Overview For Teachers

INITIATIVE: The ability to be productive and show ambition; go above and beyond the minimum job requirements; voluntarily start projects; attempt non -routine jobs and tasks; establish credibility; to be able to work independently; complete assigned tasks efficiently, effectively and timely; the ability to work towards goals.

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PURPOSE: Upon completion of this module, the student will understand the importance of taking initiative in the classroom as well as the workplace. In addition, the objectives listed below should be met.

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OBJECTIVES:

 Demonstrate the ability to take initiative

 Identify situations in which to take initiative

 Realize the importance of working independently towards a goal without waiting for someone to tell you or remind you

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OVERVIEW:

This module focuses on teaching students the importance of being a self-starter, going above and beyond the minimum requirements and doing something without being asked because it is the right thing to do . Students will come to realize how important all these factors are in being successful at school and at work. In addition, students will have an opportunity to gain an understanding of the importance of taking initiative by participating in various activities designed to stimulate thought and discussion.

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TEACHERS: WHAT ARE YOU OBSERVING?

What does initiative look like in the classroom or in school in general? A great way to answer this and get things going is through engagement with the students. Ask your students these questions:

1. What does taking initiative look like in class?

2. How does your productivity affect other students? Example: Homework, group projects, sports, etc.

3. What does taking initiative look like within your learning?

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RELEVANCY OF INITIATIVE:

Employers have ranked the ability to take initiative as one of the most significant employability skills needed in the workplace.

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LESSON:

Taking Initiative and Being Productive
Time Allocation: 20  minutes
Materials/Resources: paper, pens/ pencils, whiteboard, markers , sticky notes , hat/ bowl

 

WATCH THE VIDEO:

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ANTICIPATORY SET IDEA:

 Post the following question on the whiteboard:

     o If you started taking initiative in your life today, what could you accomplish or what goals could you achieve?

 As students enter the classroom, hand each one a sticky note. Instruct them to write the answer to the question on their sticky note. When they finish, they will post their sticky note on the whiteboard. When all the students have finished, have a few of them share their answers.

DIRECT INSTRUCTION:

 Form four groups within the class, give each group a different question to discuss, then share their thoughts with the entire class.

     o Group 1: Do you think it’s important to take initiative at school? At home? At work? Why or why not?

     o Group 2: Why do you think people struggle to take initiative? What is holding them back?

     o Group 3: Why do you think it’s difficult for people to be productive at school? At home? At work?

     o Group 4: What are some easy ways for people to establish credibility by taking initiative in life? List at least five different ways.

GUIDED ACTIVITY:

 Following the class discussion, have students write down two situations: one where they needed to take initiative and have them mention whether they did or didn’t take initiative and what happened. The second situation they will write down on a separate piece of paper will deal with a time when they needed to be productive and whether they were productive or procrastinated and what happened. When finished, the students will place their folded papers in a hat/ bowl.

 Then, have student volunteers draw a scenario out of the hat/ bowl to read out loud to the class.

 The class will then come up with both positive and negative outcomes for the scenario depending on what the student did or didn’t do .

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:

 Technology Use: Create a short survey with Survey Monkey to check for understanding that students will complete before they leave for the day.

 Non-Technology: Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down: Students will rate their level of understanding with either a “thumbs up” if they understand or a “thumbs down” if they need further explanation.

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ETHICAL SCENARIO--Optional (if not using, skip  to "review and closing")

The Ethical Choice Scenarios have been developed to provide teachers with the ability to make the material applicable to real-life and relevant to the students. Within this guide, directions and prompts for the teacher will be in BLUE for ease of facilitation.

 

READ THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO OUT LOUD TO THE STUDENTS: 

CLEANING CONUNDRUM

You are excited to have a job and you also get to work with your friends. This fast food restaurant has surprisingly been a pretty good place to work . You feel like you have learned a lot and you are having fun at the same time . You are eager to advance and get promoted, but to do that you understand you have to show initiative, going above and beyond. As you are discussing this with one of your close friends at the restaurant (honestly , more than a friend… you would really like to date this person) they start telling you that they admire your work ethic, but they hope you would “never go as far to clean the toilets, as they could never date someone who did something that disgusting!” Although you know you are just in a casual conversation, their remarks still stick with you.

 

A few weeks later, you are working an evening shift with that same close friend and the custodian calls in sick . You know the bathrooms are starting to get dirty, and that is bad for customers and bad for the restaurant . You want to show initiative and clean them without being asked to do so , but you are also nervous about your friend’s reaction?

ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (display them to the class if necessary)

1. How many of you have already been faced with this scenario in real life?

2. What are the possible positive outcomes of cleaning the bathrooms?

3. What are possible positive or negative consequences in the relationship with your friend?

4. What are possible positive or negative consequences for you with your employer , depending on your decision?

GUIDED DISCUSSION: ASK STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE SITUATION AND HOW THEY
ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS.

NOTE 1 : To help facilitate discussion, share any personal experiences you may have encountered with this same sort of issue.

NOTE 2 : Another option to foster further critical thinking is to then ask students , “ How can having initiative benefit you in the long-run?”

NOTE 3 : Another option to foster further critical thinking is to then ask students , “ What values do you think are in tension here, why is it an ethical dilemma?”

CLOSING DISCUSSION: ASK THE STUDENTS , “ WHAT IMPACT COULD YOUR DECISION HAVE ON YOUR FUTURE WORK OPPORUTINTIES ?”

REVIEW AND CLOSING:

 Read the following quote to the class:

     o “One has to take initiative in life to achieve what he or she wants.” – Donald Johnson 

Have the students that agree with this quote, stand up. Ask a few students to share their thoughts and explain why they agree. Then, have the students that don’t agree with this quote stand up. Have a few of them share their thoughts as well.

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CORRELATION TO OBSERVATION TOOL: The Frequency Observation Tool (FOT) has a category where students will be observed and rated on taking initiative and being productive. This lesson will help them understand the importance of being productive and taking initiative and how it impacts their life as a whole.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IDEAS
-Visual: Visual learners will benefit from having the information written on the whiteboard. They will also benefit from having the poster in the classroom.

-Auditory: Auditory learners will benefit from the class discussions as well as the partner work.

-Kinesthetic: -Kinesthetic learners could benefit by writing down any important information.

-ESL: ESL students would benefit from having a partner to assist them in the writing activity in case they have questions or need clarification.

-At-risk: At -risk students would benefit from working with a partner for some extra interaction to keep them on task and focused.

-Advanced: Advanced learners could benefit from helping the other students who rated their understanding of the lesson on a low level. They could partner up with one of those students or get together a group of students who need help.