The learning science behind MyLab Career Success
Pearson uses insights from the learning sciences, which are diverse disciplines that seek to understand how people learn, to guide the creation of our products. These insights have shaped the learning design behind MyLab Career Success — and they drive us as we continue to refine MyLab Career Success to deliver improved learner outcomes.
In today’s business environment, employers report that too many graduating college students enter the job market without the skills needed to succeed in a professional pathway. At the same time, college instructors worry that not enough students explore and prepare properly for the kind of career they really want.
To serve these different constituencies, Pearson has developed MyLab Career Success. This digital suite of projects, assessments, and instructional milestones breaks down the career planning process into logical, manageable steps — enabling students to explore options, develop relevant skills, and market themselves strategically and effectively to potential employers. MyLab Career Success offers behavioral and formative assessments that help students advance their knowledge and build critical skill sets and GRIT.
Here are some key areas of alignment between learning science research and the learning design behind MyLab Career Success:
- Personal relevance: A significant predictor of student success is the degree to which students see personal relevance in what they are learning. MyLab Career Success demonstrates to students how their personal traits, values, and acquired skills are relevant to specific job categories and career goals.
- Active and authentic learning: Research has shown that practice, that is closely aligned with authentic real-world applications, supports deep levels of learning and engagement. The nine-milestones sequence in MyLab Career Success highlights the skills that students must have and provides project-based activities to help students strengthen those skills. It covers job requirements, job-related skills, and job market conditions — all while helping students create resumes, write cover letters, develop networking campaigns, and promote their acquired skills via LinkedIn and other popular tools.
- Conley Readiness Index (CRI): Students embark on academic and career journeys with varying degrees of preparation and skills that they will need to succeed. Conley Readiness Index, a validated assessment tool, provides students with a personalized and detailed prescription for the skills they need for school and career. Based on data compiled from hundreds of thousands of students and years of academic research, this instrument tells students directly and specifically where their strengths and weaknesses lie — and provides a blueprint for acquiring the skills they need to do well in college and on the job.
- GRIT (Growth, Resilience, Instinct, and Tenacity): Research indicates that students with high levels of these GRIT characteristics tend to persist through challenges and perform better academically and professionally. MyLab Career Success gives students the tools to assess their own GRIT and Robustness, and provides opportunities for them to bolster these skills through practical, research-based activities that strengthen their ability to persevere.
- Personal and Social Capabilities (PSC) Digital Credentials: Based on comprehensive scientific, instructional, and real-world research, the PSC Digital Credentials allow students to build their conceptual and practical knowledge of the basic skills required in college and work — Communication, Collaboration & Teamwork, Critical & Creative Thinking, Leadership, Mindset, Self-Management & Initiative, and Social Responsibility. Students master these basic “non-cognitive” skills, that are so important to success in academic and professional life, and earn credentials.
Digital credentials (or “badges”) provide evidence of research-based skills, developed through conceptual discussions, media-rich presentations, and assessments. They enable students to showcase their competencies to prospective employers and tell a compelling evidence-rich story of what they have done to acquire the skills.
Overall, MyLab Career Success aids students in developing self-knowledge, occupational intelligence, and key communication and decision-making skills — all things they need to become successful, well-informed, and motivated candidates for their chosen career paths.