Ponder Program FAQs for Schools

Got a question?

You’ll most likely be able to find the answer below, but if not please reach out to the team anytime – we always love to chat.

Ponder Program - Frequently Asked Questions

How many units are there in the Framework?

There are 40 units in the Framework, which means there are 10 per term. This covers the entire school year, and you can adjust the start and end date to suit your school’s calendar.

What kinds of things do you cover?

The Ponder Program and Career Development Framework is designed to build the skills students need to navigate their careers. This means we cover things that will help them:

Explore what they want to do
Find and secure work
Keep their job and structure their career
Transition from education to work
Explore entrepreneurship
Build core skills for work
And more…

How was the Framework developed?

There was a need for a comprehensive Year 7 to 12 framework which schools could use to structure career education programs without reinventing the wheel each time.

We began by analysing the Australian Blueprint for Career Development, which is the recognised document that guides the development of career education programs along eleven core competencies. This document breaks career development into four phases, but does not specify what topics should be covered in each year of schooling.

Each phase and competency of the Blueprint was mapped to a specific year level and term, and we then used this scope to develop a program of units for each term which covered all the relevant competencies.

What year levels does the Framework cover?

The Framework covers Year 7 to 12. We expect to begin work on a framework for Primary Education soon.

Is the Framework aligned with the Australian Blueprint for Career Development?

Yes, each term and unit is linked to one or more competencies of the Blueprint.

Is the Framework aligned with the ACARA Work Studies curriculum?

Yes, the units for Year 9 and 10 are aligned with both the Blueprint and the Work Studies curriculum.

Why are there multiple types of resources?

Every school is unique, and we’ve provided a range of Ponder Program resources which allow Career Leaders to select the best activities for their students. The program is designed to be delivered through multiple small touch-points, rather than in-depth lessons, which allows students to engage with the content covered on a regular basis.

This means that in one week, a student will watch the unit video, read our email and take a short quiz, complete an activity in homegroup, and see the unit poster on a noticeboard at school. If their parent is also part of the program, they may also talk about the week’s content at home.

How many hours of career education does the Ponder Program deliver per year per student?

Students should be engaging with the Ponder Program for around 10 minutes all up each week. This means that over the course of one year, each student will benefit from almost 7 hours of career education.

Can I use the framework as the basis for our own career education program?

Of course! You know your school better than we do, and if you want to incorporate or adapt the Framework to suit your school please go ahead. We would love to hear about the adjustments you make, so please let us know how you have used the program in your school.

Do I need all school staff on board?

Building a culture of career readiness needs everyone on board, but we know that not all teachers may have the space for career learning. You can run the Ponder Program without enlisting all staff at the school, and students and parents can still benefit.

If you’d like to encourage more of your colleagues to join the program try sharing some of the resources or asking them to speak with students about the content for the week.

Am I allowed to modify the units?

Yes, you can modify the units and resources to suit your students. For example, if you have a highly entrepreneurial group of students you may want to replace some of the thinking with a focus on starting a business.

You can also localise the content, so use videos or resources from local industries to supplement our suggestions.

Can I change the order of the units?

We’ve designed the units so that students build understanding week by week. This way, content that’s covered earlier can be used to enrich reflection in later units.

For this reason, we’d recommend sticking to the order in the Framework wherever possible.

How long does each unit take?

There’s a lot to cover and to build a career mindset within the school it’s important to embed regular career learning with a range of touchpoints. This gives students multiple opportunities to engage with the content and reflect on their learning, without increasing staff workload or expecting schools to deliver lengthy, in-depth programs which take time out of other activities.

For this reason, we’ve broken down Blueprint Competencies into short units which can be engaged with for around 5 to 10 minutes each week, but which build capability incrementally over the years. On average schools deliver just 2 hours of career education per student per year, and most of this is delivered to students in Year 10, 11 or 12. Ponder allows you to deliver three times as much career education per student without requiring significant time allocations.

How long does the Ponder Program need each week?

It depends on how you use it:

You can upload your students into our system and we can deliver the program on your behalf – in which case it will take no time at all to administer
Got two minutes a week? Share the videos in assembly and post them in your school’s intranet
Looking for five to ten minutes of content? You could cover the video and an activity in one homegroup period each week
Want more in-depth learning? Use the content and Framework to develop your own custom solution

How can I use the videos?

We create a range of resources, however we find that the videos can be one of the most effective methods of getting the message across and engaging students with content. Each video is between 1 and 2 minutes in duration, and they break the concept down and make it relatable for students.

There are a range of ways you can share the videos with your cohort:

Show the videos during assemblies. You may need to ask for a regular time slot and spend a few minutes introducing the video, or you could provide the video each week to the person who arranges the presentation that accompanies your assembly and allow them to include it
Ask homeroom teachers to play the video once a week during homegroup time
Post the video into your school’s intranet and ask students to view in their own time. You could also email it to groups of students if your students prefer email
Ask PE teachers to display the videos at the start or end of one lesson each week

How do I use the posters?

Your Library Pack for Term 1 includes a set of 10 posters which can be displayed together or individually throughout the school on noticeboards in prominent locations. These posters give the students a regular reminder of the content covered in the week, and are designed to reinforce the concepts covered regardless of year level.

These posters are also available to download as digital files in each week’s resources, and can be shared digitally or you are welcome to print and display digital copies around your school.

What kinds of activities are in the Ponder Program?

You’ll find videos, fun activities like quizzes and word searches, writing prompts, posters, and more.

Can I show the Weekly unit video during assembly?

Yes – this actually a great way to build a culture of career readiness, as the entire school is engaging with the content at once.

How do I incorporate the Ponder Program into home group?

Many schools already use homegroup for their wellbeing programs, and the Ponder Program is designed to fit into the length of one homegroup session. We would suggest that you forward the resources you choose to use each week to homegroup teachers with any adjustments or localisations you may choose to make and ask them to deliver the content.

If you have multiple year levels in your homegroups you can use the generic all-years activities in the place of the year-level specific resources.

Can I embed the Ponder Program into PE or Health lessons?

The resources can be integrated into health units, or condensed to deliver as a unit at the teachers discretion.

One option could be to give your Physical Education Department access to the Ponder videos and sequence, and these are then shown at the start or end of regular classes each week. This may work well for younger year levels.

Can I use the Framework or Ponder Program resources in wellbeing programs?

You are welcome to use the Career Development Framework and/or the Ponder Program resources to develop your own wellbeing program, or review an existing program and insert Ponder units in where appropriate.

You may also choose to use Ponder resources as part of your mentorship program (if you have one). Senior students can assist junior students to complete the activities together.