A series of “Career Competencies” was developed on campus to help students relate what they are learning to transferable skills needed for employment. Instructors across the curriculum have developed assignments to address these career competencies. While many laboratory courses use technical skills and documentation, students may not sense how they would use them in a career. In the Biotechnology Laboratory, the assignment involves a weekly post addressing these career competencies in relation to documentation or other skills. Some weeks there was a required prompt related to a particularly challenging task such as calculating Specific Activities or keeping their lab notebook. Other weeks were free weeks to sense what they are appreciating. Assessment involved “ungrading” based on how many posts the student wrote over the semester and feedback provided. A quorum of students has better appreciation for documentation and other transferable skills relating to career competencies.
