How My Students are Becoming Future Ready Through NAF Expeditions

Aspirations, skills, and connections. As part of the NAF Network, you have heard these three words before, as NAF’s outcomes-driven approach to work-based learning focuses on these 3 measures of student success.

• Aspirations – Each student will have defined and mapped a plan for at least one career path.
• Skills – Each student will have worked to develop the six Future Ready skills, received continuous feedback from industry partners, Advisory Board members, and/or local community professionals, and be able to articulate their strengths.
• Connections – Each student will develop at least three professional connections.

When I joined the 2023/2024 Curriculum Collaborative Lab (CCL), one of my goals was to lead my students through a NAF Expedition, but I had trouble deciding which one to use. NAF Expeditions are career-connected project-based learning experiences that combine hands-on, real-world projects with career exploration and preparation. Through an unrelated conversation with my first period class, the students made their choice clear: Real Estate was the winner.

We were discussing possible careers, and what education was needed to pursue each pathway. One student asked about becoming a real estate agent, and aside from knowing about the licensing requirements, my knowledge was limited. Several others chimed, in stating they wanted to pursue that career also. With new information about their career aspirations, my wheels were turning about who I could get to speak with them about what being a realtor entailed.

I thought back to a conversation on the beach over the summer with a high school classmate, who himself was a teacher at one point, but went on to become a successful realtor in Delaware. A text was sent, and a date was confirmed. John Zacharias of Patterson Schwartz was coming to talk with my students about his career path and give a first-hand account of what he does every day in his role in the field.

John was a natural with my students. He was prepared with a presentation loaded with information about his profession and answered all questions honestly and thoroughly. John spoke about which of the six Future Ready Skills were most important, which after much thought, he chose Initiative and Self Direction. By the time he left, the students had made an important connection, adding to their professional networks.

Aspirations lead to connections, but how could we develop their skills? The day after John spoke about his career, we launched the NAF Real Estate Expedition. From the first video with Trey Brooks, the students were hooked. They worked through each activity with excitement, developing their communication and collaboration skills. Students especially enjoyed the choices in innovation and how to showcase (student voice FTW!).

I cannot wait to use this Expedition again in the future, as well as explore others relevant to student aspirations. I highly recommend NAF Expeditions, a packaged product ready to deliver on all three outcomes, and as a result, students feel more confident and better prepared to navigate their professional journeys after high school.

To learn more, visit: https://ash.naf.org/public/learning