A series exploring the teaching of vocation in physics.
Over the course of my career, I have found that my students often do not realize that the type of science they might wish to pursue can constrain their future paths. Students who might want to work at a particle accelerator might not realize they cannot do so here in Washington State where I teach. This limitation often surprises them, especially those local students who want to remain close to home after they graduate. A highly scaffolded vocational exploration assignment can address this confusion.
In my previous post, I discussed some of the vocational complexities that arise for students in the sciences. In this post, I share a four-part assignment that I developed—inspired by Rachael Baker and Austin Young Shull—that applies the scientific method to vocational discernment. Students have one week to complete each part of the assignment. I dedicate some class time to each part, but students do most of the work outside of class.
Part 1: Observe
When we think about vocation, we must first observe our own desires, knowledge, and gifts, while also attending to the needs we see in our communities. Students start this step by taking the “Character Strengths Survey” created by the VIA Institute on Character, which ranks their “signature strengths.” Students then consider where they have used their strengths successfully, and how they could continue developing them.
Students also respond with a word or a phrase to questions about work environment, lifestyle preferences, and professional aspirations. The questions invite them to reflect on their larger life goals, rather than simply asking them what academic field of physics interests them. These questions are adapted from an assignment that my colleague Terri D. Farrar in kinesiology developed:
- What type of place do you want to live? A small town, city, college town, farm, or other place?
- In what kind of environment do you thrive? In the outdoors, a laboratory, an office, or academia? Doing research, collaborating with others, or working independently?
- How much travel (if any) would you want as a regular part of your work?
- What are the skills you would like to use daily?
- Would you prefer a job in which you are expected to be the “idea person,” a decision-maker, or a team member? Or would you prefer a job in which you typically follow someone else’s instructions?
- Would you prefer a job in which you are responsible for the performance of others, such as a teacher, primary research investigator, or manager?
- You may have to work to achieve the position that you want, which might require additional education. Are you willing to pursue it?
Part 2: Hypothesize
In this part, students conduct a preliminary job search. They identify two job postings—one they would qualify for after graduation and another requiring additional education or experience. Students analyze the job descriptions, identifying qualifications and potential challenges. Students then draft a hypothesis about their vocational fit. I encourage them to get creative and rewrite their hypotheses into a personal mission statement, which I always enjoy reading! Here are some excerpts from mission statements of students who have taken my class in the past few years:
“I feel like I have a calling to bring beauty and life back to history and the past.”
“I want to continue studying and learning math and physics, and I love solving problems and making something creative at the end of a process.”
“My gifts for teaching and explaining complicated material in a simpler manner will allow me to effectively satisfy my job duties as well as make an impact on the health and well-being of others.”
Part 3: Test Hypothesis
Students refine their vocational hypothesis by engaging with real-world perspectives. I ask them to reflect on the challenges and cultural barriers they might face and to explore their personal agency and additional information about these possibilities. Ultimately, I want students to think about what they can accomplish in their lives as part of a community rather than as an individual.
To help students test their hypotheses and think more deeply about their vocations, they listen to Patrick Reyes’s interview on NetVUE’s podcast Callings and reflect on his discussion of discerning vocation in community. I remind them that he tells students not to wait for someone to give them permission and that his generation should just get out of the way and let the next one lead. I then ask them to respond to this question:
What would you do (vocationally) if you didn’t have to ask permission and didn’t face any constraints, such as what other people think or how much money you would earn?
I then focus on Reyes’s discussion of what he calls a “cultural commute.” They identify an example from their own cultural commute and explore what could make that commute easier for future generations. (For example, if their high school did not offer calculus, how might they advocate for this subject to be offered, making it easier for future students to pursue science?)
I emphasize that there are many ways that my students could test their hypotheses about possible careers and their vocations. They could shadow someone in a job that interests them, complete an internship, or interview a mentor or someone in the field—options I encourage them to do in the future. For this assignment, I ask them to learn more about the careers that interest them, using videos, blogs, or books written about people’s experiences in these types of jobs to get more information. I also encourage them to talk with people they trust about these positions, such as professors, friends, or family. Then, they reflect on their responses to the first three parts of this assignment and answer this question:
How and why do either of the jobs that you found fit well into your sense of vocation or calling? If they do not, explain why they are not a good fit.
Part 4: Conclude
In this final part of the assignment, students reflect on how their possible career choices relate to their emerging sense of vocation and identify any adjustments they might need to make to their plans. They identify and describe the next three steps that they will need to take to move toward their vocational goals. In addition, I explain that at PLU vocation means “being called with others to promote human and ecological flourishing.” I ask students to write one paragraph about how their career choice connects to this definition and relates to their own vocations.
This final step provides an opportunity for students to revisit, rewrite, and finalize their personal mission statements from the second part of the assignment. As they do so, I encourage them to link their career trajectory with their strengths and their core values, and we take time together as a class for them to identify their core values, an idea that my colleague Dr. Jennifer Smith, PLU’s dean of inclusive excellence, shared with me. (There are many examples of how to help students identify their core values; here is one from Bowling Green State University.) Ultimately, this integration—and the entire assignment—goes far in helping my students explore and discern their vocations in a way that works well for them as students in the sciences.
Katrina Hay is a professor of physics at Pacific Lutheran University, where she teaches physics, engineering, and astronomy and serves as an advisory member of the Wild Hope Center for Vocation. Katrina’s scholarship interests include astronomy and fluid physics, and she mentors undergraduates in observational astronomy research. She wrote and illustrated a children’s book about the scale of the universe, Little Bear’s Big Night Sky. Katrina is a NetVUE Faculty Fellow and was part of NetVUE’s 2024 Teaching Vocational Exploration Seminar. For more posts by Katrina, click here.
