Colorado Agriscience Curriculum
Section: / Intro to AgribusinessUnit: / Agriculture business and employment experience
Lesson Title: / Creating a professional development plan
Colorado Ag Education Standards and Competencies / Standard 9.2 The student will prepare and implement plans for an agricultural business or employment experience.
Competency 2-10 Creating a professional development plan (placement plan)
Colorado Model Content Standard(s): / English Standard 2.2
Conveying technical information in a written form appropriate to the audience
English Standard 3.5
Students are refining spelling and grammatical skills and becoming a self-evaluator of their writing and speaking
English Standard 4.2
Using reading, writing, listening, articulate speaking and viewing to solve problems.
Student Learning Objectives: / Objective 1: The student will define what a professional development plan is.
Objective 2: The student will list the reasons why a professional development plan is important.
Objective 3: The student will write how a professional development plan is developed.
Objective 4: The student will complete a professional development plan for a job they would like to do.
Time: / 50 Minutes
Resource(s): / Farm and Ranch Business Management, John Deere. T-Bird Record Book. http://www.educause.edu/section_params/mentoring/M06_%20PDP.pdf
Instructions, Tools, Equipment, and Supplies: / Italicized words are instructions to the teacher; normal style text is suggested script.
Construction paper and marker to make posters.
Copy of professional development plan for all students in class. Plan is located at the end of this document
Interest Approach: / Make simple posters out of construction paper that have written on them, “Future Career”, “Resume”, “College”, “Job Satisfaction”, “Being Competent in my Job”, “Getting along with Peers”, “Skill Development”, “Communicating Effectively”, “Being a Leader”, “Team Worker”
Hang these posters around the room for students to see as they walk in.
Hello, students. I am sure you all have noticed the new décor in the classroom today. But besides just being decorative, what do you think I’m up to? What point do you think I’m trying to get across? Anyone.
You will get a variety of answers, keep going until you get in the right direction and then inform them of professional development plans.
Okay. Now that we finally got to professional development, when I say go, I want you each to get up and grab a poster. “Go.”
Now that each of you has a poster, I want you to turn it over and write on the back why the word written on the front is instrumental in your professional development for your future career and your SAE.
Have students review their work with you. Have several discussions on ideas. Once done you need to have students get out notebooks for the note taking section of this lesson.
Great! Now that we understand what professional development is in a more basic form, let’s get out our notebooks and discover more about it!
Objective 1: / Objective 1: The student will define what a professional development plan is.
I. What is a professional development plan?
A. A professional development plan is exactly what it sounds like it is. It is a plan to help you develop professionally. The plan may include taking classes pertaining to your career of choice, developing a new and improved resume, going to workshops, becoming involved with a professional organization such as the FFA, planning for development of skills needed on a job by getting coached by your boss, and much more.
Objective 2: / Objective 2: The student will list the reasons why a professional development plan is important
I. Why is a professional development plan important?
A. Less Job Security – If you are not developing workable skills in your job fast enough there is someone out there that will. Therefore, you need to have a good plan in place to show that you are developing more skills and becoming more competent as an employee.
B. Up is Not the Only Way – If you are fine with your development then your boss might be fine with your position and pay. Only the employees that do a great job get promoted and are rewarded with raises.
C. Technical Knowledge and Skills – Technology and skills in every field including agriculture are changing everyday. In order to stay educated and informed in your career you should work to develop new skills often.
Objective 3: / Objective 3: The student will write how a professional development plan is developed.
I. How do I start developing a professional development plan?
A. Reflect: In order to figure out what you want to do in your professional development plan you need to reflect on where you want to be in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years. You can’t develop a plan if you don’t know who you want to become.
B. Gaining self awareness: In order to figure out your plan you need to figure out what you enjoy about your job and what you don’t enjoy. This doesn’t mean that you will get out of the least pleasant of chores, but it does mean that you can start working on gaining a place in your employment that possibly doesn’t focus in on the task you dislike quite as much.
C. Seeking outside input: Have your boss evaluate you. Ask teachers and peers about your strengths and weaknesses. However, remember you are opening yourself up to criticism. Use it constructively and really try to focus on improving your weak areas.
D. Develop Action Steps: To get from where you are to where you want to be you need to possibly develop a resume, ask for new job assignments, ask for training in new skill areas, take classes pertaining to your job, attend workshops and seminars, and much more.
E. Set Longer Term Goals: Even though your SAE may be a short-term career, it can be the stepping-stone to a long-term career that relates to your SAE. In fact, you may take your SAE more seriously if you are training for a future career. Set long-term goals in your SAE that will help you in the future. An example might be to attend college to become a veterinarian.
Objective 4: / Objective 4: The student will complete a professional development plan for a job they would like to do.
I. Completing my professional development plan.
A. Obtain a copy of a professional development plan worksheet from your instructor and use your current SAE, planned SAE, or a job you would like to have in the future as a basis for your skills or tasks to be learned as well as supplemental instruction or skills need to enhance the skill.
B. The date you accomplish your skill should be written in that column.
C. The employer, ag instructor, and student should sign a copy of the plan in order for every party involved to be on the same page.
Review/Summary: / Alright, now that each of us has developed a professional development plan, I want each of you to tell me why you think this will help you in your future careers or SAE’s.
Application--Extended Classroom Activity: / Have students take a career assessment. There is one located on the National FFA website. This assessment could guide them into a career they already have natural aptitude for.
Application--FFA Activity: / Have students work to be on a farm business management team or prepare to enter the job interview career development event.
Application--SAE Activity: / Have students work on a professional development plan in their record books.
Evaluation: / See attachment below. This project may be taken home for further thought by the student.
Evaluation Answer Key: / Each evaluation will be different and will need to be graded as such.
Placement/Agri-Science Experience Plan
Skills or tasks to be learned through this experience / Supplemental instruction needed to enhance skill / Date accomplishedWe, the employer, ag instructor, and Employer______
Student all agree to work closely to
Accomplish the above mentioned skills Ag Instructor______
And tasks.
Student______
Evaluation
Directions: Please answer the following question in a five-paragraph essay form.
1. Please describe your SAE, explain how you will make a professional development plan to become better at your SAE, and describe the skills and competencies that you plan to develop from your plan.
Unit 2, Lesson 10: Creating a Professional Development Plan 1