Scenario 1: Patrick's Career Search

(Sub-section of Double Entry Journals and Learning Logs)

Patrick is a tenth grader conducting a career search. He wants to become an engineer, and his ultimate goal is to work for NASA. Patrick locates an article from a magazine about NASA. After citing the article at the top of a page in his double-entry journal, he records in the content column several quotes about the growing privatization of many components of the space program. During a conference with me, Patrick acknowledges that this information is probably important to his career search, but he does not know why. I share my thoughts on the subject and pose several questions: "privatization is a trend. How about predicting the effect this will have on jobs and working conditions at NASA? Also will this effect your decision to work for NASA?" Patrick reconsiders information from the article and rereads the quotes from his content column. Then he writes the following entry in his double-entry journal:

By the time I am able to graduate with a B.A., M.S., Ph.D. NASA will be almost completely privately owned and operated. This gives some gratification and a little hesitation. This will offer a grater (sic) area of exploration without congress or the House, or even the president being able to shoot down a plan because of the cost but it (privatization) also means that it is more likely that corners will be cut and safety decreased for those who venture into space.

Patrick's case study reveals how librarians can serve as facilitators early in the research process. At the beginning of his search, Patrick is assimilating new information about a career in engineering and about NASA. His thinking is at the lowest end of Bloom's Taxonomy--knowledge. My question about trends helps him make a new connection: he makes a prediction and shows an understanding of cause and effect relationships. As a result, he moves to the next level of the hierarchy, comprehension. (Note: Patrick eventually reaches the evaluation level of the Taxonomy. He devises a criteria for determining his ideal job and uses the criteria to assess a possible career as a NASA engineer.)

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