Teacher perspective: supporting your students

As teachers of STEM subjects, Folie, Hayley, Ian and Naina share their rationale for linking curriculum learning to careers. When entering into the teaching profession, most teachers want to share their love of a subject and help each student fulfil their potential. Helping students to discover the point of being successful in education is in everyone’s interest. Attendance, behaviour and academic results can be positively affected when young people have aspirations that drive them to achieve and an understanding of how to achieve their goals. Developing future aspirations should be a whole school or college endeavour, from the classroom teacher through to pastoral support and leadership. As teachers, you are uniquely placed to understand your student’s future aspirations and link them to the content you are delivering. The contact time that your lessons provide are a golden opportunity to better understand their aspirational plans and understand of careers choices.

Acknowledgement

We’re incredibly grateful for the time and willingness of teachers, students and employers who contributed to this course to allow you to learn from their experiences. Special thanks to the teachers and students of Murray Park Community School and Parkside School who allowed us to film effective careers learning taking place in their classrooms.

Comment

How do you use an understanding of your students’ interests and aspirations to inform your teaching? In the comments below share what you do now and how this supports planning and lesson delivery.

Here’s an example: I know that some of my students struggle to work with others because they are very invested in their own ideas – they’re not so good at compromising. It’s important to highlight to them that in the STEM sector, it’s all about sharing ideas, building on ideas and combining different concepts together. By relating this area for improvement to their future career, the students can see why it’s worth developing this aspect if teamwork. I could structure a quick activity where they have to generate an idea then work in groups of 4 to combine them and reflect.