With this tool, students are expected to:
In European education systems, basic education is basically guaranteed for everyone, with qualitative and quantitative standards undoubtedly higher than in other parts of the planet. In this context, reasoning on Quality Education therefore requires to aim at objectives more ambitious than the “simple” right of access without discrimination, which refer to the targets 4.4 et seq. of the Sustainable Development Goals strategy defined in 2016 by the United Nations: "By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decentralized jobs and entrepreneurship".
The proposed activity therefore aims to establish a direct link between the themes that the school is able to bring to the attention of younger students and the identification of a path that should lead in a targeted way to the continuation of studies and integration into the job market.
In this scenario, transversal knowledge and skills constitute an inseparable combination, able to activate in very young people a process of acquisition of a better awareness of the characteristics of their way of being, in relation to their inclinations and aspirations for the future.
Materials
Teacher/teacher: personal computer or another device connected to the Internet and the interactive whiteboard
Students: basic school stationery (sheets of paper, pens/pencils); A3 sheets of paper (at least one for each student in the class); a block of small sheets of paper (e.g. business cards no longer usable, with a free side for writing); smartphone, tablet or different device connected to the Internet. You need at least one every 3/4 students.
A small (non-transparent) paper shopper.
Duration
About 100 minutes divided into two 50-minute modules
Group size
3/4 students per group, depending on class size
The teacher/teacher introduces himself to the class explaining that in the following minutes some short videos (without commentary) will be projected through the interactive whiteboard showing people intent on doing their job. These will be particular activities, the result of creative and courageous choices that have given those who carry them out the opportunity to gain satisfaction, both economically and in terms of professional achievement. Examples: snail breeder, interpreter for the deaf, chef on cruise ships, expert in acrobatic construction, window dresser, drone pilot, etc.. The presentation of the videos will have a total duration of about 15 minutes.
At the end, the teacher/teacher will ask the students if they have been able to recognize which activities those people were doing; if not, the teacher/teacher will give the correct answer. He will also ask if they were aware of the existence of those professions and what studies they believe were necessary to be able to undertake them, regardless of whether they are self-employed or employed. This part will take no more than 10 minutes.
Once the start-up phase is over, the teacher/teacher will give each student an A3 sheet (used paper will be fine, as long as it has a white side to write on), inviting them to form two columns with a central pen stroke. The sheet will have to be used by everyone in the following 10 minutes to list in the two columns their main characteristics (at least 10 for each column), in order to answer questions such as: "what kind of person am I/not?"; "what do I like/not like to do?"; "what am I/not good at?"; "my friends appreciate/not appreciate me because...".
Once the list is complete, the teacher/teacher will ask each student to select in each column the two self-characteristics he considers most significant, underlining them with the pen or a coloured highlighter/pencil. The sheets thus filled in will then be handed over to the teacher/teacher, who will examine them together with the class and ask them to intervene in an orderly manner according to the answers given, trying to imagine a working scenario corresponding to the personal characteristics highlighted in the list. When starting the debate, the teacher/teacher will clearly explain that the aim is not to make everyone say what job they would like to do when they grow up, but to reflect on the working conditions that could be compatible with the main personal characteristics listed in the sheet. Example: if a student has indicated that he or she is fussy and techno-loving, but at the same time tends to be shy and taciturn, he or she can be expected to imagine for himself or herself an activity of precision to be carried out in a laboratory, without contact with the public.
Depending on the time still available before the end of the lesson, it is important that all or as many students as possible intervene and expose what could be their "working environment". The teacher/teacher will take note of the impressions expressed and in the days between the first and second lesson will draw up a diagram that will then be displayed on the interactive whiteboard and in which will be highlighted, for each student, the main characteristics (2 positive and 2 negative) and the working scenario considered appropriate by the student himself. The diagram can be organized through a simple spreadsheet or using an appropriate digital tool, but it should allow a compact display that includes all the students in the class in a single screen.
The teacher/teacher introduces himself to the class explaining that in the following minutes some short videos (without commentary) will be projected through the interactive whiteboard showing people intent on doing their job. These will be particular activities, the result of creative and courageous choices that have given those who carry them out the opportunity to gain satisfaction, both economically and in terms of professional achievement. Examples: snail breeder, interpreter for the deaf, chef on cruise ships, expert in acrobatic construction, window dresser, drone pilot, etc.. The presentation of the videos will have a total duration of about 15 minutes.
At the end, the teacher/teacher will ask the students if they have been able to recognize which activities those people were doing; if not, the teacher/teacher will give the correct answer. He will also ask if they were aware of the existence of those professions and what studies they believe were necessary to be able to undertake them, regardless of whether they are self-employed or employed. This part will take no more than 10 minutes.
Once the start-up phase is over, the teacher/teacher will give each student an A3 sheet (used paper will be fine, as long as it has a white side to write on), inviting them to form two columns with a central pen stroke. The sheet will have to be used by everyone in the following 10 minutes to list in the two columns their main characteristics (at least 10 for each column), in order to answer questions such as: "what kind of person am I/not?"; "what do I like/not like to do?"; "what am I/not good at?"; "my friends appreciate/not appreciate me because...".
Once the list is complete, the teacher/teacher will ask each student to select in each column the two self-characteristics he considers most significant, underlining them with the pen or a coloured highlighter/pencil. The sheets thus filled in will then be handed over to the teacher/teacher, who will examine them together with the class and ask them to intervene in an orderly manner according to the answers given, trying to imagine a working scenario corresponding to the personal characteristics highlighted in the list. When starting the debate, the teacher/teacher will clearly explain that the aim is not to make everyone say what job they would like to do when they grow up, but to reflect on the working conditions that could be compatible with the main personal characteristics listed in the sheet. Example: if a student has indicated that he or she is fussy and techno-loving, but at the same time tends to be shy and taciturn, he or she can be expected to imagine for himself or herself an activity of precision to be carried out in a laboratory, without contact with the public.
Depending on the time still available before the end of the lesson, it is important that all or as many students as possible intervene and expose what could be their "working environment". The teacher/teacher will take note of the impressions expressed and in the days between the first and second lesson will draw up a diagram that will then be displayed on the interactive whiteboard and in which will be highlighted, for each student, the main characteristics (2 positive and 2 negative) and the working scenario considered appropriate by the student himself. The diagram can be organized through a simple spreadsheet or using an appropriate digital tool, but it should allow a compact display that includes all the students in the class in a single screen.
In the initial warm-up the teacher/teacher will recapitulate what was done in the previous lesson and will propose on the interactive whiteboard the scheme that he or she has prepared in the meantime, so that everyone can see the main characteristics of his or her own way of being and of each school mate, accompanied by a very brief description of the professional scenario in which he or she imagines himself or herself as an adult.
The class is then divided into groups of 3/4 pupils composed randomly, using one of the many techniques that every teacher certainly knows. The choice of the technique will depend on the degree of interaction you want to develop with the students and the time available. A creative and engaging suggestion could be to ask the class to indicate the names of a number of famous people (musicians, actors, sportsmen, etc.) equal to the number of groups to be formed according to the class size. Example: in a class of 20 pupils 5 groups of 4 pupils each will be formed. The names of 5 famous people will then be chosen. Subsequently, each selected name will be written on 4 paper balls that will be placed in a non-transparent paper shopper. Each pupil will pull out a paper ball from the bag and will form the group together with their classmates who have drawn the same name. In this way it will also be possible to give each group the name of the corresponding famous character.
The groups get together and each of them will be given a sheet of paper, which the teacher/teacher will have prepared in the meantime, on which they will find a list of trades including the particular professions illustrated in the videos seen in the previous lesson and some more common and normally known trades. In total, the list should present a maximum of 8-10 jobs, with types that will vary partially from group to group.
List in hand, each group will have 20 minutes to search on the Internet, using their own devices (minimum one for each group), what are the knowledge and skills required to perform each of those occupations, which schools must be attended, what are the teaching subjects characterizing. The information found in this way will be pinned schematically on a sheet of paper.
At the end of the research, the teacher/teacher will ask each group to briefly present (3 minutes per group) what they have found about a couple of trades, taking care to make sure that each group has been able to present their work and that most of the jobs included in the lists have been presented. The teacher/teacher will also take care to distribute the presentation of the trades according to the number of the class and therefore to the number of groups that will have to intervene.
In closing, the teacher/teacher will propose to the class a reflection on what emerged during the two lessons dedicated to the activity, highlighting some main aspects:
1) Many people perform with good results and professional and economic satisfaction work activities outside the ordinary, of which it is important to know the existence and possibility of access.
2) There is the possibility to "invent" an original job, drawing on one's knowledge, skills and passions. From this point of view, creativity and awareness of their own personality are decisive.
3) When we talk about quality education, we also think about the importance of orientation activities that must accompany teaching and training activities in a broad sense, so as to allow each student, without discrimination, to discover his/her inclinations, talents and weaknesses from the very first years of school.
1) If time is short or the teacher/teacher wants to shorten the activity, the beginning of the first lesson could involve the simple presentation of some photographs instead of videos of "mysterious" professions. Whether they are videos or photographs, the teacher/teacher should make sure to avoid as much as possible projecting narrated or written parts that facilitate the task of identifying the activity behind those images.
2) All the sheets used to carry out the activity can already be used and retrieved within the school, as long as they still have a usable white facade. This will also give the pupils a signal in environmental terms, emphasizing the importance of recycling materials.
3) The discussion phase following the compilation of the A3 sheets with the positive and negative characteristics of one's own way of being will have to be conducted by the teacher/teacher, paying great attention to channel the pupils' attention towards the areas of work compatible with those characteristics and not to the simplistic enunciation of the work they would like to do as adults. The use of some practical examples will be of great help.
4) For the success of the activity to be successful and to avoid downtime that could disperse pupils' attention, it is important that the teacher/teacher prepares all the necessary materials in advance.
Unfortunately, the proposed activity does not make it possible to objectively measure the degree of participation and internalization of objectives by students. It is in fact the construction of a path that will hopefully bear fruit over time and not in the immediate future.
Considering the age target of the students involved, we do not recommend the use of a structured evaluation questionnaire, which could prove to be complex and not give the expected results. However, the teacher/teacher will be able to collect the "hot" impressions at the end of the second lesson, asking to express a general opinion, positive or negative, obviously guaranteeing anonymity. To do this, he or she will give each pupil a paper ball asking to draw a "like" (thumbs up) or a "dislike" (thumbs down). The teacher/teacher will then pick up all the paper balls using the paper shopper used previously.
Based on the overall progress of the activity, and on the outcome of the small survey carried out at the end of the activity (like or dislike), the teacher/teacher will draw useful indications on how best to direct the further stimuli to be offered to the class to favour the process of acquiring self-awareness, one's own potential and the other transversal competences stimulated by the stimuli offered during the two lessons.
The theme of creativity to be developed for the research of one's own future path represents a strategic dimension on which it is suggested to continue working with further laboratory activities.
Chapter completed |
Exercise | Result | Your answer | Correct answer |