LESSON PLAN – Factors Affecting Choice

Theme – Managing Decisions

CAREER SKILLS – Career Management

KEY SKILLS – Communication, Problem Solving, Working With Others

WORK RELATED LEARNING – Learning For Work, Learning About Work

COMPETENCIES – *ai, *aii, *aiii, *bi, *ci, *cii, *di, **ei, **eii, **eiii, **eiv, **evi, ***fiii, ***fiv, ***kiv, ***kvi, ****li, ****mi, ****pi

SUGGESTED SUBJECT AREA – English, Social Studies, Personal Development

Learning Outcomes

By completing this task students will be able to:

  • Understand the personal and health factors which influence career choice.
  • Explore their preferences and physical limitations.
  • Develop their career plans in the light of these.

Preparation and Materials

  • Copies of the Info Sheet and Activity Sheet (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) “Factors Affecting Choice” for each student (can be photocopied back to back).

Method

  1. Explain the aims of the lesson using the learning outcomes on the Info Sheet.
  2. Split the class into small groups.
  3. Ask the students in groups to brainstorm factors which could affect choices now and in the future e.g. qualifications, age, disability and list them.
  4. Give out the Info Sheet and Activity Sheet (1) and ask groups to compare their list with the one on Activity Sheet (1) adding to the Activity Sheet as required. Explain that the health factor will be looked at in greater detail later.
  5. Ask groups/ individuals for examples of how these factors could affect choice of job e.g. frightened of heights affects being a firefighter, an allergy can affect working with animals etc.
  6. Highlight the importance of such factors when making future plans – before a careers interview and when completing Action Plans. Ask the students to record any factors which prevent them from following a particular route/occupation.
  7. Give out Activity Sheets (2) – (5). Ask the students to individually work through and complete the Activity Sheets.
  8. Ask the students what they have learned from the lesson.
  9. Summarise the main learning outcomes.

Learning Outcomes: By completing this task you will be able to:

  • Understand the personal and health factors which may influence your career choice.
  • Explore your preferences and physical limitations.
  • Develop your career plans in the light of these.

INFO SHEET – Factors Affecting Choice

ACTIVITY SHEET (1) – Factors Affecting Choice
ACTIVITY SHEET (2) – Factors Affecting Choice
ACTIVITY SHEET (3) – Factors Affecting Choice

So that you can see how important these questions might be, take the four health problems or disabilities listed here. Think of 2 careers for each one which would be quite unsuitable for someone suffering from that disability.

Disability / Unsuitable careers
Poor vision / 1 / 2
Travel sickness / 1 / 2
Fear of heights / 1 / 2
Colour blindness / 1 / 2

Read the following aspects of health and think about how important the might be.

GENERAL HEALTH

Is your general health good? Are you rarely absent through illness? Can you work for long periods without stopping? Could you work outside, in all weathers?

BREATHING

Is your breathing clear and easy? Do you have recurring chest disorders e.g. bronchitis or asthma? Do you have hay-fever or discomfort in breathing, for instance in dusty places?

YOUR SKIN

Is the skin on your hands usually clear? Do you have sensitive skin? Do you ever get rashes or redness if you are in contact with detergents, flour or other substances?

YOUR SPEECH

Is your voice clear and easy to listen to? Do you have any sort of speech defect e.g. lisp, or are you unable to pronounce certain letters? Do you ever stutter or stammer? Do you find that when you have to speak ideas or words do not come readily?

HEARING

Hoe good is your hearing? Do you ever find it difficult to hear what people are saying? Is your hearing better in one ear than in the other?

VISION

How good is your eyesight? If you think it is good, have you had an eye test recently? Are you short or long sighted? Are you colour blind? Does bright light hurt your eyes? Do your eyes get tired after periods of reading or close work? Have you any other sort of eye defect?

STRENGTH

Can you lift and carry heavy weights? Can you walk or stand for a long time without becoming tired? Do you ever get cramp?

REACTION TIME

How quickly do you react in an emergency? How good are you at ball games such as squash, badminton etc?

COORDINATION

Are you clumsy? This usually means that you are not very well coordinated i.e. you find difficulty in controlling and timing your movements

DEXTERITY

Are you nimble fingered? Are you good at manipulating and handling small things e.g. needles, screws, nuts and bolts etc? Some jobs rely on this ability.

ACTIVITY SHEET (4) – Factors Affecting Choice

Now try to assess your own health, as honestly as you can. Remember that your answers are written to help YOU – they are not for anyone lese to see! Write a sentence in the space next to each heading. You can look back to Activity Sheet (1) to help you.

ACTIVITY SHEET (5) – Factors Affecting Choice

Record of factors which could affect me in my choice of career