Summary
In this GEAR UP Overview session, high school faculty and staff will be asked to identify the activities and experiences that students need to be prepared for a career and postsecondary education. They will also recognize how GEAR UP supports schools and their staff in creating these experiences.
Essential Questions
What activities and experiences in high school prepare students for postsecondary education (PSE) and careers?
What GEAR UP services will help you implement or facilitate those activities and experiences in your school?
Materials List
Presentation Slides (attached)
Note Catcher (attached; one per participant)
GEAR UP Services Posters (attached; one set per session)
K20 Center’s LIFE Grant Infogram (linked)
Sticky Notes
Objectives
Participants will identify the goals, benefits, and expectations of school participation in GEAR UP.
Participants will recognize the collaborative partnership between the school and K20 Center in GEAR UP.
Engage
Using the attached Presentation Slides display slide 2 to introduce participants to the session. Transition to slide 3 and introduce participants to the Commit and Toss instructional strategy. Explain that they will be answering the question on the slide on a piece of paper and then crumpling it to toss across the room. They will then retrieve a different paper and share what was written. Once participants have shared, move to slides 4 and share participants to the learning objectives for the session.
Use slides 5–6 to briefly provide context about the GEAR UP for LIFE Goals and the cohort model. For example, share how the grant started working with the current cohort students in sixth and seventh grade.
Explore
Display slide 7. Instruct participants to navigate to the K20 Center’s LIFE Grant Infogram. Remind participants not to log in to just view the infogram. Introduce participants to the I Notice, I Wonder instructional strategy. Direct participants to find the “I Notice, I Wonder” section on their Note Sheet. As participants explore the goals and benefits of the GEAR UP grant they will record things that they notice (what stands out or seems important) and things they wonder (questions they have about the grant).
Explain
25 Minute(s)
Transition to slide 8. This is where participants will spend the majority of their time. Instruct participants to navigate to the services on the infogram by selecting the large gear in the center.
Guide participants through the GEAR UP for LIFE Goals and the cohort model. Pass out sticky notes to each table. Instruct participants to select one service from each section to read about. Remind them that there is a space on their Note Catcher to write down services they want to remember. Explain to participants that they will write down questions or comments about the services and place them on or around the corresponding posters.
Once participants are done reading and writing questions, go over the sticky notes on each service and address the questions with the group.
Extend
After a few participants have shared about the services they reviewed, move to slide 9 and ask the question: How can the GEAR UP for LIFE services support the experiences students need to be successful after high school? Remind participants about the experiences they mentioned during the Commit and Toss. Then, facilitate a discussion about how GEAR UP will aid in these experiences. This discussion should lead directly to participation opportunities (roles and responsibilities) within the grant services.
Evaluate
Transition to slide 10. Remind participants that this is a partnership. In many ways GEAR UP services can support experiences that are already happening in your school. Invite participants to share ways in which they could support the goals of GEAR UP in their classrooms. Close the session by reminding participants that this grant is a marathon not a sprint.
Research Rationale
The stakeholders who are working within the GEAR UP grant to support the partnership between the district and the K20 Center are crucial to the implementation of GEAR UP services. Welcoming and priming these stakeholders to a new program is important. It not only establishes buy-in but introduces K20 Center and its mission, approach, and ideals as well as to the GEAR UP program and its goals. Inquiry throughout the session allows participants to explore this relationship, discerning how the K20 Center and GEAR UP work together to establish a college- and career-going culture that leads to life-altering benefits for students, families, and the larger school community.
Resources
Hanbai. (2024, October 22). Family [Illustration]. The Noun Project. https://thenounproject.com/icon/family-7353010/
K20 Center. (n.d.). Commit and toss. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/119
K20 Center. (n.d.). I notice, I wonder. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/180
K20 Center. (n.d.). Think-pair-share. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/139
Liez Art. (2025, March 27). Student [Illustration].
The Noun Project. https://thenounproject.com/icon/student-7777751/
miftakhudin. (2025, September 3). School [Illustration].
The Noun Project. https://thenounproject.com/icon/school-8063999/
Susanto, E. (2025, March 12). Services [Illustration].
The Noun Project. https://thenounproject.com/icon/services-7693550/