Course Overview

The Career Explorations I course is designed to give middle school students an opportunity to explore various CTE subjects. Specifically, students will be able to learn about careers involving human-related services.

Each unit introduces one particular field and explains its past, present, and future. The goal is to whet students’ appetites for these careers. Students can then explore that career in more detail as a high school student.

  • Unit 1: Career Management: This unit examines the elements of employment, from the purpose and personal benefits of work to lifelong learning and technology. Students learn about wages and employment benefits, find out how to maintain a time sheet, set lifestyle goals that match their work goals, and attain problem-solving skills. Students will also explore career clusters and begin a project that helps them which career clusters best match their talents and life goals.
  • Unit 2: Introduction to Careers in Health Sciences: In this unit, students learn about the history of health care and its shift from a focus on religion and culture to one a more scientific approach. Students also explore important medical discoveries of the 17th and 18th centuries, and the integration of technology into medicine.
  • Unit 3: Hospitality and Tourism Systems: Travel and tourism is the largest industry in the world, and it continues to grow each year. Employing 7.5 million people in the United States, the travel and tourism industry depends on visitors traveling to or within the United States. In 2010, sixty million international visitors came to the United States and spent $134 billion. Travel is divided into two broad categories: leisure travel and business travel.
    The industry is made up of various sectors that provide services to people going on vacation, taking a business trip, or visiting an attraction. These sectors include accommodations, transportation, entertainment and attractions, sightseeing and guide services, dining services, and shopping and retail. Within the travel industry, the types of vacation packages or travel products people buy are either considered commodities or experiences.
  • Unit 4: Human Services: In this unit, students will learn about the human services professional who usually works for a government agency or nonprofit organization. He or she provides assistance, counseling, and training to help people change and acquire better coping skills. These professionals do not rescue people; they empower people, and they respect people’s right to self-determination.
    Some of the populations targeted for help by human services professionals include those living in poverty, those suffering from substance abuse and alcoholism, the homeless, victims of domestic abuse, the mentally or physically disabled, and the elderly. Organizations that seek to help such people and employ human services professionals include federal and state agencies, drug and alcohol treatment centers, nursing homes and elder care facilities, women’s shelters, hospitals, psychiatric facilities, schools and universities, police departments, prisons, courts, and many others.
  • Unit 5: Consumer Services: Consumer services organizations are those that provide services to individual consumers, as opposed to businesses. There are many industries represented in consumer services, offering careers in fields such as advertising, apparel, consulting, entertainment, health care, hospitality, law, personal services, online services, real estate, and travel.
    The largest part of any consumer services job is working well with people to solve problems, which requires a positive attitude and good communications skills. Because of the wide range of opportunities and types of jobs in consumer services, educational requirements can vary from a high school diploma and on-the-job training to internships and graduate degrees. Some consumer services career paths, particularly in counseling or sales, require licenses or certifications.

Curriculum Content and Skills Focus

Unit 1: Career Management:

  • List personal reasons for work.
  • Identify benefits of a productive workforce to society.
  • Describe positive social and professional behaviors promoting success in both areas.
  • Explain the benefits of grouping careers into career clusters as it relates to career preparation.
  • Recognize differences and commonalities in working environments and tasks performed among different careers.
  • Understand problem solving is a valuable workplace skill.

Unit 2: Introduction to Careers in Health Sciences:

  • Explain the historical contributions of various cultures, religions, and genders to health care.
  • Relate advances in technology to the creation of new careers.
  • Discuss how research, technology, and innovation led to the development of modern medicine.
  • Describe the how biotechnology has helped doctors understand genetic disorders.
  • Explain the impact that the understanding of genetics has had on medicine.
  • Explain the impact that technology has had on diagnostic medicine
  • Describe specific technology used in medical imaging.
  • Discuss the use of biotechnology with special attention to stem cell research, cloning, and genetic engineering.
  • Discuss the value of transplantation.

Unit 3: Hospitality and Tourism Systems

  • Define key terms related to the travel and tourism sector.
  • Explain what each major segment of the travel industry represents.
  • Analyze different kinds of consumers and what satisfies their travel needs.
  • Understand how geographic principles relate to travel concerns.
  • Know some of the landforms and bodies of water that are popular tourist destinations, and be aware of the wind patterns that affect them.
  • Define major geographic terms.
  • Identify some of the major tourist destinations in North America, South America, Central America, and Europe.
  • Understand the geography of North America, South America, Central America, and Europe.
  • Identify some of the major tourist destinations in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.
  • Understand the geography of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.

Unit 4: Human Services

  • Describe what it means to empower people to improve their lives.
  • Explain the way different positions of a human services organization function.
  • Describe multiple service organizations/human services organizations.
  • Understand “target groups” as it applies to HS organizations.
  • Explain the philosophy behind human services organizations and human services professionals.
  • Define and describe three basic levels of interventions: direct service, program planning, and administration. Describe how the collective make-up of all three levels helps organizations be successful.
  • Explain several ways to raise money for human services organizations.
  • Explain the functions of lobbyists and grant writers.
  • Directing human services organizations.
  • Ensuring fiscal survival of agencies/organizations.
  • Administering and budgeting human services organizations.

Unit 5: Consumer Services

  • Define “consumer services” within the realm of human services professions.
  • Understand the importance of communications skills in the consumer services industry.
  • Identify sources for career support related to the consumer services industry.
  • Summarize the components of an organizational structure and order them.
  • Outline steps for assessing the work environment for health and safety risks.
  • Explain sustainability as it relates to consumer services users and explain terms related to green initiatives.

Additional Resources

No additional resources are required for this course.

 
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