The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has released the Individual Learning Plan (ILP) Playbooks, which offer recommendations for chronological themes and lessons for career exploration and social and emotional development to teach at each grade level in grades 5-8 and 9-12. Kentucky is among the first states in the United States to couple career exploration and social and emotional learning (SEL).

Career exploration is a KDE priority for Kentucky’s students. The aim is to foster career exploration in all of the 16 career cluster areas to provide students with the opportunity to delve into and learn more about future career options. The career clusters are tied to career and technical education pathways in Kentucky.

An additional tool used to launch career exploration that embraces SEL in its practice is the use of project-based learning. This will be an opportunity to provide experiential learning that invites students to consider problems they want to solve in the world, rather than just “what they want to be when they grow up.”

The ILP Playbook is designed to be a useful tool to assist educators in creating meaningful ILPs and learning experiences for students.