Matthew Sodano's Portfolio Page

About Me

My name is Matthew Sodano and I am a physics and engineering teacher at Carthage High School in upstate New York. I was born in Orange County, NY and currently live in Watertown, NY. I graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2020 with a BS in Physics and Adolescent Education and currently enrolled at SUNY Albany in the CDIT program.

My passions include connecting physics to other STEM subjects including biomechanics, sports science, lithium ion battery research and magnetic levitation. Being an educator of older students, I also feel a responsibility to prepare them for life after college and for them to feel confident in the decisions they make about their future. I hope this helps lower student anxiety and insecurity about their goals.

My courses on KNILT: College and Career Planning in High School: A Mini Course

My Topic and Purpose

Working with older students, I believe it is not only my job to teach them physics or engineering, but to provide them the resources and skills to succeed when they graduate high school and go to college and/or the workforce. It is not uncommon for students to feel overwhelmed during this time in deciding what they are going to do after high school. They have unlimited options but little guidance and structure on how to properly organize their options so that they can make the most informed decision possible. Giving students the resources and skills to make an informed decision can give students some sense of comfort during this stressful time in their life.

Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content

Throughout the course, students will be creating their own materials from research tailored to their own interests that will increase their confidence in life after high school. The content provided is aimed to be flexible for any teacher of juniors and seniors and is designed to not be done sequentially, thus, allowing teachers to not feel constricted with their already busy and packed schedule.

At the end of this course, learners will be able to:

Discover professions that are the combination of areas of high interest, personal skill, and what is in demand in the world
Develop a pathway to achieve their personal and professional goals
Construct an educational resume to use for college applications or job applications

Needs Assessment

Problem

Students do not feel they have a plan after high school. Overall, students who are college bound feel as though they do not receive adequate support in finding schools that are right for them, while students who are not college bound feel like they do not have the resources, or knowledge to be successful early in the workforce; they feel as though there will be a lot of on the job learning which the school cannot provide. Students may also lack a sense of direction for both short term and long term goals. Learners- Juniors and seniors in high school would benefit most from this course. At that time in their educational career, students feel stressed about what is next in their life and feel like they lack the knowledge to be successful in the ‘real world’. They could also feel pressured into knowing exactly what their path in life should be when in reality, they have no clue nor know where to even start in planning it.

Analysis of Gaps

Survey and Results

A survey was sent to high school juniors and seniors to gather their thoughts and feelings about the college application process, readiness to join the workforce or go to a university after high school, and current supports at school. There were 128 responses and percentages have been rounded in the analysis of the results.

College and University Application Process
- 68% of students felt like they had a plan of what they were going to do after high school whether that be going into higher education or applying for a job
- 92% of students who considered themselves college bound did not know where to start when looking for schools. 73% did not have confidence in the major they initially chose when thinking about college
- 95% of students who wanted to go into a trade felt comfortable with their desired trade or job, but only 41% felt like they could adequately understand what it means to have a savings account, retirement plan, paying taxes, and how to properly budget
Readiness for Life after High School
- 84% of students felt anxious or nervous about graduating due to their lack of knowledge of the "real world"
Current Supports at School
- 87% of students felt that high school should have classes that teach life skills that include: building a resume, budgeting, finding resources to find colleges, and focusing on ones own personal goals
- 98% said that their current guidance counselor met with them about college and career readiness, but only 45% felt like those meetings taught them something and helped in their search for post graduation options

Intent

This mini course will make students feel more prepared to make decisions about life after high school by providing them with resources and skills to make informed decisions on their own.

Analysis of the Learner and Context

Learner

This mini course is intended for juniors and seniors in high school. The course will focus on their own personal goals after they graduate, which may vary based on their interests and focuses on providing them resources and skills, so they feel more prepared for life after high school. This can be taught by any teacher and can be flexible to fit any scheduling needs. For juniors, this can be taught later in the year while senior classes could use this class earlier in the year when they are applying to schools. Mixed juniors and senior classes would benefit from this class earlier in the year so that seniors can use the information to choose colleges they applied to and find specific jobs that could fit their work experience and interests while juniors can use the information to be more knowledgeable when beginning the college search or deciding what jobs to go into in the workforce.

Context

The course can be completed in 3-4 classes based on block or period schedules and can be broken up over the year in needed. Materials provided to the students will be given in this course, while students will need a school issued laptop to do research and to type their resumes. Goals: Once this course is complete it is not expected that students will have it "figured out", but it will give students resources, insights and the tools to make a decision that is both informative and most comfortable with. With a set plan, and information that is catered to each individual student, the goal is for their anxiety about life after high school to decrease.

Performance-Based Objectives

An assignment allowing students to do their own research on schools and jobs based on the information provided within the lesson follows the constructivist outcomes described in Larson and Lockee (2020). This will give students the freedom to develop their own ideas and tailor the assignment to their own specific goals rather than one overarching theme. At the end of the mini course, students will potentially have two different outcomes based on their own goals after high school.

For all students, they will be able to:

Find 3-5 profession options that satisfy their "Ikigai", which is the intersection of what they love to do, what they are good at, what is in demand, and how that can lead to a profession that provides financial stability

For the college bound students, they will be able to:

Create a list of 5 colleges in order of preference based on their own academic, social, monetary and athletic priorities using their weighted pros and cons list
Select and bookmark 3 independent scholarships from a provided list of websites and sources that they feel qualified for
Given the definition of an extracurricular activity, develop a list of them that they participated in and descriptions of those activities from their 8th grade year to their present year (both in and out of school)

For the students that are more interested in the workforce:

Create a list of 5 jobs in order of preference based on their own work or trade priorities using their weighted pros and cons list
Develop a professional resume following a provided a template using their own work and educational experiences
Answer predesigned interview questions in a mock interview by the teacher based on their work experience
Develop an estimated monthly budget based on their desired job using resources provided by research into a particular company while discussing terms such as benefits and taxes

Task and Content Analysis

Prerequisite Knowledge

Need to Know: Use of Word or Google Docs, Excel or Google Sheets, determining reliable and unreliable websites

Nice to Know or Have: School databases for research, access to personal school provided laptops

Unit 1: What are Students Interested In?

Learners will be able to:

Establish interests

Connect interests to career options
Organize what is important to them by finding their potential ikgai

Unit 2: Finding Colleges and Universities that Match Career Goals and Interests

Learners will be able to:

Find majors/ internships that lead to desired careers

Use resources to find colleges that have majors and options that match career interests

Unit 3: Establishing Options to Accomplish Their Educational and Career Goals

Learners will be able to:

Create a weighted pros and cons list for 3-5 colleges or jobs

Analyze classes within potential college majors that suit interests

Unit 4: Create Useful Materials and Find Resources to Help Accomplish Future Goals

Learners will be able to:

Create an educational resume

Find resources on attainable scholarships

Develop roommate vetting questions

Curriculum Map

Figure 1: A path this course follows that will lead all students to a common goal of giving them the power and knowledge to make the most informed decision about their future after high school

References and Resources

[1] García, H. and Miralles, F. (2017) The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. https://www.etoncollege.com/blog/ikigai-the-secret-to-making-good-career-decisions/

[2] Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R.R. (1999). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. (Chapter 6). Washington, DC: National Academy Press

[3] Larson, M. B. and Lockee, B. B. (2020) Streamlined ID: A Practical Guide to Instructional Design. New York, NY: Routledge.