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Lesson Plans

What is Post-Secondary Education? - An Orientation to Education Planner

Goal: To become familiar with using the Education Planner website for exploring post-secondary education in BC.

Background Reading For Students:  

Objective : Using the Education Planner website and participating in class discussions and learning activities, learners will be able to:

  • Identify the different types of programs offered by the BC post-secondary system (i.e. Entry Level Trades Training, Certificate, Degree etc)
  • Prepare Section One of the My Post-Secondary Education Plan. This section includes the program name, program type, campus location, start date, tuition and book costs, and application deadline information.

Resources:

  • computer access to the internet using Education Planner www.educationplanner.ca.
  • a class set of the Education Planner handout - My Post-Secondary Education Plan (available to print and copy from Education Planner).
  • 8.5 x 11 paper and coloured markers (if using activity one).
  • recipe cards (one for each learner if using activity one).
  • poster board (if using activity two).

Introduction to the Lesson: (Suggested Facilitator's Comment)

Today the demand for post-secondary education is increasing. By the year 2011, 73% of all jobs in BC will require some form of post-secondary education and between 2004 and 2011, 29% of all job openings in BC will require a university degree, while 44% will require other post-secondary training such as an apprenticeship, a college diploma or other career-based training. Only 15% will require secondary school completion. (Business Council of British Columbia , 2003 retrieved August 2004 from http://www.bcbc.com/ ).

Trying to find information about all the different educational programs that are available in BC can be an overwhelming task. Education Planner www.educationplanner.ca can make this task much easier.

Pre Assessment: (Facilitators may wish to explore the following questions)

  • How many of you have read or looked at a post-secondary calendar?
  • Is apprenticeship training related to post-secondary education?
  • When you think of post-secondary education what types of programs come to mind?
  • Can you give some examples of careers that require some form of post-secondary education but do not require a university degree?

Activities:

Start: Before organizing any one of the activities outlined below please have each member of the class spend 30 - 45 minutes using and exploring the functionality of Education Planner. The design of the site is very intuitive and there is end-user help built into each section of the site. As the instructor, you may decide to walk the class through a demonstration of the site, however we have found most learners can easily navigate the system on their own. The self-exploration of the site also serves to reinforce the learner's own confidence with using Education Planner.

1. Post-Secondary Program Options - Creating a Smorgasbord:

Step One : Ask learners to conduct searches from Education Planner's Home Page using either the Length of Program or Credential selection filter to find a variety of programs. (i.e. certificate, diploma, degree) This can be done individually or learners can be divided into research groups and assigned specific types of post-secondary programs to research.

Step Two : To share their individual learning with the class, the learners can create a smorgasbord of program options for the class to sample. Ask each learner to use a piece of paper to make a place-mat that they decorate by writing or drawing the program name, offering institutions and the credentials granted on their place-mat . Then display all the place-mats on a table and invite the learners to sample the smorgasbord.

Step Three : Provide a recipe card to each learner so that they can note the program (smorgasbord) items they sampled. The recipe cards can then be used to help learners organize further program searches.

2. Post-Secondary Program Options - Class Discussion

Step One : Ask learners to conduct searches from Education Planner's Home Page using either the Length of Program or Credential selection filter to find a variety of programs. (i.e. certificate, diploma, degree) This can be done individually or learners can be divided into research groups and assigned specific types of post-secondary programs to research.

Step Two : Have the learners share the different types of programs they found by taking turns explaining the name of the program, where it is offered and what type of credential is granted. Examples of questions a facilitator might want to ask are:

  • What was the most interesting aspect of the program/programs searched?
  • What is the purpose for the various types of credentials?
  • What can you study in eight months or less?

3. Post-Secondary Institutions on Parade:

Step One: Ask learners to conduct searches from Education Planner's Home Page using either the Region or Institution selection filter to find a variety of programs. They can also conduct a search by going to the Institution Page located in the bottom left hand corner of the home page. Encourage the learners to explore a variety of institutions. Allow 15 - 30 minutes to investigate.

Step Two : Once each learner has an idea of the different types of institutions in BC, ask the learners to arrange themselves in small groups based on the type of institution they are most interested in. Possible groups are:

  • college group.
  • university group.
  • university group.
  • institution group.

Step Three : Ask each group to use Education Planner to explore in detail their assigned post-secondary institutions looking for the following information:

  • the names of all the institutions for their group.
  • the regions of BC that have institutions from their group.
  • some background information about the institution. For example, the services they offer, available programs, and institutional admission requirements.
  • one unique feature about each institution in their group. For example, they may discover an institution with a program specialization or an institution that has campuses in remote areas.

Step Four : Provide each group with poster board or a large piece of paper and ask them to design a poster that displays what each type of institution has to offer. For example the posters could be titled:

  • Colleges and information about Camosun College , Douglas College , College of the Rockies , Langara College , Northern Lights College etc. would be displayed.
  • Institutes and information about British Columbia Institute of Technology and the Emily Carr University would be displayed.

Step Five: Display the posters as reference material in classrooms, hallways, and career/counselling centers.

Summary or Formative Feedback

After the learners have used Education Planner and have become confident doing a variety of introductory program searches ask them to complete Section One of the MyPost-SecondaryEducation Plan handout for at least one program. These forms work well as a method of formative evaluation or as a homework assignment. Facilitators can use them to check if learners are now able to adequately find information using Education Planner. In some cases there may be evidence that the learners need a little more practice before moving to the next step of educational planning.

Closure or Post- Assessment

Ask the learners to go back to the questions first asked during the Pre-Assessment of this lesson and see if they now have better information to share. Take a few minutes for a final debrief.