Day 5: Jigsaw Presentations + Career Classification
Lesson Overview
| Time | 50 minutes |
| Objectives | Each team teaches the class about their assigned drone industry; classify a chosen drone career as high-skill / high-wage / high-demand with supporting evidence; favorite drone and engineering careers in H&L |
| TEKS | d(1)(D), d(5)(B), d(2)(A) |
| Deliverable | Team Jigsaw presentation (4 min) + individual Career Classification statement with evidence |
| Materials | Chromebooks, H&L accounts, completed UAS Industry Research Templates from Day 2, printed Career Classification template, projector for team presentations |
Warm-Up (3 min)
WARM-UP: If you could start a drone business tomorrow, what service would you offer and who would your customers be?
Take 3-4 student responses. This loosens up the room before presentations and surfaces creative student ideas (drone wedding photography, drone yard inspections, drone food delivery for athletes).
Activity 1: Jigsaw Presentations (24 min)
Each team has 4 minutes to present their assigned drone industry from Day 2. Format:
- Industry overview (30 sec): What does this industry use drones for?
- Top 3 careers in this industry (90 sec): Job title, what they do, salary range
- Certifications and training required (30 sec): Part 107, plus any industry-specific
- Growth projection (30 sec): How fast is this field expanding?
- Best example (60 sec): Show one specific real company or project using drones in this industry
The class fills in a quick listening grid as each team presents, one row per industry with columns for "Top career," "Salary," "Most surprising fact." This grid helps students compare across industries before they classify their own chosen career.
5 teams × 4 minutes = 20 minutes + 4 minutes of transitions.
Facilitation Tip
Project a visible 4-min timer and announce the limit to students before Team 1 starts, so every team gets the same slot. This is the first timed presentation of the year for most students, if a team is still wrapping at 4 min, give them one sentence to close rather than a hard mid-sentence cut. Hard time discipline is drilled explicitly in 6SW Wk4 Sales/Presentations.
Activity 2: Individual Career Classification (15 min)
Source: TEA d(5)(B) classification framework
After hearing all 5 presentations, each student picks one drone career from any industry and writes a Career Classification on the printed template:
| Field | Student Response |
|---|---|
| Career name | (e.g., Wind Turbine Drone Inspector) |
| Industry | (e.g., Energy / Construction) |
| Median salary | (with source citation. BLS, DJI, Indeed) |
| Education / certification needed | (FAA Part 107 + ?) |
| High-skill? Yes / No | with evidence |
| High-wage? Yes / No | with evidence (cite the salary number and compare to median Texas wages around $50K) |
| High-demand? Yes / No | with evidence (BLS growth projection or industry news) |
| My personal interest level (1-5) | with one-sentence rationale |
This is the d(5)(B) summative artifact. Students who can justify all three classifications with evidence demonstrate mastery.
[H&L PLATFORM] After completing the classification, students open H&L Climber Profile and favorite at least 2 engineering or drone-related Hats: Drone Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Aerospace Engineer, Robotics Technician, Electrical Engineer, or Civil Engineer. The workbook (Ch 16: My Next Steps) treats favorite-tagging as the way the H&L app builds the student's Career Plan over time.
DOK 3: What conclusions can you draw about how participating in TSA Drone Challenge builds real career skills? Name at least two specific skills from this week that connect.
Activity 3: TSA Connection (5 min)
For students who participate in TSA Drone Challenge (many IISD VILS students do), connect this week's learning directly to the competition. The Drone Challenge requires: - Flight precision (Day 4 navigation course) - Documentation of design decisions (Day 1 blueprint) - Knowledge of FAA regulations (Day 3 safety briefing) - Industry awareness (Day 2 research)
For students who are not in TSA, this is the recruiting moment. They have spent a week practicing the exact skills TSA evaluates. Encourage them to talk to their TSA chapter advisor about joining.
Exit Ticket (3 min)
EXIT TICKET (Concept Map / Connection Diagram) · Printable PDF:
My drone industry I found most interesting this week: _____
A drone career within it I would consider pursuing: _____
Connect this career to THREE things:
1. My high-skill / high-wage / high-demand classification (pick ONE of the 3)
My classification: _____. ONE specific piece of evidence (salary $, education, or BLS growth %):
2. TSA Drone Challenge skills (flight precision, blueprint documentation, FAA regulations, industry awareness)
Which TSA skill from this week does THIS career use MOST? _____. One sentence why:
3. Irving High's Drone Engineering pathway (School of Aviation Sciences; leads to FAA Part 107)
Does this pathway lead DIRECTLY to my career, or is it a STEPPING STONE? Circle: DIRECT / STEPPING STONE. One sentence why:
(d(1)(D), d(5)(B))
Differentiation
- Support: Pre-filled Classification template with the salary and education rows already filled in for one career. Students adapt and write the high-skill / high-wage / high-demand justifications.
- Extension: Compare two drone careers from different industries side by side, which is more accessible without a college degree? Which has higher long-term growth?
- ELL: Bilingual Classification template with Spanish row labels. Pre-teach: High-skill = Alta calificación, High-wage = Alto salario, High-demand = Alta demanda, Evidence = Evidencia. Allow students to deliver one sentence of their team presentation in Spanish if more comfortable.