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Career Adventure Club

The research behind the adventure

Why Career Adventure Club works.

Students can’t be what they can’t see.

Career Adventure Club shows students more careers than they knew were out there, how those careers connect, and where their own interests fit. Here’s the research, and how we respond.

Where students start, and where they end up

From Huh? to Aha!

These are the questions students bring to career exploration. Here’s where Career Adventure Club takes them.

  1. Before CAC “I have no idea what I want to be.”

    After CAC “I can’t wait to see what else is out there.”

    Every adventure opens a door to careers students didn’t know existed.

  2. Before CAC “It’s always the same boring jobs.”

    After CAC “Wait, that’s a real job.”

    Students meet careers like drone technician and underwater welder through Crew Cards and adventures, not lists.

  3. Before CAC “I like science and art. How am I supposed to pick?”

    After CAC “I could actually use both.”

    Role-based ecosystems show how one set of interests leads to many careers.

  4. Before CAC “What do these jobs have to do with each other?”

    After CAC “They actually work together.”

    Location-based ecosystems put many careers in one real workplace.

  5. Before CAC “How am I supposed to know what classes to take?”

    After CAC “I know what I want for my future.”

    CAC connects the careers students explore to your district’s Programs of Study and CTE pathways.

This is why Ecosystem-Based Learning™ matters.

For your district

Before and after Career Adventure Club.

  1. Before CAC

    Careers are taught as isolated jobs.

    Students learn about individual professions but rarely see how they connect.

    After CAC

    Ecosystem-Based Learning™ changes the picture.

    Students explore eight interconnected career ecosystems and discover how different professions share skills, interests, and opportunities across industries.

  2. Before CAC

    Students hear about careers but rarely experience them.

    Career exploration often means videos, presentations, and job descriptions.

    After CAC

    Career Adventures put students in the professional’s seat.

    Students tackle realistic challenges, make decisions, design solutions, and experience what different careers actually involve.

  3. Before CAC

    There’s no room in the schedule.

    CTE leaders want to reach younger students, but schools can’t sacrifice core instructional time.

    After CAC

    Career Adventure Club fits the schedule schools already have.

    Five-minute Bell Ringers, monthly Career Adventures, and a Full Career Exploration Course give districts flexible ways to bring career exploration into the school day.

  4. Before CAC

    Career exploration stops at the classroom door.

    Families may know little about emerging careers or their district’s CTE opportunities.

    After CAC

    CAC Family Exploration brings the adventure home.

    Family Exploration, a dedicated family product, gives students and trusted adults interactive ways to discover careers, recognize interests, and start conversations about future possibilities.

  5. Before CAC

    Local opportunities feel disconnected from career exploration.

    Students may not see how careers relate to their community or high school options.

    After CAC

    CAC School and Community Connections make it local.

    Students discover connections to district Programs of Study, industry-based certifications, local employers, and education and training opportunities.

  6. Before CAC

    Career exploration happens in disconnected moments.

    A career day here, an activity there, with little continuity from one grade to the next.

    After CAC

    CAC builds exploration across grade levels.

    Elementary, middle school, and early high school experiences create opportunities to revisit interests, expand career knowledge, and connect discoveries to real pathways.

  7. Before CAC

    CTE programs are built, but student interest hasn’t caught up.

    Districts invest in pathways, facilities, and equipment while struggling to build early awareness and participation.

    After CAC

    CAC helps districts build the pipeline behind their pathways.

    Early career experiences connect students and families to CTE opportunities, supporting pathway enrollment, CTE concentrators and completers, industry-based certifications, and graduation readiness.

Backed by research

What the research says.
What CAC does about it.

  1. Nearly 2x more likely

    Early career interest beat test scores at predicting a science or engineering degree.

    • Early interest 34%
    • Top math, no interest 19%

    Tai et al., Science

    Start early

    Interest starts early, and it lasts.

    CAC sparks career curiosity in the elementary and middle grades.

  2. Just 10 jobs

    About half of 15-year-olds expect to work in one of the same 10 popular jobs.

    OECD, Dream Jobs?

    Ecosystem-Based Learning™

    One workplace, many careers.

    Students see how many careers work together in one real-world setting, so they look past the same ten jobs.

  3. 23%

    of students work on projects tied to jobs they want.

    Gallup & Walton Family Foundation

    Real career connections

    Students step into the role.

    Every adventure hands students the kind of challenge a real professional faces on the job.

  4. 84%

    of teachers say there isn’t enough time in the workday.

    Pew Research Center

    Ready to teach

    No extra prep. No supplies.

    Student workbooks, Crew Cards, and activities arrive ready for class.

  5. 9 in 10

    students trust their parents for career advice. Family conversations double interest in a pathway.

    Gallup & Walton Family Foundation

    Family & community

    Career conversations everywhere.

    Family resources bring career talk home and community connections bring careers to life, so students hear about careers from the people they trust most.

High school graduation rate

  • CTE students 94%
  • All students 85%

Association for Career and Technical Education

A clear path forward

The foundation for CTE success.

CAC prepares students to choose a CTE program with purpose and see it through.

Our approach

Ecosystem-Based Learning™ (EBL™)

One approach. Two ways to explore.

Role-based ecosystems

Different careers. Shared interests and skills.

From Meet the Builders

Crew card for Diego the Drone Technician, a builder who assembles, repairs, and modifies drones, with what he might work on, where you will find him, and his tools of the trade
Diego, Drone Technician “I assemble, repair, and modify drones for different kinds of jobs.”

Builders

Crew card for Willa the Underwater Welder, a builder who works with steel, tools, and equipment underwater, with what she might work on, where you will find her, and her tools of the trade
Willa, Underwater Welder “I work with steel, tools, and equipment to build and repair things that need to stay strong underwater.”

Students see that one set of interests can lead to many careers.

Location-based ecosystems

Different careers. One shared working environment.

Example: an airport

Airport

  • Aircraft Mechanic
  • Logistics Coordinator
  • Wildlife Hazard Manager
  • Cybersecurity Analyst
  • Employee Training Specialist

Students see how many careers keep one workplace running, and how the jobs around them connect.

No career happens in isolation.

Why screen-free?

Screen-free for students. On purpose.

Because not every great learning experience needs a screen. No student logins. No student platforms.

  • More doing.

    Less clicking. More creating.

    Students write, sketch, and plan right in their workbooks.

  • More thinking.

    Real decisions. Real challenges.

    Every adventure asks students to solve problems real professionals face.

  • More learning.

    Without another login or platform.

    Class time goes to the adventure, not to passwords and tech support.

  • More collaborating.

    Talking, sharing, and solving together.

    Students talk it out with their crew and work through challenges as a team.

  • More discovering.

    Unexpected careers and possibilities.

    Each Crew Card introduces a career students may not know yet.

  • More connecting.

    Ideas, interests, and careers.

    Reflections and community connections tie each career back to students’ own lives.

We believe in technology. We also believe in knowing when to put it down.

The Big Transformation

Before Districts build CTE opportunities and hope students discover them in time.

After Career Adventure Club helps districts intentionally connect students, families, classrooms, and communities to those opportunities, years before students make their most important pathway decisions.

Get Your Free Customized Blueprint

Tell us about your district and we’ll map Career Adventure Club to your priorities, CTE programs, pathways, and community.

  • Your grade bands: K–5, 6–8, and early high school
  • Your schedule: four flexible options, from 5 minutes to a full course
  • Your community: local careers, pathways & partners

Free. Personalized. No obligation.

Get My Free Customized Blueprint