Central Board of Secondary Education Student’s Global Aptitude Index- 2013 Orientation Programme

STUDENT GLOBAL APTITUDE INDEX

COVER PAGE

What is Aptitude? What is Aptitude?

A combination of characteristics, whether native or

acquired, that are indicative of an individual’s ability to

learn or to develop proficiency in some particular area if

appropriate education or training is provided.

Source: http://www.pearsonassessments.com/pai/ai/research/resources/Glossary.htm

What is Aptitude Testing? What is Aptitude Testing?

Aptitude testing is a student-friendly, universally accepted mode of rating capabilities for a particular activity. Aptitude tests are known to be reliable predictors of future scholastic achievement.

CBSE SGAI: THE TOOLo CBSE SGAI has been designed by a group

comprising of psychiatrists, psychologists, experts in Psychometrics and practicing counsellors.

o CBSE SGAI is designed to explore a child’s aptitude along with personality and interest.

o It is a simple Paper and Pencil test, which can be easily attempted by a student.

o It is approximately of one and a half hour duration.o There are no right or wrong answers, negative

marking, pass/fail.o No syllabus and special preparation is required. It contains simple statements/ Yes or No statements

(approx. 100).

CBSE SGAI components of assessment Performance of the student in each subject. (9 SA1 + SA2 ; 12)Time spent on each subject in a day.Getting help through coachingCareer aspiration . Performance.Personality consideration. Aptitude in a subject.

The assessment and interpretation of scores is done internally by the board under the supervision of experts.

Weighted scores are aligned with the different subject offered by the board at +2 level.

Two subject based choices are indicated on the basis of weighted score obtained by the students.

Individual score cards are issued after expert analysis.

Scoring and Interpretation

CBSE SGAI and its purpose

It is an optional assessment that can be taken by any class X students to know preference for subjects on the basis of assessment. Secondary class coincides with the span of adolescence and beginning of career concepts and planning. Although, not in the concrete form.

The test will help the larger population including parents, teachers and students to initiate an ongoing dialogue on subject choices and climate building through workshops/discussions that lead to effective career planning by making them informed about subject choices in class XI.

However, CBSE SGAI should be taken only as indicator or facilitator.

Mental preparedness and sincere response are the prerequisites for this test. SGAI test scores may depend upon child’s environmental stimulus and motivational level.

How SGAI is different from other Aptitude tests

Its major focus is on the School students choice of subject.

It links students interest, aptitude and career rather than just providing a career direction.

It’s a comprehensive structure orientation to aid further career mapping in life of a student rather than just facilitating career decisions.

It has been customized to suit the Indian context and variety of student population in CBSE affiliated Private, Government and Aided Schools

Information for schools participating in CBSE SGAI : 2013

All schools which have registered with CBSE for SGAI 2013 will receive Question Booklets by 10th January 2013 (latest).

The Question Booklets should be stored safely till the date of Assessment i.e. 20th January, 2013.

SGAI will be conducted in the respective schools as per the guidelines provided by CBSE via e-mail, prior to the date.

The schools will have to send the copies for assessment along with attendance sheet, along with the list of absentees latest by 07th February, 2013 to,

Rama Sharma,PRO & Project in charge,

Central Board of Secondary Education,Shiksha Kendra, 2, Community Centre,Preet Vihar, Delhi-92

Questions children often ask….

What am I going to do in life? How can I achieve my goal?

How do I choose my career?

Which career will make me happy, I don’t know?

If I don’t make it do I have any other option? Where? When?

Are my subjects appropriate?

ANSWER TO FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WOULD

INVOLVE...........

Understanding oneselfDiscovering Ones APTITUDE

Identifying Ones INTEREST

Developing Ones LIFE SKILLS

Recognizing Ones PERSONALITY

Career planning is a choice, not a discovery

It is the bridge between our aspirations and the reality of our future

Providing Career Guidance

16

Why Career Guidance ?

Faulty planning or no planning by the students.• Follow the crowd.• Choose under influence of others.• Parent’s force their decision .• Get tempted by current trends.• Influenced by media.• Select a career in dejection.• Jump into any career.• Are totally away from realities.• Lack or avoid Counseling facilities.• Live in Fantasy World.• Lack Motivation.• Fail to “Discover their Lives”

Choosing a career is a big decisionPlanning for the future is not something you

do once. It's an ongoing process. Career planning has three steps that the child

will go through and repeat throughout his or her working life.

The Career planning encourages individuals to explore and gather information which enables them to synthesize, gain competencies, make decisions, set goals and take actions.

INFLUENCES IN CAREER DECISION MAKING

Individual variables : Self – concept, Health, Values, Gender, Interests, Skills, Age, Beliefs, Aptitudes, Physical attributes, World of work, Knowledge.

Social variables: Political scenario, Educational institutions, Geographical location, Employment market, Workplace Globalization cultural trends

Environmental variables: Family, Peers, Community groups, Media Socio-economic status

Other Time perspective (past, present and future) Change over time.

Factors Affecting Career Choices

InterestsSkillsAptitudesPeople skillsExperienceFamily traditions

PersonalityLife goals and work values

Developing Career Maturity Indicates..

Students need help understanding the importance of narrowing career interests as a basis for secondary career planning.

Class 10 students should ideally have identified one or more career interests AFTER an objective evaluation of their likes and dislikes, aptitudes and market projections.

By the end of 12th grade, students should have ideally engaged in activities related to these choices and developed a post high school plan.

Developing career maturity does NOT mean making a decisions at age 18 about the “one best” career for oneself.

It’s a good idea to have several careers in mind rather than just one .

Approximately 60% of students change their major at some point during their college career.

It also pays to develop a wide variety of general skills, particularly those related to communication.

STEPS TO CAREER PLANNINGSelf introspection involves evaluating one’s

interest, abilities ,skills and values .To identify what you are expecting from a career as well as the attitude one is preparing for the world of work.

Career exploration allows one to search careers to determine those which require the skills and interest one has and what one wants out of work.

Matching one’s interests, abilities and skills with the demands of the occupation one is considering.

The Career Planning Process

Plans provide a structured way for students to gather, analyze, synthesize and organize self, educational and occupational

information.

Norm Gysbers, 2004

Academic PotentialIt is an assessment of one’s academic worth. The high and the lows, consistencies and incidental spurts or plunges give one an insight of one chances for success in an academically demanding stream/subject.

PersonalityIt is a concept by which we understand and view ourselves. Though it is normally explained as external appearance and behavior ,it is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors that make a person unique.

InterestsInterest is defined as one's passion to different streams or occupations, and helps to decide how to choose streams and evaluate opportunities.

Components for Career Decision-making

KNOWELDGE ABOUT ONESELF

KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WORLD OF WORK

HELPING HAND FOR CAREER GUIDANCE

KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ONESELF

The one of the most important step in choosing career is to be armed with an understanding of one’s STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES and an awareness of what you truly value.

WORLD OF WORKKeeps me busy and helps fill in the timeLet’s me try out new ideas.Gives me opportunity to use my abilities, skills and

knowledge.Allows me to meet many peopleGives me power to influence over othersProvides an opportunity to make friendsLets me control timeLets me help peopleLets me be creativeAllows me to be known and liked by people.Provides moneyProvides physical activity for meLets me make decision for myselfGives me feeling of achievementGives me feeling of security

Sources available to StudentsCareer FairsTalk to alumni/current studentsVisit! Visit! Visit!College fairs/open housesSeek information from

FamilyFriendsCounselor/teachers

InternetCareer resource library at schoolJob Shadowing

Strategies for Exploring the World of Work1.Informational Interviewing One of the best sources for gathering

information about what’s happening in an occupation or an industry is to talk to people working in the field. This process is called Informational Interviewing.

2. Occupational Family TreeFamilies play a major role in shaping their children’s educational and career decisions. An Occupational family Tree helps explore family values, traditions and expectations

3.NetworkChecking with people to know about career

information.Networking can lead to meeting someone

who may be able to answer your questions about a specific career or company.

It is an effective way to learn about the type of training necessary for a particular position, what it took to get into the field, and the positive and negative aspects of the work.

More and more professionals are active on online networks such as LinkedIn.com and Doostang.com. Some professionals even use Facebook to get in touch with others in their field…as well as research potential candidates.

Implementation of a Career Guidance Programme

1. Consultation2. Classroom Instruction3. Assessment4. Career Information5. Counseling6. Placement7. Referral8. Outreach9. Follow-up10. Work Experience

Career Development Process In Schools

Building Connections for Students Between Academic Skills and the Future

Introducing Students to "Real Life" Jobs. Helping Students to see themselves as

Part of Future Job Force. Labor Market TrendsCurrent RecessionTraining RequirementsAging WorkforceJob vs. Career Security

LIFE SKILLSLife skills have been defined by WHO as “abilities for

adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life”.

They represent the psycho-social skills that determine valued behavior and include reflective skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking, to personal skills such as self-awareness, and to interpersonal skills.

Practicing life skills leads to qualities such as self esteem, sociability and tolerance, to action competencies to take action and generate change, and to capabilities to have the freedom to decide what to do and who to be.

Selecting a career is also crucial challenge for children and parents.

Patient and convincing listening ability- Communication Skill. Comprehending ability – Critical Thinking. Patience – Interpersonal Skill. Knowing others – Empathy. Integrity – Interpersonal Skill. Emotional Maturity – coping with emotion. Convincing presentation- Communication Skill. Specific Knowledge & assessment – Self awareness. Critical Thinking. Areas in which guidance is to be provided – Decision Making. Career Awareness Self-Awareness Appreciation and Attitudes Economic Awareness Skill Awareness and Beginning Competence Employability Skills Educational Awareness

Life Skills for Career Development

TO REMEMBER I”

(PACKED WITH TALENT, SKILL

AND ABILITY

AQUIRE CONFIDENCE

SELF AWARENESS

FOCUS ON

LIFESKILLS

PERSONAL TRAITS/

PERSONALITY

POTENTIAL/ CAPABILITIES

KNOWLEDGE/ ACADEMICS

WHERE I WANT TO GO?

WHAT I WANT TO DO?

WHO AM I? SELF ESTEEM

EMPATHY

COMMUNICATION PATTERN

What am I really going to do? Can I really get there? How? Am I sure of the route? What are the risks? If I don't make it do I have any other option? Where? When? Are my subjects appropriate?

Most students come face to face with such questions at some time or another. Why not then begin the process of career decision making in a rational manner to eliminate any chances for regret

Activities Manual : Page 2

The process of career planning stretches through the secondary and senior secondary years at school.

It essentially requires an adequate understanding of oneself in terms of ACADEMIC POTENTIALS, ATTRIBUTES, TALENTS, INTERESTS, PERSONALITY, VALUES, EXPECTATIONS AND RESOURCES.

Activities Manual : Page 2 - 3

When planned routes to a career are chalked out during school years, keeping in mind all attributes, preparation to enter a course and career are adequately motivated and effective.

This motivation stirs the young through preparation, study, competition and self-confidence.


Good career planning envisages a match between requirements for a job, aptitude, interest, personality and expectations.

Awareness of “true” motivation, aspiration, strengths, dislikes, limitations and weaknesses are essential.

This awareness must be as specific as possible. It must be backed by actual achievements and behaviour if required, supplemented by objective test results.


WHAT COULD GO WRONG ?

Some People Perpetually Complaining About Work

Essentially because they take up jobs without taking themselves into consideration i.e. without assessing their aptitudes, interests and personality

They may take up courses and career for only some superfluous reasons, e.g. under their friends influence, or to suit their parents desires or take the easiest available opportunity.

When the reasons are not at all related to self knowledge and personal needs, choices tend to be distorted.

Activities Manual : Page 3- 4

A CAREER BASKET SHOULD INCLUDE...

ACADEMIC POTENTIALSEXPLORING WHO AM IUNDERSTANDING ONESELFPERSONALITYTHE WORLD OF WORK

Analysing what you haven't got as well as what you have is a necessary ingredient of a career. - Orison Swett Marden


CAREER ACTION PLAN

A career action plan is a blueprint for success. The foundation on which one can build one’s vision- a picture of the success one hopes for. To identify one’s aptitudes and skills, one need to know the major areas of interest.

This helps to develop a personal career plan, so that one can map the route to one’s career goal.


EFFECTIVE CAREER PLANNING

It involves an understanding of the

following:-

The importance of a career plan

The various factors affecting a career choice


Activities are simple and regular things which happen to us

yet we plan them carefully and well in advance.

So planning is essential for everything in life, from cooking

for the day to planning a festival or any event in life,

significant or insignificant. So, you have to plan all the

activities. Like wise when one starts thinking about one's

career ….One needs to

Plan seriously about it. Career selection is a very important

even in one's life which requires a great deal of thinking

and

Planning. Please emphasise on the fact that decision

should be made after a lot of thinking and careful planning.


Key Messages:Some students do not begin to explore ‘real’ career possibilities until after high school.

Some students do not seriously consider many alternative choices in career selection.

If career planning were done in an efficient manner, students would at the very least be following a career plan of informed decision-making, rather than one of happenstance.

The cultural and social context of family and community were found to be instrumental in how youth learn about careers and influential in the choice process.

Strategies that target parents and community to increase their involvement in youth career selection can promote sound career decisions.

CAREER DECISION-MAKINGSelection of a suitable career needs

Meticulous care, Thought and Proper Planning, Keeping in mind one's goals, and Expectations from that career.

Before deciding on the choice of a career, one should have a clear notion of ones INTEREST, APTITUDE, AMBITION, SCOPE AND QUALIFICATIONS.


To find a career to which you are adapted by nature, and then to work hard at it, is about as near to a formula for success and happiness as the world provides.


Activities to Enhance Decision Making Skills

Decision Making is when one has choice and must choose the best one or when one is trying to make up his/her mind on what one wants and what is best.


There are Many Ways to Solve a Problem• Think about the options/choices and the good and bad

consequences that may follow as a result of each.• It is important to be able to think of as many options as

possible-even if they may not be very practical.• Making the “right choice” is what is important! • It is important to analyze the information before taking a

decision.• Environmental factors such as Peer Pressure often

influence our decision.• It is important to evaluate the consequences for each of

the options and only then take the decision.• If there is a problem in obtaining right information

regarding a decision, you should take the help of a trusted adult.


Activity 2: How to make well informed decisions


Key Messages: It is important to analyze the information before taking a decision.

It is important to evaluate the consequences for each of the options and only then take the decision.

If there is a problem in obtaining right information regarding a decision, you should take help of a trusted adult.

Decision-making is strongly influenced by our self-esteem.

With a positive self-esteem on is able to think independently and make wise decisions.

Factors which influence our decision making process are peers, family, society, culture, education, attitudes, traditions, experiences, knowledge, religion, government and social conflicts.

PARENTAL CONCERNSWhy there is a difference between career choices

of parents and adolescents? How parents can communicate effectively with adolescents on their career concerns?

Activity to track parental concernsDifference between career choices of parents and adolescents.

Case study analysis, Group Discussion.

Effective Communication skills for parents.

Parent Concerns for their Children

HappyHealthySafeSuccessfulSelf Supporting

Key Message: Talk to the adolescents about their likes/dislikes.

Don’t reject, allow them to express themselves. Through indirect questioning find out what he/she actually knows about the Career-path, Qualifications required, Salary, Prospective employers, etc.

Encourage him/her to meet people in that field and genuinely support him/her in that process.

Parents should also get information about the Careers.

Open Dialogue between parents & children about careers would help your child.

Parents and child, together need to explore available options.

A comprehensive, formalized written plan (that

learners use alone and with the help of others) that

relates learning to career goals. The plan is based on

both formal and informal assessments and should

include areas in which a learner needs to increase

knowledge and skills in order to reach documented

goals.

Career Plan Definition

How Parents can help

Accept children as individuals and recognize that they are entitled to make their choice.

Accept that their choice can be different from yours Help them to analyze their strengths and

weaknesses Genuinely help them to explore the different career

options Be an empathetic patient listener. Practice active

listening.Look for more information on the career option

chosen by them to make your self comfortable with his/her choice.

Activity - Teacher as an Effective Career Counselors

Certain skills/traits that could be helpful in teachers for effective guidance could be:

1. Listening ability.2. Comprehending ability.3. Patience.4. Empathy.5. Emotional Maturity.6. Specific Knowledge & assessment of

areas in which guidance is to be provided.


“Remember, the conversation that you have with a student may impact

their future economic potential.”

-Trish Hatch, 2007 .

A Final Note on Career Planning

a) ListenAsk everyone to listen to and respect each person's

point of view before responding. It is important not only to

understand what a person is trying to say, but also to allow her/him an opportunity to express herself/himself.

Recognize that there are many views on one topic. No one view or opinion is correct. The whole purpose of discussion is to share ideas/information – it is not about one person gaining points or winning a discussion.

b) Ask open-ended questionsThis is a good way to start and continue a discussion.

Open-ended questions start with. How, why and what(“How does this affect us?” Why is it an issue?” What

can we do to change this situation?”)c. Non-verbal facilitation skills


Make eye contact with everyone in the group. Focus your attention on all the adolescent's, don't favor some over other.

• Move around the room as you speak in a slow, calm way.

• React to what they say by nodding, smiling and generally showing you are listening.

D Verbal Facilitation Skills• Formulate your questions to encourage open discussion.

• Use open-ended questions such as: “What do you think about…? Why…?, How….?”

• After one of the students makes a statement, ask the others if they agree/ disagree.

• Encourage the students to talk. They should talk more than you and other adult trainers


Encourage the students to answer each other's questions. In that way, everyone can learn to listen and to show respect for each other.

• Ask the students to paraphrase or repeat something in their own words to check if they understand it. Frequently paraphrase important points made by the students to reinforce them.• Regularly summarize the discussion. Ask the students if they disagree with anything and help them to draw conclusions.• Share personal experiences to reinforce the student's views or opinions


EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING

• Involves adolescents in activities that help them reflect on and analyze their experiences.

• Motivates adolescents to change old behaviors and adopt new behaviors.

• Promotes participation in the learning process, and Is based on relationships of respect between the facilitator and participants.


SETTING UP A CAREER CORNER

• A place where children and teacher's confidentiality could be maintained.

• Staff Availability.• Budget.• Materials – information related books.• Equipment – computer to browse through

websites for information


The Career Understanding“Most people consider their career to be a series of progressive and related jobs or occupations, but a career is what we do to make a life, not just earn a living.”

-LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke, MEd, NCC, NCCC

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR TEACHERS OR SCHOOL COUNSELORS

1. They should provide mental preparedness in students, this would include :

a) Making student understand the importance of testb) Synthesizing them towards the fact that there are

no right or wrong answersc) Should encourage sincere and honest answersd) Test should be conducted in a relaxed atmospheree) Test results should be used to facilitate further

decision-making The school Name and Complete address to be in

capitals along with the students name. Information about the performance- to be

submitted by the school

“Talents are common, everyone has them - but rare is the courage to follow our talents where they lead.”

-Anon

“Think not of yourself as the architect of your career but as the sculptor. Expect to have to do a lot of hard hammering and chiselling and scraping and polishing.” -B.C. Forbes

Documents

Central Board of Secondary Education Student’s Global Aptitude Index- 2013 Orientation Programme