Sandra Goddard

It is important to develop leadership skills in students because it is important to career development. Exercises to help develop leadership skills in the classroom include group projects in which one student takes on the role of leader, bringing established or well-known leaders into the class, or having students research leadership organizations. 

It is important for students to develop both hard and soft skills, as both will be needed in the work environment. Technology is becoming more and more important both in the classroom and in the workplace, so developing students' technology skills helps them be more comfortable in both arenas. When incorporating technology in the classroom, it should relate to the curriculum and have a purpose. Additionally, it should be considered and aid or adjunct, and not the focus of the class. 

Teamwork is important skill for students to learn; it fosters communication, camaraderie, and cooperation. Businesses often look for teamwork skills in their employees. Teams have different phases such as forming, storming, norming, performing, evaluating, and adjourning. Activities that can help student learn teamwork skills are two truths and a lie, perfect square, and picture this. 

One of the most important things to develop in students is critical thinking, as this a crucial part of success in the work environment. An instructor can foster critical thinking skills by using strategies like silent reflection, KWL or KW, and other group activities.

Once you have evaluated your services to see which ones are effective and which ones are less successful, you can start looking how you can grow your program. What areas need more attention, which services could be expanded. Start with small steps and identify realistic goals that can be achieved.

In order for your student services program to be successful, you must develop partnerships with employers in the fields that you. Start small (by contacting employers who have hired your students in the past), and build your relationship over time. Reach out through surveys, emails, and hiring events. As time goes on it may be possible to get these employers to make long term commitments.  Keep up with trends in the employment arena such as application process and changes in technology, and shift your strategy accordingly.  

The first step is to find out internally what competencies are already in place in the classrooms (research syllabi, talk to program director, etc) Then connect with employer groups to determine what competencies are needed in the workplace. This will help you determine what competencies are needed and how to integrate them into the curriculum. 

Then you need to organize the tasks to be implemented and decide how to distribute the work load. 

By laying the proper groundwork (determining beliefs, mission statement, vision statement, and goals), the career services program will have a clear purpose and direction. Having these things in place, would increase the likelihood of a successful program, and earn the respect of the learners as well as the community partners. 

This module delved some of the finer points of communication. First you need to find your ceiling of influence with the person - start out with a handshake, move on to discussing commonalities, then opinions, and finally interacting together. The module also included a pie chart of important elements of getting someone to trust - product knowledge (10%), sales skills (15%), people skills (25%), and finally attitude (50%). By boosting your skill in these areas, you can improve your rapport with customer (student).

In this module I learned about developing my listening skills. I admit I am guilty of - I stop listening once I think I know what is being said, I interrupt or finish what I think the speaker is going to say. I want to improve how I listen when someone else is speaking. I can do this by listening without distraction, paying attention to tone and body language, confirm and rephrase, filtering out my biases, and responding thoughtfully. AND DON'T INTERRUPT!