RESEARCH METHODS
To recap our research over the last couple of weeks:
1. Interviews at Andrew Street High School
We interviewed counselors and students on two different occasions at Andrew St. High School, which is a Propel charter school with about 200 students in grades 9-12. We asked the counselors some broad questions about student career decision-making and did a few card sorting activities. This provided valuable insight into the culture of “everyone-goes-to-college” at the high school, as well as insight about overtaxed counselors who are doing a great job taking care of juniors and seniors but who don’t always have time to help younger students. When we interviewed students, we brought three sets of storyboards that explained a few different concepts for a tool or service to support career decision making. We walked the students through the scenarios and got a lot of good feedback about what parts they thought were useful and which were less so.
2. Card sorting at SHIM
We spent an evening doing card sorting activities with 12 boys in 8th and 9th grades, at a program put on by the South Hills Interfaith Ministry. We interviewed the boys in pairs and had them do 3 different card sorting activities to prompt them to talk about careers they’re considering, resources that are helpful to them, and what factors are important in their future careers. One interesting insight was that boys who were in specialized electives at school (electronics, web design, etc.) were very interested in careers that related to those classes. On the other hand, some participants were dreaming of careers as professional athletes or the President.
3. Career Path mapping
We completed the career path mapping exercise with four adult participants, and we received a variety of interesting stories about the turning points, influences, and lessons learned as these adults got settled into their careers. The overarching takeaway was that, in the end, most of what they had learned came about during the experiences that occurred along the way.
4. Hanging probes at Andrew Street HS and Braddock Hills HS
We hung banners at two different high schools with open ended statements and blanks for student responses. The banners posed one of two statements: “After high school I will be…” or “I will figure out my job by…” After a week or so, we picked up the banners and examined the responses. The responses varied in originality and quality, but we were excited to see in at least one case that students were considering a variety of ways to figure out their careers (internships, job shadowing, etc.)
RESEARCH SYNTHESIS
We compiled the results of all of these research methods, plus insights we gained from literature and artifact reviews and the interview with Steve from the Neighborhood Learning Alliance. After sorting, categorizing, and synthesizing, we were able to establish some overarching themes.
- human interaction is needed
- lack of support available for self reflection
- lack of awareness of others’ career paths
- lack of long-term thinking
- balance needed between planning and exploration
- students feel overwhelmed and/or lack initiative
- negative influences exist in the lives of students
Based on these overarching themes, we did a round of brainstorming to come up with a number of quick concepts. They ranged from developing a digital tool for counselors to running an after school peer mentoring program to compiling a database of working professionals who would be willing to teach in high school classrooms. The policy implications included tying participation to the Pittsburgh Promise program, using dual enrollment or internships as student incentives, and lowering the student-counselor ration. We discussed the concepts, combined the ones that overlapped, and analyzed how well each concept addressed each overarching theme.
NEXT STEPS
We will be deciding on a concept in class tomorrow, then delegating responsibilities for the final deliverables.
Design and Policy 