Visual Thinking and Career Development: Using Graphic Organizers to Enhance Your Impact

1. Visual Thinking and Career Development: Using Graphic Organizers to Enhance Your Impact Dr. Katharine S. Brooks You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career Session 3: Cluster Diagrams and Circles

2. Goals of this webinar series • Introduce visual techniques for different career issues to enhance your career advising activities. • Encourage you to develop even more creative ways to explain and illustrate choices, options, or ways to think about a situation. • Promote an action-oriented approach which helps client take a more active role. Dr. Katharine Brooks : You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career

3. Advantages of Visual Thinking “It’s easier to organize your thoughts if you can see them.” Visual thinking: • Helps us organize and clarify our thoughts, while reducing complexity. • See relationships more easily. • Encourages specific types of thinking or problem-solving. • Enhances understanding and retention of information • Is easy to do and inexpensive • Provides a tangible “take-away” product for students. Dr. Katharine Brooks : You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career

4. Pie Wedges

5. Venn Diagram

6. Target

7. Covey’s Circle of Influence Circle of Concern Circle of Influence

8. Cycle

9. Expanding Circles

10. Cluster Diagrams http://www.flickr.com/photos/deanhp/ Dr. Katharine Brooks: You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career

11. Cluster Diagram

12. When to Use Cluster Diagrams • Considering several options • To demonstrate how one central idea can expand to other ideas • To demonstrate how divergent ideas or items can be consolidated into a whole. • Examples: • Skills analysis • Career choices Dr. Katharine Brooks: You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career

13. Clusters: Possible Lives Dr. Katharine Brooks: You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career

14. Analyzing the Possible Lives Exercise • Review the career ideas with the student • Look for themes in the choices • Select 2-3 to start analyzing • Draw a line from the center to the job • Write the steps to get to the job • Watch the energy level Dr. Katharine Brooks: You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career

15. Clusters: Possible Lives Ask: Can you do that career tomorrow? Notice where the student starts to gain or lose energy in the process. Steps If not, ask student to insert the steps to get to the career. Write down the main themes. Dr. Katharine Brooks: You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career

16. Strengths Dr. Katharine Brooks: You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career

17. Strengths Story__________ ____________________________ Story__________ ____________________________ Story__________ ____________________________ Story__________ ____________________________ Story__________ ____________________________ Dr. Katharine Brooks: You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career

18. Cover Letter Design Dr. Katharine Brooks: You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career

19. Questions? Thank you for attending. Look at your schedule for next week and see if there’s a place you could try applying one of these visual exercises. “See” you next Friday! Kate Brooks