate study habits, organizational strategies, stress reduction, and time management tactics to improve personal academic achievement and future career success. Test hypotheses about appropriate strategies by following steps to techniques and tools precisely and provide updates {via methods such as oral report, teacher-student check-in meetings, or personal reflection journal) about how the techniques did or did not improve achievement.

Demonstrate the ability to work independently and cooperatively with peers, school leaders, and community partners when needed. Show dependability, productivity, and initiative when completing individual and group projects.

Identify a list of skills that are transferable between different job sectors and careers.

Using job sourcing and career exploration websites, research various jobs and career sectors. Identify which occupations/industries are in high demand and/or are emerging in their fields. Compare and contrast the information presented, including salary differences, education requirements, and potential challenges to overcome to enter the field.

Understand the role of entrepreneurship in the U.S. economy. Research a well-known entrepreneur and prepare a report on his or her entrepreneurial characteristics and the problem the entrepreneurship sought to address.

Utilize online college access tools to research the differences among postsecondary options, including trade or technical schools, community colleges, and four-year colleges and universities. Include specific characteristics, such as location, public or private institution, on or off-campus housing, and cost per credit hour.

Create an academic map or course of study for a specific career and identify key elements necessary for success, such as:

Differentiate between a career cluster and a career pathway and understand the context in which each are important.

Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of CTE content by articulating cross-content connections. Identify various career opportunities within each cluster, and research estimated salary and education ranges.

Using a personal inventory or career exploration assessment, reflect on personal interests and align them to Tennessee's available career clusters. Identify which career clusters are academically or personally interesting, and if they are available in your high school.

Identify and explore the recognized Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) in Tennessee and which organizations are available in your middle school and high school:

Brainstorm and list the potential benefits of CTSO membership, including but not limited to career self-efficacy, college aspirations, community service, employability skills, leadership development, and academic motivation and engagement.

Interview members of a particular CTSO. Summarize and report on the basic responsibilities, organization, and future opportunities available to them.

Investigate the steps needed for participation in various career and educational opportunities, such as entry-level employment, apprenticeships, community and technical colleges, industry credentials, and/or military service.

Work in a team, with identified roles and responsibilities, to develop an artifact specific to an interest-aligned CTE career cluster. Create a flow chart or graphic organizer to illustrate processes taken to accomplish the task. Execute the plan of the product by designing, organizing, creating, reflecting, maintaining, and updating processes and team member responsibilities as needed.

Research the extracurricular activities available in middle school, their time requirements, and the benefits of school involvement for long-term academic and career success. Compare and contrast several activities.

Create an educational profile of an employee in an interest-aligned career. Compare and contrast your personal knowledge to the information gathered from industry experts through interviews or media outlets.

Participate in a career exploration experience via a career fair, guest speaker, industry tour, or similar experiential activity. Compare new learnings with previously held notions on interestaligned careers.

13.a

Important knowledge, skills, and mindsets

13.b

Required high school and postsecondary courses

13.c

Average ACT scores

13.d