04/01/2025

Fostering Curiosity: Inquiry-Based Learning Assignment in Career Counseling Education

By Jill S. Minor

In the process of becoming a professional, individuals develop skills essential to their chosen field. The career counseling course is recognized as a key component of knowledge acquisition in the counseling profession (CACREP, 2024). Counselor educators and training programs are responsible for preparing counseling students to develop a deep understanding and practical application of career counseling concepts during their training. Over the past two decades, a range of prominent articles have called attention to the need for changes in teaching approaches to the career counseling course in ways that promote applied learning and counseling techniques (Fulton & Gonzalez, 2014), cultivate creative problem-solving strategies (Luke et al., 2022), and strengthen critical thinking (Osborn, 2009). Therefore, the purpose of this article is to offer a description of an Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) assignment involving an experiential activity to promote student engagement in a career counseling course. This paper entails the conceptual description of the Career Construction Interview (CCI) simulation experience.

Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning in Career Counseling Education

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a learner-centered, learner-directed, and inquiry-driven approach that aims to enhance and transform the quality and effectiveness of the learning experience by allowing the student to more significantly control the learning process (Blessinger & Carfora, 2014). The experiential education method is a widely used example of IBL that can be an effective teaching and learning strategy in counselor education (Luke et al., 2022).

IBL was adopted as the framework for a career counseling course to enhance and transform the quality and effectiveness of the learning experience for counselor trainees.

Career Construction Interviewing

Career Construction Interviewing (CCI) is a counseling intervention that facilitates and supports self-reflection and meaning-making, aiding clients in their ability to articulate their life story (Savickas, 2013).  Grounded in career construction theory, the CCI is a structured interview that utilizes a narrative approach to career exploration and assessment. The CCI consists of seven structured questions:

1. Who did you admire when you were growing up?
2. What newsfeeds, websites, TV shows, or magazines do you read regularly?
3. What is your favorite movie/book?
4. What are your hobbies?
5. What are your most favorite sayings or mottos?
6. What are/were your favorite subjects in school?
7. What are your earliest recollections?

Administering career assessments, such as the CCI, aligns with experiential learning by enhancing counselor trainees’ self-awareness and facilitating adaptation to new experiences (Hayden & Osborn, 2020).

Learning Activity

Counselor educators can incorporate numerous experiential activities in the career course, including a Career Construction Interview (CCI) simulation. The assignment entails multiple parts that build upon and complement one another, including a video recording submission, case conceptualization, self-critique on counseling skills, and final self-reflection.

Activity One:  CCI Video Recording Submission

To begin, ask students to conduct and record a mock session using the CCI with an assigned partner, intentionally demonstrating fundamental counseling micro skills outlined by Ivey et al. (2018) and integrating the philosophical foundations of exploring and reconstructing career stories found in career construction theory (Savickas, 2019). Practicing the CCI allows counselor trainees to gain personal and professional insights clients can gain through structured career exploration (Diaz, 2025). During the mock session, students explore the seven essential questions described by Savickas (2005) and discover life themes by assisting their partners in connecting life and work roles. Recorded sessions typically last 50-70 minutes. After recording their videos, students self-evaluate their counseling skills, reflecting on strengths and areas for improvement. The instructor reviews each video and provides constructive feedback to support their professional growth.

Activity Two: Conceptualization Paper

Learning to locate, assess, and synthesize information are essential counseling skills. After the mock session, students develop a case conceptualization paper that presents a coherent and concise narrative, offering a plausible framework to understand their partner's strengths and areas for growth through the lens of career construction theory. Conceptualization topics include a description of career construction theory, participant description, theory interview/interaction plan, and process.  The following demonstrates what is included in each section of the paper.

Chart 1

Case Conceptualization Paper

Activity Three: Self-evaluation of Counseling Skills

After the mock session and subsequent video review, students complete a self-evaluation checklist to assess their counseling microskills competency. This checklist allows students to systematically evaluate their abilities in attending, empathy, and observation skills. They also assess themselves in questioning, paraphrasing, summarizing, and reflecting. In this process, students identify their strengths and areas for growth while facilitating targeted skill development. The checklist provides a framework for the instructor to offer constructive feedback for professional practice, highlighting the collaborative nature of the learning process.

Activity Four: Self Reflection Reflective Paper

It is well-documented that self-awareness and self-reflection contribute to counselors' curiosity and personal growth (Finger-Ossinger et al., 2018; Ziomek-Daigle, 2016). Reflecting on the assessment process, including the thoughts and feelings of counselors during and after the experience, enhances understanding of the assessment's structure and variables as well (Hayden & Osborn, 2020).  This culminating activity tasks students with the following guiding questions:

1. How was this experience for you? 
2. What did you learn about yourself?
3. What did you do well as the counselor? 
4. Where would you like to improve?
5. What did you learn about yourself as the client/partner in the mock session?

Conclusion

Effective instructional methods are essential when determining practices for counselor preparation. This inquiry-based and experiential assignment can assist counselor educators in preparing their students to learn the core principles of career construction, implement the theory into practice while demonstrating their basic counseling skills, and reflective observation. This assignment may fuel other counselor educators to join the call for more applied, experiential learning in career counseling courses.

References

Blessinger, P., & Carfora, J. M. (2014). Inquiry-based learning for the arts, humanities and social sciences: A conceptual and practical resource for educators (1st ed.). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs [CACREP]. (2024). 2024 CACREP standards. https://www.cacrep.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-Standards-Combined-Version-4.11.2024.pdf 

Diaz, A. (2025). Overcoming students’ assumptions about career counseling. Career Convergence. https://careerconvergence.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/586000/_PARENT/CC_layout_details/false

Finger-Ossinger, M., & Löffler-Stastka, H. (2018). Self-reflectivity: A moment of professionalization in psychotherapy training. Research in psychotherapy (Milano),21(3), 316. https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2018.316    

Fulton, C., & Gonzalez, L. (2015). making career counseling relevant: enhancing experiential learning using a “flipped” course design. The Journal of Counselor Preparation and          Supervision, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.7729/72.1126 

Hayden, S. C. W., & Osborn, D. S. (2020), Using experiential learning theory to train career practitioners. Journal of Employment Counseling, 57, 2-13. https://doi.org/10.1002/joec.12134

Luke, C., Budesa, Z., & Diambra, J. (2022). Using an experiential group to promote engagement in a career counseling course. Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 15(4). https://research.library.kutztown.edu/jcps/vol15/iss4/1

Osborn, D. S. (2009). Teaching career theories, career assessments, and career information.  Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 25(1), 46-57. http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_libsubv1_scholarship_submission_1519746930_b4b3c5c2

Savickas, M. L. (2005). The theory and practice of career construction. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling (pp. 42–70). Wiley.

Savickas, M. L. (2013). Career construction theory and practice. In R. W. Lent & S. D. Brown (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (2nd ed., pp. 147–183). Wiley.

Savickas, M. L. (2019). Career counseling (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000105-000 

Ziomek-Daigle, J. (2016). Using reflective writing practices to articulate student learning in counselor education. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 12(2), 262–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2016.1187581

Dr. Jill Minor, LSC (OH), is an Assistant Professor at Marshall University in Huntington, WV, and a seasoned school counselor with two decades of experience spanning K-12 education. Her research explores teaching effectiveness, career counseling, wellness, and the professional development needs of school counselors. A recognized speaker, Dr. Minor has presented on various topics, including the role of school counselors in fostering school culture and climate, ethical leadership, gifted education, and college and career counseling services. She is passionate about advancing the counseling profession and supporting student well-being. Connect with Dr. Minor at minorj@marshall.edu.