Summary
This resource, centered around the career clusters, is designed to help students reflect on their skills, personality traits, and interests to identify career clusters that align with their interests. Although students' interests will naturally evolve over time, Advance Career Technical Education's (Advance CTE) "Career Interest Survey: Motivators Edition" offers a starting point for career exploration. The insights students gain from this activity can support further discussions, guide additional career-focused lessons, and help inform long-term academic and career planning.
Essential Questions
How can understanding my skills, personality traits, and interests help me identify career pathways that align with my strengths and future goals?
Learning Objectives
Analyze personal skills, traits, and interests to identify aligned career clusters.
Reflect on identified career clusters to consider future academic and career planning.
Snapshot
Introduction
Students identify how their interests inform their career decisions.
Activity Part I
Students examine their interests and connect their interests to career clusters by taking a survey.
Activity Part II
Students explore three career clusters identified through a survey and further explore one career pathway.
Reflection
Students reflect on how they feel and what they think about their top three Career Clusters and the information they learned.
Materials List
Activity Slides (attached)
Career Exploration handout (attached; one per student; print two-sided)
Paper
Sticky notes
Preparation
Optional Activities
This resource includes multiple options for each activity. When options are presented, you may consider selecting only one option or multiple options depending on time, student needs, or other factors. Each section suggests a recommended activity, but optional activities are included in yellow.
Motivators Career Interest Survey
This activity is designed with multiple options for particular steps. When options are presented, you may want to select only one option or multiple options, depending on time, student needs, or other factors. The recommended option for any section is presented in standard formatting.
Directions for completing the Motivators Career Interest Survey:
Go to k20.ou.edu/8c
Select the method you want to use to facilitate survey, either printable PDF or online.
if completing on paper:
Download the PDF. Print a copy of pages 1–4 for each student.
Remove the link from slide 6.
if completing online:
Go to k20.ou.edu/i8
Confirm that this resource is not blocked by your district internet policy.
Introduction
10 Minute(s)
Use the attached Activity Slides to facilitate this session. Display slide 2 and introduce the session to students. Move through slides 3–4 and share the essential questions and learning objectives.
Transition to slide 5 and introduce the Commit and Toss instructional strategy. Give each student one piece of paper. Have students respond to the question on the slide on the paper, and then have them crumple up the paper and toss it across the room. Have students retrieve someone else’s paper and encourage them to share out what the person wrote.
Activity Part I
15 Minute(s)
Move to slide 6 and pass out one copy of the attached Cluster Exploration handout to each student. Have students access the “Career Interest Survey: Motivators Edition” either online or on paper depending on the version you prepared. Encourage students to answer each question truthfully and take their time. Share that they should record the number of check marks they have in each cluster section.
Provide students with time to complete the survey. Then, display slide 8 and ask students to write down their top three scoring career clusters.
Activity Part II
25 Minute(s)
Move to slide 9 and have students access the Making CENTS: Career Clusters infographic. Have students explore the infographic and use the information provided to summarize the focus of each of their top three career clusters using the chart on the Cluster Exploration handout. Ask students to select one cluster they would like to explore further and explain why on the handout. Have them then select one career from their chosen cluster and record it on the handout.
Transition to slide 10. Direct students to mynextmove.org or onetonline.org. Have students use the information from these resources to respond to the Career Questions on the Cluster Exploration handout.
Reflection
5 Minute(s)
Pass out one sticky note to each student. Display slide 11 and introduce the instructional strategy How Am I Feeling? What Am I Thinking? Ask students to reflect on the career survey they took and the information they learned about their chosen career clusters and career pathway. Have them complete the prompts “I am feeling…” and “I am thinking about…” using either words or images.
Resources
Advance CTE. (2025, October 30). Career interest surveys. https://careertech.org/resource-center/series/career-interest-surveys/
K20 Center. (n.d.). Anchor charts. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/58
K20 Center. (n.d.). Commit and toss. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/119
K20 Center. (n.d.). How am I feeling? What am I thinking?. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/187
K20 Center. (n.d.). Making CENTS: Career clusters. Infogram. https://infogram.com/making-cents-career-clusters-1h1749w3gygjq2z
K20 Center. (n.d.). Roundabout conversations. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/196