1. With All Your Powers, What Will You Do?
Kelsey Augst
North Carolina School Counselor Association
Annual Conference, 2008

2. Objectives for Today You will be able to:
Identify benefits of strengths based counseling
Discuss and share career related strengths based school counseling units and lessons
Implement strengths based career activities immediately

3. How Will We Meet The Objectives?
Presentation Outline
Icebreaker & Introduction
Strengths Based School Counseling
Curriculum Action Plan
Results Report and Reflections
Future Recommendations & Audience Ideas

4. What are YOUR powers?

5. Career Development Self-Concept Development (Super) Exploration
Oriented towards gender and social valuation (Gottfredson)
Relationship between school and work (ASCA)
Self-Efficacy (Social Cognitive Career Theory)
(Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2005)

6. Strengths Based School Counseling
Promoting positive development
Student strengths and competencies
Incorporating contextual factors
Effect on motivation and self-efficacy
(Galassi & Akos, 2007)

7. Unit Objectives The students will be able to:
Identify personal powers, or strengths, interests, and skills
Describe how what they are learning now will help in future careers
Explore a variety of careers through student research, presentations, and discussion
Discuss traditional and nontraditional occupational choices and identify how gender can affect career choices
Research technology resources to obtain career information
Present researched information to peers

8. Curriculum Action Plan
Grade Level
Guidance Lesson Content
ASCA Domain/
Standard
Curriculum and Materials
Projected Start/End Date
Projected Number of Students Affected
Lesson Will Be Presented in Which Class?
Evaluation Methods: How Will The Results Be Measured?
Implementation Contact Person 4
What is My Power?
Identifying strengths, skills, and interests
Career Development Domain: C:A1.3
NCDG Personal Social Domain: PS1.K2
Music Video, What Is My Power Activity Sheet
Feb.
2008
March
107
Homeroom Classroom
Pre/Post Assessment, Review of Activity Sheets
Kelsey Augst, school counselor
Developing My Power
Linking school to work
Career Development Domain: C:C1.1
Developing My Power Activity Sheet, Developing My Power Poster
Using My Power
Researching and writing about a career
Career Development Domain: C:B1.5
NCDG Career Management Domain: CM3.K5, CM3.A2, CM4.K3
Using My Power Activity Sheet, Career Research Sources: Paws in Jobland ( Career Critters, Young Person’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, People At Work
Sharing My Power
Career presentation sharing
Career Development Domain: C:B2.1
Power Posters per student, Snacks, Homemade Costumes
Pre/Post Assessment, Review of Activity Sheets, Informal Teacher Interviews

9. With All Your Power, What Will You Do?

10. Lesson Activities My Powers Developing My Power (Sitsch & Senn, 2005)
Using My Power (Caryl, 2005)
Sharing My Power
Lesson Activities

11. Career Resources Paws in Jobland www.cfnc.org
Children's Resources
Counselor’s Resources
Paws in Jobland
Young Person’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, US Department of Labor
People At Work: A Student’s A-Z Guide to 350 Jobs, Early Start Career Series
Making the Link:
Helping Children Link School Habits With the World of Work, Lisa King
Puzzle Pieces: The Classroom Guidance Connection, Diane Senn & Gwen Sitsch

12. Evaluation Methods Pre and Post Assessment
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
I can identify the strengths I have that would help me in my career.
I can describe how what I am learning in school now will help me when I have a career.
I am aware of different careers at which I would be good.
It doesn’t matter if I am a boy or a girl because I can choose any career I want.
I know how to use computers to learn more about different careers.
Evaluation Methods
Pre and Post Assessment
(King, 2005)

13. Evaluation Methods
Activity Sheets

14. Results Report Grade Level Guidance Lesson Content
Standards, Competencies, Indicators Addressed
Number of Guidance Lessons Delivered in What Class or Subject
Start Date End Date
Process Data (Number of Students Affected)
Perception Data (Pre and post test competency attainment or student data)
Results Data (How did the student change as a result of the lesson?)
Implications (What do the data tell you?) 4
What is My Power?
Identifying strengths, skills, and interests
Career Development Domain: C:A1.3
NCDG Personal Social Domain: PS1.K2
1 lesson during 4th grade technology time periods
Feb.
2008
March
107
100% agreed on posttest that they could identify personal strengths
Students were able to identify personal powers
The 4th grade students showed growth in all areas of career understanding surveyed.
Developing My Power
Linking school to work
Career Development Domain: C:C1.1
86% agreed on posttest that they can relate school curriculum to future work
Students named ways that future jobs would use what they were learning in school
Results data from student work shows that all students were engaged in class activities.
Using My Power
Researching and writing about a career
Career Development Domain: C:B1.5
NCDG Career Management Domain: CM3.K5, CM3.A2, CM4.K3
2 lessons during 4th grade technology time periods
89% agreed on posttest that gender does not impact career choice
100% agreed on posttest that they are able to use the internet to research careers
Students used technology to explore careers. Students chose a particular career to research and write about. Students wrote detailed information about careers.
The results from the pre and post tests show that the lessons were effective in helping students to identify personal strengths, use technology for career research, and in build career awareness.
Sharing My Power
Career presentation sharing
Career Development Domain: C:B2.1
100% agreed on posttest that they are aware of different careers
Students presented their career research and listened to their peers.
Students need further guidance on connecting school to work and recognizing gender biases in careers.

15. So… What Did We Learn?
Success Stories!
Next time…
Reflections

16. Future Recommendations
Some ideas from other career counselors:
Used in older grades, up through college and with adults
Photographs of students and career choices
Audience thoughts and ideas?

17. Resources
Caryl, M. (2005). Challenging Gender Traditions in Careers. Retrieved October 31, 2008 from
Galassi, J. & Akos, P. (2007). Strengths-based School Counseling: Promoting Student Development and Achievement. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
King, L. (2005). Making The Link: Helping Children Link School Habits With the World of Work. Chapin, SC: Youthlight, Inc.
Niles, S.G., & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. (2005). Career Development Interventions in the Twentieth Century, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
O’Brien, K.M., Bikos, L.H., Epstein, K.L., Flores, L.Y., Dukstein, B.D., & Ngondi, A.K. (2000). Enhancing the career decision making self-efficacy of upward bound students. Journal of Career Development, 26(4),
Sitsch, G., & Senn, D. (2005). Puzzle Pieces: The Classroom Guidance Connection. Chapin, SC: Youthlight, Inc.

18. Thank you for your participation!
Contact Information:
Kelsey Augst, Hilburn Drive Elementary
Career Convergence (June article)
Student Resources, With All Your Power What Will You Do? music video link