Summary
Engaging students in career exploration early is essential to helping them develop informed, purposeful career goals. Participants will explore sustainable career exploration activities that align student career decision-making processes with the ICAP (Individual Career Academic Plan) and Oklahoma Career Pathways frameworks.
Essential Questions
How can professional career talks and site visits support informed college and career decision-making?
Learning Objectives
Analyze GEAR UP Mentoring services and their long-term sustainability
Evaluate how GEAR UP services support ICAP and College and Career Pathway development
Connect Mentoring services to their school by identifying potential school partners and applicable resources
Snapshot
Engage
Engage in a Career Cluster card matching game.
Explore 1
Experience a Zoom Into Your Career simulation.
Explore 2
Determine how Career Cafés align with College and Career Preparation standards.
Explain
Elaborate how GEAR UP services support ICAP and College and Career Pathways.
Extend
Connect Mentoring services to individual schools using 3-2-1 strategy as a guide.
Evaluate
Reflect on mentoring implementation and gather questions on poster paper.
Materials List
Presentation Slides (attached)
Career Cafe Scenarios handout (attached; one per group)
Career Talk Organizer handout (attached; one per participant)
Career Cluster Matching cards (attached; see Preparation Note)
3-2-1 handout (attached; one per participant)
Career Journal handout (attached; optional)
Blue and Orange Sticky notes
Pens
Poster paper
Markers
Preparation
30 Minute(s)
Print the Career Cluster Matching cards, cut, laminate, and sort the 14 Career Clusters and 14 careers into a baggie. Print as many sets as needed based on attendance. Expect to use one set of cards for every 2-3 people.
Print enough copies of the Career Cafe Scenarios handout for there to be a variety of scenarios per table. Cut each scenario out and place all 8 on each table.
Room Set-up: Put two poster papers up around the room, already labeled “Implementation” and “Questions” in a T-chart format. Put blue- and orange-colored sets of sticky notes on each table.
Engage
10 Minute(s)
Use the Presentation Slides to facilitate this session. Introduce the session with the title on slide 2. Move through slides 3-4 to review the Essential Question and the Learning Objectives.
Display slide 5 and explain the Card Matching strategy to participants. Invite participants to find a small group and a bag of cards. Explain that they will be using the Career Cluster Matching cards to match career clusters with potential jobs in that cluster. Individuals will take turns flipping cards, keeping the cards in the same spot on the play area. Participants will play until they match all career clusters and careers. Tell participants that the pairs are color-coded to help. Instruct them to keep any matching pairs and to return any non-matches back facing down. The person with the most matches wins. Give participants 5-6 minutes to complete the game.
After the game is finished, ask participants “Did anyone learn about a new Career Cluster? Maybe you knew the Career Clusters but had trouble finding the career." Then follow-up with "GEAR UP will help you learn more about the Career Clusters, help provide career exploration opportunities related to these Career Clusters, and help match potential career speakers to the needs of your school."
Next, move to slide 6. Give a brief overview of the services GEAR UP Mentoring offers, how GEAR UP informs the K20 CCP (College & Career Preparation) standards, ICAP (Individual Career Academic Plan), the Oklahoma Career Pathways, and long-term sustainability.
Explore 1
10 Minute(s)
Move to slide 7 and pass out the Career Talk Organizer handout and explain that participants will be acting as students who are attending a Zoom Into Your Career (ZIYC) Event.
Move to slide 8 and play Kaden Stratton’s ZIYC video, starting at 38 seconds and ending the video at 5 minutes and 43 seconds: Zoom Into Your Career - Building & Moving with Kaden Stratton
Remind participants to use the Career Talk Organizer as a note catcher while watching the video. Once the video is over, explain that this section of the ZIYC video was only the prerecorded section of the live ZIYC. After this section, the professional joins a live Zoom call with students to answer questions.
Move to slide 9 and ask participants to discuss as a whole group the use of a note taker while listening to a career talk. Ask the participants the following:
“How can keeping a journal enhance student learning?”
“What are some difficulties you could foresee?”
Explore 2
10 Minute(s)
Move to slide 10 and tell participants to take two of the already distributed Career Cafe Scenarios and either work individually or as a pair and read through their chosen scenarios. Once they have read their statement, participants will answer the three questions on their handout. Give participants 3-4 minutes per scenario. Once participants have completed their two scenarios, have them share with others at their table. Guide the participants in explaining how classroom learning aligns with college and career readiness and how making career talks stick with students is impactful.
Move to slide 11 and explain how Career Cafes are designed to help students make the connection between careers and curriculum. Cafes combine student-centered learning and real-world connections to ensure students see that content is important beyond the classroom.
Explain
5 Minute(s)
Move to slide 12 and explain how each of the GEAR UP Mentoring team’s services inform the ICAP phases of Awareness, Exploration, Preparation, and Action. After, ask participants to give a Fist to Five about their understanding of the new Class of 2030 and beyond Oklahoma Career Pathways program. Explain that, while this is a program students will complete during high school, the Mentoring services align with student Career Goals and inform which Career Pathway they should consider pursuing.
Prompt participants to scan the QR code on the slide to have a copy of the Oklahoma Interactive Graduation Planning Guide, which gives more detailed information about the Oklahoma Career Pathways.
Extend
10 Minute(s)
Move to slide 13 and pass out the 3-2-1 handout. Explain to participants that this is a reverse 3-2-1 strategy. Explain that they will write 1 popular career cluster found at their school and 2 teachers they believe could benefit from implementing GEAR UP Mentoring Services. Lastly, explain that participants will be exploring 3 Mentoring resources using the Strategy Harvest instructional strategy. Give participants a couple of minutes to answer the first two questions. Then participants will scan each QR code, or use the URL to explore the GEAR UP resources for each of the services discussed in this session. Participants will describe how the resource was used/modified in the session and how they will use it in their school.
Evaluate
5 Minute(s)
Lastly, move to slide 14 and explain that participants have two sets of sticky notes at their table. They will use the blue colored sticky note to write any implementations they currently have in mind and the orange sticky note for any questions. If they have questions, have the participants write their names and contact information on the back of the orange sticky note.
After a couple of minutes, direct participants to put their sticky notes on each side of the T-chart posters labeled 'Implementation' and 'Questions' around the room.
Follow-Up Activities
Check out these helpful career exploration resources for more guidance on how to engage students:
Research Rationale
Secondary school is essential in developing a student's life, interests, future career, and educational trajectory. Students often use their personalities and interests to help form career decision-making skills throughout their life, but it becomes more prominent in secondary education as they approach adulthood. Personality traits "influence career adaptation by facilitating, or deterring, behavioral performances" (Lent & Brown, 2013, p. 563). Holland's theory of vocational choice notes that "the individual career satisfaction is based on the fit or congruence between the career personality and the environment of the work" (Zainudin et al., 2020, p. 884). By connecting personality traits and interests, students begin to build self-efficacy in career decision-making as students are more confident in engaging in career exploration (Lent et al., 2016). This connection increases an individual's environmental fit and "level of congruence" within an organization (Zainudin et al., 2020, p. 884).
Recent research emphasizes the effectiveness of structured career guidance interventions in improving adolescents’ career decision-making skills. For example, Jemini Gashi et al. (2023) evaluated a career guidance workshop for high school students and found significant improvements in career self-efficacy and career goals after the intervention. Although outcome expectations showed only slight, non-significant changes, the study demonstrates that career guidance workshops can positively influence adolescents’ confidence and clarity in planning their future careers. These findings highlight the importance of providing interactive, structured career interventions during secondary education to support informed decision-making and goal setting.
Similarly, Covacevich et al. (2021) support this idea by stating that students who are engaged in guidance activities they felt were useful to them seemed to likely consciously gain value. Therefore, career interventions such as guest speakers play a significant role in shaping the career decision-making process of individuals. Career experts and professionals bring real-world experiences, insights, and knowledge insights to students during the critical career decision-making period.
Resources
Covacevich, C., Mann, A., Santos, C., & Champaud, J. (2021). Indicators of teenage career readiness: An analysis of longitudinal data from eight countries. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 258, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/cec854f8-en
Jemini Gashi, L., Bërxulli, D., Konjufca, J., & Cakolli, L. (2023). Effectiveness of career guidance workshops on the career self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and career goals of adolescents: An intervention study. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 28(1), 2281421. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2023.2281421
K20 Center. (2026). Career Talk. Educator Resource. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/educator-resource/5208
K20 Center. (2026, May 26). Building & Moving with Kaden Stratton. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TF8mOe4AMw
K20 Center. (2026, April 9). Gear UP: College and Career Preparation Standards. K20 Center - The University of Oklahoma. https://k20center.ou.edu/collegeandcareerpreparation/
K20 Center. (n.d.). 3-2-1. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/117
K20 Center. (n.d.). Card matching. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1837
K20 Center. (n.d.). Fist to five. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/68
K20 Center. (n.d.). Strategy harvest. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/135
K20 Center. (n.d.). Zoom Into Your Career playlist. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-aUhEQeaZXIhi-ivvrQTrrEAlWvFWisR
Lent, R. & Brown, S. (2013). Social cognitive model of career self-management: Toward a unifying view of adaptive career behavior across the life span. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(4), 557-568.
Lent et al., (2016). Applying the social cognitive model of career self-management to career exploration and decision-making. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 93(1), 47-57.
Zainudin et al., (2020). The relationship of holland theory in career decision making: A systematic review of literature. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(9), 884-892.