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Lesson 4

We will research new resources regarding our intended postsecondary pathway.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I express an accurate understanding of the central ideas of texts?

  • Can I explore a variety of credible sources to answer a question or solve a problem using an organized and dynamic process of inquiry?

  • Can I evaluate the relevance and credibility of information, ideas, evidence, and reasoning presented in texts?

  • Can I work productively in various roles with other participants?

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • “Three Educational Pathways to Good Jobs,” Anthony P. Carnevale, Jeff Strohl, Neil Ridley, and Artem Gulish, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2018

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss

We will review what we learned about evaluating sources for credibility, bias, and accuracy in the previous lesson.

Step 1

Turn to a partner and discuss what it means to evaluate a source for credibility, accuracy, and bias. In your discussion, be sure to use examples from your practice evaluation of “Three Educational Pathways to Good Jobs” from the previous lesson.

Step 2

In the next activity, you will begin researching relevant sources to gather additional information on your prospective life goals and career aspirations. Notice the first step on the Foundation Unit Research and Presentation Guide is to generate questions for your research.

Think about the following questions when beginning your research:

  1. What are your career aspirations and how are those aspirations related to your life goals?

  2. How have other people achieved similar life goals or career aspirations? For example, if you want to become an astronaut, consider researching famous astronauts and trace their life paths to see how they accomplished their life goal.

  3. How does your postsecondary pathway choice support your overall career aspirations or life goals?

  4. How are the articles you are finding relevant to your life goals, career aspirations, or postsecondary pathway? What are you learning more about when it comes to your life goals, career aspirations, or postsecondary pathway?

Develop one or two inquiry questions specific to your pathway to guide your research.

Step 3

For online research, it is also important to determine precise keywords that will improve your chance of finding the most relevant information for your questions. For example, if your career aspiration is to become an actor, you might look up the phrase “how to become an actor,” “steps to becoming a stage actor,” or “best colleges for performing arts.”

Work with your group to determine four or five keywords or phrases you can use to guide your research.

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will search for two new sources pertaining for our life goals, career aspirations, or pathway choice and read them.

Step 1

In your pathway group, individually find two new academic articles, documents, or other texts about your life goals, career aspirations, or pathway choice. Use the guiding questions in section 2 of the Foundation Unit Research and Presentation Guide to assess the source in the following three categories:

  • accessibility and interest level

  • relevance and richness

  • credibility, accuracy, and bias

Step 2

After evaluating your sources, reread the text, annotating for its central ideas. Consider the following question as you read each source:

  1. How does this source’s ideas impact my own understanding or thinking about my prospective life goals, career aspirations, or pathway choice?

Step 3

Share the resources with your group members and discuss what you have found. Even though you may have different life goals and career aspirations, you can support each other in ensuring your various sources meet the credibility, bias, and accuracy requirements while also sharing how the sources are relevant by enhancing your thinking about your postsecondary pathway choice and life goal or career aspirations.

Activity 3: Read – Write

We will research postsecondary Programs we would like to enter.

Considering what you have researched so far regarding the specifics of your pathway, life goals, and career aspirations, start researching specific programs you would like to apply to for homework.

Visit the website for the programs you would like to apply to. Look for the following information and take notes on each program:

  1. What are the specific entrance requirements?

  2. What are the pertinent dates for applying?

  3. What is the total cost of the institution (e.g., tuition, room, board, fee)?

  4. What are the due dates of the required applications?

  5. How does it describe the culture of the institution? Would it be a good fit for you?

Review the applications for your programs of choice. If you have multiple applications that you are considering, make note of them for future reference.