Reflection – Storytelling – Andreas Jensen

Challenge: A challenge that I experienced not too long ago involved the process of teaching a  group of fifth grade students about the roles that each person plays in the United States economy  and how to connect their skills and passions to their future careers. The students had recently  completed a small project regarding the free market system and how a capitalistic society  rewards people in exchange for labor, which was followed by the presentation of a chart  highlighting the highest paying positions at the time. Each profession’s salary level was captured  by a number of accompanying dollar signs, with one dollar sign being low paying roles and five  dollar sign indicating high paying positions.

As a follow up experiment, I asked the group of students to individually share their

aspirational career paths. Students who previously stated their dream jobs as “construction  workers” and “softball coaches” had changed their answers to match the high paying roles of  anesthesiologists or lawyers. Of course, those careers are not realistic for most students. My  challenge was to find a way to explain the importance of every career path and help students  understand that their future lifestyles could be financially supported by a position that better suits  their passions and interests.

Selection: In order to tackle the issue, I resorted to the storytelling tool. The visual tools that  were included in my lesson had taken away the important focus of students learning about the  economy: Find a career that suits your interests instead of interests that fit your career. This is  synonymous with the popular phrase of “find a job that you love and you will never work a day  in your life.” I believed that storytelling would allow for my students to better understand where  their interests and passions intersected with real-life career paths; it would be a more  personalized approach in comparison to the simple literature utilized earlier in the lesson and  would be a chance for students to be introspective in the scope of understanding themselves and  the economy that lies ahead of them.

Application: I started the storytelling exercise by informing all the students that they were no  longer fifth graders, but rather prolific authors attempting to write the next bestselling novel.  Their novel would be similar to the George and Geoff stories in the week two module; they  would create a character of themselves by mentioning their skills, passions, and interests, as well  as invent some background details including other family members and lifestyles. After they  created their character of themselves, I supplied some details to help build their stories from that  point onward. For example, a student had described himself as creative, but also loved  mathematics, so I shared a few careers within the engineering career path. Although it was  unknown to him prior to the lesson, the career had piqued his interest and he desired more  information. I described the path that his character would take to achieve that career designation,  including attending college, majoring in a certain field of engineering, and pursuing internships  before graduating. The student took all the information and molded it into a story that he could  foresee himself following in the future.

The group of students produced a wide variety of personal interests and skills, leading to

many different stories being written. The process of self-analysis was integral to finding career  paths that many students had never expected to be interested in. I believe this approach is much  more efficient in comparison to the reverse, where the student identifies a career path (usually  based solely on high expected salaries and elevated social statuses) and then attempts to fit the

mold for that selection. This is an example of a poor fit; somewhat akin to a toddler trying to  push a square-shaped block through a circle-shaped hole. After having the entire class finish  their stories, I requested that they share their stories with a few of their classmates. The other  students were amazed to see the variety of career paths open to them. As an interesting follow- up, I asked their primary teacher to save the letters and share them with the students prior to  graduation.

Insight: This process of storytelling was highly effective in helping the students conduct a self- analysis in conjunction with exploring future career paths. For many students, they were very  lost and were allowing external forces to guide their interests. They were previously presented  with a well-defined career path based on what was popular in our current market, which placed  constraints on what the students believed they could achieve. After this exercise, the students had  a better understanding of their passions and skills, as well as a strong grasp on the paths they  would take to achieve their newfound career aspirations.

Approach: If I were to attempt this exercise again, I would have the students go even deeper  with the subject. I focused mainly on how their passions and interests would fit into their  personal career, but it would have been more effective to also show the students how their  careers would play a role into the national economy. To modify the approach, I would begin with  their personal story creations and then transition them into real world situations to show how  they interact across career field boundaries. For example, businessmen and engineers have  completely different paths leading up to their professional positions, but often interact in the  business realm. This would help enforce the concepts that careers are not separated by hard  boundaries, but rather are all a part of a large community.


Reflection – Storytelling – Andreas Jensen Challenge : A challenge that I experienced not too long ago involved the process of teaching a group of fifth grade students about the roles that each person plays in the United States economy and how to connect their skills and passions to their future careers . The students had recently completed a small project regarding the free market system and how a capitalistic society rewards people in exchange for labor , which was followed by the presentation of a chart highlighting the highest paying positions at the time . Each profession ’s salary level was captured by a number of accompanying dollar signs , with one dollar sign being low paying roles and five dollar sign indicating high paying positions . As a follow up experiment , I asked the group of students to individually share their aspirational career paths . Students who previously stated their dream jobs as “ construction workers ” and “ softball coaches ” had changed their answers to match the high paying roles of anesthesiologists or lawyers . Of course , those careers are not realistic for most students . My challenge was to find a way to explain the importance of every career path and help students understand that their future lifestyles could be financially supported by a position that better suits their passions and interests . Selection : In order to tackle the issue , I resorted to the storytelling tool . The visual tools that were included in my lesson had taken away the important focus of students learning about the economy : Find a career that suits your interests instead of interests that fit your career . This is synonymous with the popular phrase of “ find a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life . ” I believed that storytelling would allow for my students to better understand where their interests and passions intersected with real - life career paths ; it would be a more personalized approach in comparison to the simple literature utilized earlier in the lesson and would be a chance for students to be introspective in the scope of understanding themselves and the economy that lies ahead of them . Application : I started the storytelling exercise by informing all the students that they were no longer fifth graders , but rather prolific authors attempting to write the next bestselling novel . Their novel would be similar to the George and Geoff stories in the week two module ; they would create a character of themselves by mentioning their skills , passions , and interests , as well as invent some background details including other family members and lifestyles . After they created their character of themselves , I supplied some details to help build their stories from that point onward . For example , a student had described himself as creative , but also loved mathematics , so I shared a few careers within the engineering career path . Although it was unknown to him prior to the lesson , the career had piqued his interest and he desired more information . I described the path that his character would take to achieve that career designation , including attending college , majoring in a certain field of engineering , and pursuing internships before graduating . The student took all the information and molded it into a story that he could foresee himself following in the future . The group of students produced a wide variety of personal interests and skills , leading to many different stories being written . The process of self - analysis was integral to finding career paths that many students had never expected to be interested in . I believe this approach is much more efficient in comparison to the reverse , where the student identifies a career path ( usually based solely on high expected salaries and elevated social statuses ) and then attempts to fit the mold for that selection . This is an example of a poor fit ; somewhat akin to a toddler trying to push a square - shaped block through a circle - shaped hole . After having the entire class finish their stories , I requested that they share their stories with a few of their classmates . The other students were amazed to see the variety of career paths open to them . As an interesting follow- up , I asked their primary teacher to save the letters and share them with the students prior to graduation . Insight : This process of storytelling was highly effective in helping the students conduct a self- analysis in conjunction with exploring future career paths . For many students , they were very lost and were allowing external forces to guide their interests . They were previously presented with a well - defined career path based on what was popular in our current market , which placed constraints on what the students believed they could achieve . After this exercise , the students had a better understanding of their passions and skills , as well as a strong grasp on the paths they would take to achieve their newfound career aspirations . Approach : If I were to attempt this exercise again , I would have the students go even deeper with the subject . I focused mainly on how their passions and interests would fit into their personal career , but it would have been more effective to also show the students how their careers would play a role into the national economy . To modify the approach , I would begin with their personal story creations and then transition them into real world situations to show how they interact across career field boundaries . For example , businessmen and engineers have completely different paths leading up to their professional positions , but often interact in the business realm . This would help enforce the concepts that careers are not separated by hard boundaries , but rather are all a part of a large community .