Description of a lesson within a university-level career development course. The lesson is about career values, and the activity is a "values auction." The theoretical model is Cognitive Information Processing
1. Career Planning Presentation –
Anna Bednarski
Assistant Director of Academic and Career Planning
Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing
2. Lesson Background
• This lesson was written as the second class session in the course
BIOL-L 299 Career Directions in Biology
• Adapted from a class project with co-instructor Carolyn Estell
• Topic: career values clarification
• Theoretical model: Cognitive Information Processing (CIP)
• Developed through Florida State University Center for the Study of
Technology in Counseling and Career Development
3. CIP pyramid
Executive
Processing
Domain
(Metacognitions)
Decision Making Skills
(CASVE cycle)
Self-Knowledge and Occupational
Knowledge
• Career decision making involves
interaction between a person’s
feelings, emotions and
experiences and their cognitive
processes
• Career counseling aims to
enhance information processing
skills
6. References
• Brown, D. (2002). The role of work and cultural values in occupational choice, satisfaction, and success: A theoretical
statement. Journal of counseling & development, 80(1), 48-56.
• Brown, S. D., Ryan Krane, N. E., Brecheisen, J., Castelino, P., Budisin, I., Miller, M., & Edens, L. (2003). Critical ingredients of
career choice interventions: More analyses and new hypotheses Journal of Vocational Behavior. 62: 3, Pages 411-428. doi:
10.1016/S0001-8791(02)00052-0.
• Brown, S. D., & Ryan Krane, N. E. (2000). Four (or five) sessions and a cloud of dust: Old assumptions and new observations
about career counseling. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (3rd ed). New York: Wiley.
pp. 740-766.
• MyPlan.com, L.L.C. (2013). MyPlan.com: Career and College Advice made Simple. Retrieved July 23, 2013 from
http://www.myplan.com/index.php.
• Niles, S. G., & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. (2013). Career development interventions in the 21st century (4th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson.
• Peterson, G. W., Lumdsden, J. A., Sampson, J. P., Jr., Reardon, R. C., & Lenz, J. G. (2002a). Using a cognitive information
processing approach in career counseling with adults. In S. Niles (Ed.), Adult career development: Concepts, models, and
practices (3rd ed., pp. 99–120). Tulsa, OK: National Career Development Association.
• Peterson, G. W., Sampson, J. P., Jr., Lenz, J. G., & Reardon, R. C. (2002b). A cognitive information processing approach to
career problem solving and decision making. In D. Brown & Associates (Eds.), Career choice and development (4th ed., pp.
312–372). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
7. References (continued)
• Peterson, G. W., Sampson, J. P., Jr., Reardon, R. C., & Lenz, J. G. (1996). A cognitive information
processing approach. In D. Brown, L. Brooks, & Associates (Eds.), Career choice and development
(3rd ed., pp. 423–476). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Reardon, R., Lenz, J., Sampson, J., & Peterson, G. (2012). Career development and planning: A
comprehensive approach (ed. 4). Dubuque, IA: Kendell Hunt.
• Reed, C. A., Reardon, R. C., Lenz, J. G., & Leierer, S. J. (2001). A cognitive career course: From
theory to practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 50(2), 158-167. DOI: 10.1002/j.2161-
0045.2001.tb00980.x
• Sampson, J. P., Lenz, J. G., Reardon, R. C. and Peterson, G. W. (1999), A Cognitive Information
Processing Approach to Employment Problem Solving and Decision Making. The Career
Development Quarterly, 48: 3–18. doi: 10.1002/j.2161-0045.1999.tb00271.x
• Sampson, J. P., Jr., Reardon, R. C., Peterson, G. W., & Lenz, J. G. (2004). Career counseling and
services: A cognitive information processing approach . Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
• Super, D.E. (1980). A life-span, life-space approach to career development. Journal of Vocational
Behavior. 16: 3, 282-298. doi:10.1016/0001-8791(80)90056-1.
Editor's Notes
Reason for basing lesson on CIP:
Florida State two-credit general career course became a prototype
similarity to the current version of L299.
solid basis in career development theory
End result: no radical reforms of the current L299 course, and therefore will continue to conform to current career course practice on their campus, yet it will include career interventions specifically based in current career development theory and practice.
This lesson includes a “pre-lab” and “post-lab”
Pre-lab assignments are common in biology to assess student knowledge of the material before they apply it in the laboratory. Pre-lab assessment in this case is short and happens in virtual space
Post-lesson reflections in class and after class will measure what students learned in the class as well as prime their thinking for discussion the next course.
This also allows instructor to measure how their understanding of the career development process evolves over their time in the course and revisit topics if needed.
CIP was first developed in the 90s and is still used today, including in conjunction with other career development theories.
The visual model is a pyramid
I was really drawn to this theory because it seems very clear and step-by-step.
It’s easily assessed, and it’s also easily applied in classroom settings.
The lesson will examine self-knowledge: in this case, specifically one’s values
It will then model decision making skills through using the CASVE cycle (which is on a later slide)
Finally, students will examine their metacognitions through debriefing at the end of the exercise – they will explain their decision making process and what influenced their decision making (self-talk, others’ opinions, etc.)
This is a closer look at the middle portion of the pyramid – decision-making processes
The CIP theorists came up with a model that is abbreviated as CASVE, which stands for communication, analysis, synthesis, valuing, and execution.
Communication phase includes becoming aware of the difference between where one is and where one would like to be, which is referred to as the knowledge “gap.”
Analysis phase is where a person clarifies her self-knowledge and enhances her understanding of her options – create a mental model.
Synthesis phase - expand options, eliminate unsuitable options.
Valuing phase is where a person identifies the positive and negative of each option to themselves and to others, then prioritizes options
Execution phase is where one commits to a plan of action for one of the options