WBL Program Curriculum

Map
Seminar Course
Semester One
September 3 November 14, 2014

Table of Contents
ISD 728 2014-15 Calendar
Unit 1: Self-Awareness (8 days)
Unit 2: Responsibilities of the Employer (10 days)
Unit 3: Problem Solving and Critical Thinking (10 days)
Unit 4: Succeeding in the Workplace (12 days)
Unit 5: Work Ethics and Behaviors (9 days)
Calendar: http://www.elkriver.k12.mn.us/files/filesystem/2014-15SecondaryCalendar.pdf

Unit 1: Self-Awareness
September 3 September 12, 2014

Objectives:
Upon completing this unit, students will be able to:
Articulate their personal strengths and weaknesses
Identify areas of skill and career interest
Articulate different types of work environments based on
personal preference
Identify aspects of work that seem appealing and those that
seem unappealing
Research careers on their own in an efficient manner
Standards:
SCANS foundation 1 -Basic Skills
Writing: communicates thoughts, ideas, information and
messages in writing and creates documents such as,
letters, directions, manuals, reports, graphs and flowcharts
SCANS foundation 3- Personal Qualities
Self-Esteem: believes in own self-worth and maintains a positive
view of self
Self-Management: assesses self accurately, sets personal goals,
monitors progress and exhibits self-control
ASCA Career Development
Develop Career Awareness

Develop an awareness of personal abilities, skills, interests

and motivations

Pursue and develop competency in areas of interest

Acquire Career Information

Identify personal skills, interests and abilities and relate

them to
current career choice
ASCA Personal/Social Development
Acquire Self-Knowledge
Identify and express feelings
Identify personal strengths and assets
Identify values, attitudes and beliefs
Vocabulary: strength, weakness, motivations, value, belief, work
environment, attitude, priority, preference, perception, reflection
Assignments:
*Students will create a cover letter written to the business of
their choosing. The cover letter should articulate the students

strengths, interests and work environment preferences and why

they believe they would be a good fit for their company.
*Students will partner with another student and interview this
student based on a pre-selected hypothetical job opening as if
they are the hiring manager. The applying student will use this
opportunity to focus on their strengths, skills and talents.
Students will document this mock interview on video and provide
the YouTube link to the teacher.
*Students will interview three adults who have full-time
employment. They will inquire about the pros and cons of their
work environment. They will ask about their work characteristics
(3rd shift for example, scheduled breaks, environment, hours per
day, etc). Students will write a one page reflection on their
interviews and relate to the pros and cons.
Assessments:
Journal entries
United States Department of Labor: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/,
students will use this tool to research what jobs have what types
of working environments. Students will also match up their
interests with specific jobs. They will choose three specific jobs
and create a write up on what requirements are needed, average
salary and general description of work environment.
Mapp Your True Calling: http://www.assessment.com/, students
will complete a career assessment for the purpose of identifying
areas of interest.

Unit 2: Responsibilities of the Employer

September 15 September 26, 2014

Objectives:
Upon completing this unit, students will be able to:
Articulate what the MN Child Labor Laws document covers
Identify examples of when an employee is not being treated
fairly
Explain multiple courses of action an employee could take if
being mistreated
Articulate the type of safety that must be provided in the work
place
Explain the manner in which payment and benefits must be
distributed
Communicate how company policies and procedures affect the
work place
Standards:
SCANS foundation 1 -Basic Skills
Reading: locates, understands, and interprets written
information in prose and documents, including manuals,
graphs, and schedules; learns from text by determining the
main idea or essential message
SCANS foundation 2 Thinking Skills
Problem Solving: recognizes that a problem exists,
identifies possible reasons for the discrepancy, and devises and
implements a plan of action to resolve it
ASCA Personal/Social Development
Self-Knowledge Application
Use a decision-making and problem solving model
Acquire Personal Safety Skills
Learn about the relationship between rules, laws, safety
and the protection of the rights of the individual
Vocabulary: MN Child Labor Laws, responsibility, liability,
mistreatment, policy, workplace safety, negligent
Assignments:

*Students will reflect on a time when they felt their employer

mistreated them. They will then connect the MN Child Labor Laws with
the alleged mistreatment.
*Students will complete a MN Child Labor Law worksheet locating
answers to questions covering all areas of child labor. This assignment
will ensure a broad coverage of the MN Child Labor Laws.
Assessments:
Journal entries
Students will use the MN Child Labor Laws and create a
document identifying all the rules and regulations that apply to
them at their jobs. For example, they will identify the portion of
the labor laws that speaks about the number of hours a child can
work, or the types of equipment they can operate.
Vocabulary quiz on all terminology

Unit 3: Problem Solving and Critical Thinking

September 29 October 10, 2014

Objectives:
Upon completing this unit, students will be able to:
Think creatively, make decisions, solve problems, visualize, know
how to learn and reason
Analyze their own problems objectively
Understand how the decision-making process can positively
impact their lives
Identify when they need to ask for help and who they should ask
Standards:
SCANS foundation 2 -Thinking Skills
Creative Thinking: generate new ideas
Decision Making: specify goals, generate alternatives,
considers risks, and evaluates the best decision
Reasoning: identifies a rule or principle and applies this
rule during the decision making process
ASCA Personal Social Development
Self-Knowledge Application

Use the decision making and problem solving model

Demonstrate when, where and how to seek help for solving

problems and making decisions
Vocabulary: critical thinking, problem solving, creative thinking,
reasoning, logic, perception, analyze
Assignments:
*Students will write a reflection on the difference between simply
making a decision and reasoning based on a rule or principle.
They will provide two examples of each type of decision making.
*Students will analyze 5 hypothetical workplace scenarios in
which there is some type of conflict. They will identify what the
conflict was, the perception of the conflict from all parties
involved and evaluate how the conflict was handled . . . . what
could have been done differently?
Assessments:
Journal entries

 http://www.gdrc.org/decision/problem-solve.html Students will

use the problem solving process found of this website and apply
it to a problem they have faced while at work.
Vocabulary quiz on all terminology.

Unit 4: Succeeding in the Workplace

October 13 October 31, 2014

Objectives:
Upon completing this unit, students will be able to:
Articulate their personal strengths and weaknesses
Learn the importance of teaching a skill to someone
Communicate ideas to justify a position
Interpret and communicate information
Standards:
SCANS foundation 1 -Basic Skills
Listening: receives, attends to, interprets, and responds to
verbal messages and other cues
Speaking: organizes ideas and communicates orally
SCANS foundation 5- Works with Others
Teaches a skill to someone else
Learns how to communicate ideas in order to justify a position
Understands how to take information and interpret it as well as
communicate it with others
SCANS foundation 3- Personal Qualities
Responsibility: exerts a high level of effort and perseveres
towards goal attainment
Self-Management: assesses self accurately, sets personal goals,
monitors progress and exhibits self-control
ASCA Personal/Social Development
Acquire Self-Knowledge
Identify and express feelings
Identify personal strengths and assets
Identify values, attitudes and beliefs
Vocabulary: appropriate, success, active-listening, interpretation, nonverbal communication, organization, assets
Assignments:
*Students will identify a skill they currently have and write a
detailed set of instructions related to how to perform the skill.
Students will meet with another student and first provide the set
of instructions for review. They will then teach the skill to the
other student. The first student will reflect on the written
instructions. They will identify areas where the instructions could
be improved for the purpose of understanding.

*Students will create a list of goals related succeeding in the

workplace. Each goal will have identified objectives including a
timeline.
Assessments:
Journal entries
http://www.iseek.org/careers/skillsAssessment, Students will
complete a skills assessment test and provide the results along
with a written reflection on your thoughts about the results. Do
you agree? Do you disagree?
Vocabulary quiz on all terminology?

Unit 5: Work Ethics and Behaviors

November 3

November 14, 2014

Objectives:
Upon completing this unit, students will be able to:
Articulate the importance of being friendly
Identify ways in which to adapt in a variety of scenarios
Explain the need to assert themselves in a variety of social
situations
Explain the possible consequences for being unethical in the
workplace
Distinguish between ethical and unethical scenarios
Standards:
SCANS foundation 3 Personal Qualities
Sociability: demonstrate an understanding of friendliness,
adaptability, empathy, and politeness in new and on-going
group settings
Sociability: asserts self in familiar and unfamiliar social
situations
Sociability: relates well to others, responds appropriately as
the situation requires
SCANS foundation 3- Personal Qualities
Integrity/Honesty: can be trusted
Integrity/Honesty: understands the consequences of breaking the
societal or community values
Integrity/Honesty: understands the importance of making the
ethical choice
Vocabulary: ethical, personal conflict, peer-pressure, autonomy,
character, confidentiality, fidelity, morality, veracity, virtues
Assignments:
*Students will keep a journal for the duration of the unit
documenting every time they behaved unethically. For each
incident, they will attempt to identify their motivation for
behaving this way. They will reflect on how they felt at the time
of the incident as well as how they felt about the incident at the
time of documenting in their journal.
*Students will work in groups to identify lists of potentially
unethical behaviors specific to their workplace. Why these
behaviors are unethical will be identified.

*Bring in a guest speaker who has had a checkered past.

Provide the students with background information prior to the
presentation. Have each student create several questions for the
speaker. The focus of the presentation will be how making
unethical choices makes it difficult to have a fulfilling and
successful life.
Assessments:
Journal entries
https://www.ache.org/newclub/career/ethself.cfm, Students will
complete this ethics self assessment
Students will complete a one page essay titled What does it
mean to be ethical?
Vocabulary quiz on all terminology