🛠  Recommended GenAI Tools (free versions of any of these work):

• Claude — claude.ai
• ChatGPT — chatgpt.com
• Microsoft Copilot — copilot.microsoft.com (LaGuardia Students have a license with CUNY’s Microsoft 365)
• Google Gemini — gemini.google.com

1. Career Data Decoder

Using GenAI to make labor market data personally meaningful. This exercise pairs with the Career Coach exploration from Lesson 1

Purpose & Faculty Notes

Students often look up salary and job growth data without connecting it to their own situation. This exercise teaches them to use GenAI as a thinking partner — asking follow-up questions to help them interpret what the data actually means for someone with their goals and background. It directly reinforces prompting skills from Module 3.

⏱  Timing:  Run after students complete the Career Coach task (approximately minutes 11–15 of the lesson).

💡  Faculty Tip:  Model Step 1 live for the class using a sample career. Encourage students to actually type their own data into the prompt — the exercise works better when numbers are real.

Student Instructions — Step by Step

Before starting: Have your Career Coach results visible (salary range, job outlook, education requirement).

1. Open one of the GenAI tools above in a new browser tab.
2. In the chat box, paste and customize the prompt below — fill in the career name and the numbers you found in Career Coach.

📋  Starter Prompt — Copy, fill in the blanks, and paste: I’m exploring a career as a [CAREER NAME]. According to labor market data, the salary range is approximately $[LOW] to $[HIGH] per year, job growth is expected to be [GROWTH %] over the next 10 years, and most jobs require a [EDUCATION LEVEL].  I’m currently a first-year college student. Can you help me understand: 1. Is this salary realistic for someone just starting out, or is that the range for experienced workers? 2. What does that job growth percentage actually mean in plain terms? 3. What are 2–3 things I should know about breaking into this field that the data doesn’t show?

1. Read the GenAI response. Then ask at least one follow-up question based on what surprised or confused you.
2. Record your findings in the table below.

Student Record: Exercise 1

Career I researched
One thing the salary data means for me personally
What the job growth % means in plain terms
One follow-up question I asked GenAI
Most useful thing the GenAI told me that Career Coach did not

🔗  GenAI Literacy Connection (Module 3 — Prompting): Notice how providing specific numbers in your prompt (salary range, growth %) gave you a much more useful response than just asking “tell me about this career.” This is context-rich prompting in action. Your follow-up question is an example of iterative prompting — a technique from Module 3. Be sure to critique GenAI output and sources as covered in Module 1 and 2.

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2. Career Match Challenger

Using GenAI to explore, question, and expand on your Focus 2 results

Purpose & Faculty Notes

Assessment tools like Focus 2 are helpful starting points, but students sometimes either over-trust or dismiss the results. This exercise uses GenAI to help students critically engage with their results — exploring why a match makes sense, why it doesn’t, or discovering a career they hadn’t considered. It also reinforces GenAI bias awareness from Module 2 by prompting students to notice when the AI’s framing reflects assumptions.

⏱  Timing:  Run immediately after students complete Focus 2 assessments and record their top 2 suggested careers (approximately minutes 21–25). 💡  Faculty Tip:  Ask students to share aloud whether Focus 2 confirmed or challenged their original career idea. Use this brief discussion as a transition into the GenAI exercise. 🎯  For students who dislike their results:  Encourage them to use Prompt Option B — it is designed exactly for that reaction and generates the most reflective conversations.

Student Instructions — Step by Step

Before starting: Have your Focus 2 results ready — write down your top 2 suggested careers and note whether they matched your original idea or surprised you.

1. Open one of the GenAI tools above in a new browser tab.
2. Choose ONE of the two prompts below based on your reaction to your Focus 2 results.

📋  Prompt Option A — If your results matched what you expected or you’re curious to explore further: My Focus 2 career interest/skills assessment suggested I might be a good fit for [CAREER 1] and [CAREER 2]. I’m also originally interested in [YOUR ORIGINAL CAREER IDEA].  Can you help me: 1. Explain what a typical day looks like in [CAREER 1 or 2] and what skills it actually requires? 2. Compare that career to my original idea — what’s similar? What’s different? 3. Suggest one career I may not have heard of that connects both interests?

📋  Prompt Option B — If your results surprised or confused you: My Focus 2 assessment suggested [CAREER 1] and [CAREER 2], but these don’t feel like a good match to me. I’m more interested in [YOUR INTEREST OR ORIGINAL CAREER IDEA].  Can you help me: 1. Explain what interests or skills might have led the assessment to suggest those careers — what do they have in common? 2. Are there any careers that bridge what Focus 2 suggested and what I’m actually interested in? 3. What should I be asking myself to better understand my own career interests?

1. After reading the GenAI response, write down one career from the conversation you had not considered before.
2. Record your takeaway below.

Student Record: Exercise 2

My Focus 2 top 2 careers
Prompt option I chose (A or B) and why
One career GenAI mentioned I hadn’t considered
One thing GenAI said that challenged or confirmed my thinking
Did Focus 2 + GenAI change my original career idea? (Yes / No / Somewhat)

🔗  GenAI Literacy Connection (Module 2 — Ethics):

Did GenAI make any assumptions about who typically works in the careers it described? For example, did it use gendered language or present a very narrow picture of who belongs in a field? Consider whether those portrayals are fair and accurate — or whether they reflect ethical concerns about how GenAI shapes perceptions of careers and people. Questioning these outputs is a core skill from Module 2.

3. Next Steps Navigator

Using GenAI to plan a realistic first action and build your Career Snapshot

Purpose & Faculty Notes

This exercise bridges in-class exploration to the Career Snapshot assignment. Students use GenAI to brainstorm personalized, realistic next steps for this semester — and then use it as a drafting partner to begin their assignment. Critically, students are prompted to review and rewrite GenAI’s output, directly reinforcing the assignment’s GenAI use guidelines and Module 1’s core message about GenAI as a tool, not a replacement for thinking.

⏱  Timing:  Run during the Vault section and exit ticket (approximately minutes 26–30). This exercise can also be assigned as an out-of-class extension that feeds directly into the Career Snapshot assignment. 💡  Faculty Tip:  Remind students: if they use the Snapshot Draft prompt, the GenAI’s output is a rough draft they must rewrite in their own words. Project a student example under a document camera to model what reviewing and rewriting looks like. 🎯  Optional Extension:  Assign both prompt options as the out-of-class component of the Career Snapshot assignment. Students submit the GenAI output alongside their rewritten version, allowing faculty to evaluate AI use and original thinking separately.

Student Instructions — Step by Step

Before starting: Look at your notes from Career Coach, Focus 2, and Vault. You should have: a career name, a salary range, an education level, and a quick impression from the Vault overview.

1. Open one of the GenAI tools above in a new browser tab.
2. Use Prompt A to generate personalized next step ideas for this semester.

📋  Prompt A — Next Steps Brainstorm: I’m a first-year college student exploring a career as a [CAREER NAME]. Based on what I’ve learned today: – Salary range: approximately $[LOW]–$[HIGH] – Required education: [EDUCATION LEVEL] – This career was [confirmed / challenged / new to me] based on my interest/skills assessment results.  I have [one semester / the rest of this semester] before my next registration period. What are 4–5 realistic, specific actions I could take right now — this semester — to explore this career further or build relevant skills? Please include options for someone who does not yet have a job or internship.

1. Circle or highlight the ONE next step from the list that feels most realistic for you this semester.
2. If you have time, use Prompt B to begin a draft of your Career Snapshot assignment.

📋  Prompt B — Career Snapshot Draft Starter (connects directly to the assignment): I need to write a short Career Snapshot (about half a page) about one career I explored today. Here is what I found:  – Career: [CAREER NAME] – Why I chose it: [brief reason — curiosity, assessment result, recommendation, etc.] – Salary range: $[LOW]–$[HIGH] per year – Education required: [LEVEL] – One next step I plan to take: [YOUR CHOSEN NEXT STEP]  Please draft a short paragraph for each of the three sections of my Career Snapshot: (1) Career You Explored, (2) Salary and Education Level, and (3) One Next Step This Semester. Keep it simple and clear — I will rewrite it in my own words afterward.

⚠  IMPORTANT — Before You Use the Draft: Read the GenAI’s draft carefully. Does it accurately reflect what YOU found and what YOU think?Rewrite each section in your own words. Change the wording, add your own voice, and fix anything that doesn’t sound right. GenAI gave you a structure — your job is to fill it with real thinking.You may be asked to submit both versions (GenAI draft + your rewrite) so faculty can see your revisions.

Student Record: Exercise 3

Career I am writing about
Next step I chose from GenAI’s list
Why this next step is realistic for me right now
One thing I changed when I rewrote GenAI’s draft
Exit Ticket: One thing I learned today I didn’t know before

🔗  GenAI Literacy Connection (Module 1 — How GenAI Works): The GenAI generated a Career Snapshot draft based on the information you provided. It did not “know” you — it predicted likely helpful content based on patterns in its training data. That’s why reviewing, fact-checking, and rewriting is essential. The more specific and accurate the information you put in, the more useful the output will be. Garbage in, garbage out — and the reverse is also true.

If You Have Less Than 30 Minutes

• Use Exercise 1 only — it integrates most directly with Career Coach and is the fastest to run (5 minutes).
• Assign Exercises 2 and 3 as out-of-class prep for the Career Snapshot assignment.

Common Facilitation Challenges

Challenge	Suggested Response
“I don’t know what career to pick”	Encourage them to use any career they are curious about, even vaguely. The exercise works with “I’m not sure — maybe nursing?” as a starting point.
“GenAI gave me wrong information”	This is a teaching moment. Ask: how do you know it’s wrong? What would you search to verify it? This connects directly to Module 2 (ethics and responsible use).
“GenAI wrote my whole assignment for me”	Reinforce the rewrite expectation from the assignment rubric. The GenAI draft is a scaffold, not a submission.
Students go off-topic in the GenAI chat	Remind them the goal is to produce something for their record sheet. The record sheet keeps the exercise focused.

Grading Guidance

All three exercises are designed as low-stakes, completion-credit activities. The record sheets serve as evidence of engagement, not assessment of career choices. Consider a simple rubric:

• Full credit: All fields in the record sheet completed with genuine responses.
• Partial credit: Most fields completed; some responses are minimal but honest.
• No credit: Blank or copied GenAI text submitted without any personal rewriting.