Summary
Participants will reflect on their early career and college interests, explore postsecondary institutions through a virtual scavenger hunt, and collaborate with peers to learn about different college and career pathways. Through interactive discussion and information sharing, participants will deepen their understanding of postsecondary options and the importance of planning campus visits as part of college and career exploration.
Essential Question
How can exploring postsecondary institutions and planning campus visits support informed college and career decision-making?
Learning Objectives
Explore a variety of postsecondary institutions and educational pathways.
Identify programs, opportunities, and features available at different postsecondary institutions.
Recognize how the College Edge Campus Visit Checklist and ICAP (Individual Career Academic Plan) planning tools support exploration of postsecondary opportunities and future career pathways.
Use Campus Visit Checklist to identify important factors to consider when planning a campus visit and exploring postsecondary options.
Snapshot
Engage
Using Mentimeter, participants reflect on careers or majors they were interested in during middle school.
Explore
Participants will explore postsecondary institution (PSI) locations using the virtual scavenger hunt sheet.
Explain
Groups will share facts about their PSI using the Three Stray, One Stays strategy.
Extend
Participants will connect learning to the state-level ICAP campus visit checklist.
Evaluate
Participants will connect planning a campus visit and PSI information.
Materials List
Presentation Slides (attached)
Virtual Scavenger Hunt Deep Dive handout (attached; one per participant)
Checklist for Campus Visit handout (attached; one per participant)
Oklahoma Edge: Campus Visit Checklist handout (attached; one per participant)
Sticky notes (at least 3 different colors)
Poster paper (optional)
Pen/pencil
Preparation
15 Minute(s)
Set up your own Mentimeter and add the new QR code and entrance code to slide 3.
Create a list of relevant Post Secondary Institutions (PSIs) to be assigned to groups during the Explain section. Update slide 6 as needed.
Place three different colored sticky notes on the table groups so that each participant has at least 6 sticky notes (3 of one color, 2 of another, and 1 of another). For the narrative, use the colors blue, orange, and pink. Prepare a space to collect three different groups of sticky notes (see the Extend section).
Engage
10 Minute(s)
Use the Presentation Slides to facilitate this session. Introduce the topic with slide 2, then move to slide 3 and invite participants to access the Mentimeter reflecting on the question: “Thinking back to yourself as a middle schooler, what career or major were you interested in?” Give people time to respond. Consider displaying the Menti results as people respond. After enough time has passed, have participants share out as a whole group, table group, individually, or with an Elbow Partner.
Continue introducing the session with slides 4-5 going over the essential question and learning objectives in as much detail as needed.
Explore
20 Minute(s)
Display slide 6. Place participants in groups of 4-5 or allow them to select groups themselves. Assign a Post-Secondary Institution (PSI) campus to each group or allow groups to pick from the list you generated. Distribute the Virtual Scavenger Hunt Deep Dive handout to all participants.
Have groups use keywords to research information about their assigned campuses in order to complete their handouts. Direct participants to explore multiple sections of the institution's website, including admissions, academics, student life, financial aid, housing, athletics, and student support services. As they investigate, participants should gather information related to the scavenger hunt prompts, including the institution's location, type of school, degrees offered, admission requirements, campus life opportunities, tuition costs, and available student support services. Encourage participants to record their findings on the worksheet and identify information that stands out to them or influences their perception of the institution.
While participants are working, circulate throughout the room to answer questions, support student research, and encourage deeper thinking by asking questions such as, "What makes this institution appealing to you?" or "How does this school connect to your future goals?"
Allow participants time to work.
Explain
20 Minute(s)
Move to slide 7 and introduce participants to the instructional strategy Three Stray, One Stays. Have group members decide who will be their “expert” and stay at their table while everyone else moves to different groups to learn about different PSIs. Explain that experts will be in charge of presenting what the group learned about their chosen PSI to the “strays” who come to you from other groups. Transition to slide 8 and explain that the rest of the table will be “strays” or migrating groups. Each “stray” from a table group will go to a different PSI table to listen carefully and ask clarifying questions. They will have a sticky note to write down some key items from the PSI group to take back to their original table. Set the K20 5-minute timer then have “strays” come back to their original table and teach their members what they learned.
Extend
10 Minute(s)
Move to slide 10, pass out the Oklahoma Edge: Campus Visit Checklist handout, and explain that it’s a resource that students may use before, during, and after a future campus visit. Using the 3-2-1 strategy and colored sticky notes, have participants read the document and write down 3 benefits of using this resource using blue sticky notes, 2 questions they still have on orange sticky notes, and 1 way they can implement this resource before/after the campus visit on a pink sticky note. Once completed, have participants post their sticky notes on the prepared designated spaces, organized by color.
Evaluate
10 Minute(s)
Move to slide 11. Distribute the Campus Visit Checklist handout to participants. Explain that this checklist outlines the steps that counselors, school staff, and chaperones may need to complete before and during a campus visit. Ask participants to read through the checklist independently or with a partner. As they read, have them underline tasks they think are easy to complete and do not require much bandwidth and circle tasks they think may be challenging or a barrier in making a campus visit successful. Allow participants time to work then ask for volunteers to share their ideas as a whole group.
Follow-Up Activities
Do this with students! Check out our Campus Visit Scavenger Hunt: Be a Recruiter resource and use the attachments as needed.
Research Rationale
College can be a life-altering experience for students, and not only academically. Here are just a few of the ways in which college can change students' lives for the better: Earning a bachelor's degree enables students to earn, on average, $1 million more than high school graduates over the course of their careers (Abel & Deitz, 2014). College offers students an opportunity to build relationships with mentors and peers that can benefit them throughout their careers (Campbell, Smith, Dugan, & Komives, 2012). College graduates tend to have greater job satisfaction, jobs that offer a greater sense of accomplishment, more independence and opportunities for creativity, and more social interactions in their jobs than noncollege graduates (Oreopoulos & Petronijevic, 2013). Graduating from a college or university increases the chance of employment. Over the last 20 years, the unemployment rate for college graduates has been approximately half that of high school graduates (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). College helps students develop skills that prepare them for careers in the tech-driven economy, including nonroutine, abstract skills that aid in problem solving, multitasking, and creativity (Oreopoulos & Petronijevic, 2013).
Resources
Abel, J. R., & Deitz, R. (2014). Do the benefits of college still outweigh the costs? Current issues in economics and finance, 20(3). https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci20-3.html
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2018). Labor force statistics from the current population survey. https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat07.htm
Campbell, C.M., Smith, M., Dugan, J.P., & Komives, S.R. (2012). Mentors and college student leadership outcomes: The importance of position and process. The review of higher education 35(4), 595-625. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2012.0037.
College Board. (2022). College search. Big future. https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search
K20 Center. (n.d.). 3-2-1. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/117
K20 Center. (n.d.). Mentimeter. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/645
K20 Center. (n.d.). Three stray, one stays. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/85
K20 Center. (2025). Campus visit scavenger hunt: Be a recruiter. Educator resource. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/educator-resource/2353
K20 Center. (2021). 5-Minute Timer. YouTube. https://youtu.be/EVS_yYQoLJg?si=XZd5SIPmZx-yhrug
OKcollegestart (n.d.). OKcollegestart, Oklahoma college assistance program. https://www.okcollegestart.org/
Oreopoulos, P., & Petronijevic, U. (2013). Making college worth It: A review of research on the returns to higher education. Working Paper 19053. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series. https://doi.org/10.3386/w19053