There’s never one set path to success after high school graduation. Whether your students pursue advanced degrees, military service, trade school, or research, the foundations you lay now help them see how learning extends beyond school walls to real life.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) and STEM work hand in hand to make real-life connections meaningful. Together, CTE and STEM equip students with the skills, confidence, and curiosity they need to thrive in college, in their careers, and in life. November is also National Career Development Month, a perfect time to help students apply their skills and discover new career paths open to them.
The impact of CTE and STEM for career development
What is CTE? Career and Technical Education provides students with the experiences and skills to enter the labor market or pursue further training. CTE is typically delivered through learning courses and programs in high school, community college, or vocational trade schools.
You already know that STEM learning builds critical thinking, inquiry, problem-solving, and collaboration skills. CTE takes those same skills and connects them directly to real-world applications. When students can see how math, science, and technology translate into meaningful work, like designing eco-friendly buildings or developing a new medical tool, they become more motivated and engaged. CTE courses might also spark new interests, helping students fine-tune their next steps after graduation.
What is a CTE pathway?
A CTE pathway or program is a sequence of courses that guides students toward a specific career area while giving them authentic, hands-on experiences. Think of it as a roadmap that links classroom concepts to real-life skills and industries, often through work-based learning. Schools or districts may create their own CTE pathways or learning plans tailored to specific industries in their geographic region, such as agriculture, manufacturing, or hospitality tourism.
Common CTE pathways include:
- Health science – applying biology and chemistry to real medical scenarios
- Information technology – exploring cybersecurity, programming, and digital systems
- Engineering and manufacturing – designing, testing, and building innovative solutions
- Agriculture and environmental science – tackling sustainability and global challenges
- Business and marketing – developing communication, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills
By following a structured learning framework, students acquire both academic knowledge and practical experience in a specific field of study. With CTE, students gain confidence and begin to see themselves as capable professionals, often earning industry certifications or credentials before graduation.
Building future-ready STEM skills with Gizmos
If you’re looking for ways to connect STEM learning to your CTE pathways or curriculum, ExploreLearning Gizmos can make that connection seamless.
With more than 550+ interactive Simulations, STEM Cases, and Investigations, Gizmos help students explore, experiment, and build career-ready knowledge. From environmental science to agriculture and engineering, students can test ideas, analyze data, and solve real-world problems with Gizmos, just like professionals in STEM and technical fields.
Whether you're building out a specific CTE pathway or want to strengthen your curriculum with hands-on, standards-aligned content, Gizmos provide options across multiple subject areas. Here are a few examples of how Gizmos enhance CTE topics.
Energy, Environment, and Utilities: In the Microbiologist Mission: Reducing River Runoff and Pollution STEM Case, students act as microbiologists to monitor bacteria populations, construct a model of how pollution enters a river, and design a sustainable solution to minimize human impacts on the Dogwood River watershed.
Agriculture and Natural Resources: Using the Genetic Engineering Gizmo, students identify useful genes from bacteria, insert the desired gene into a corn plant, and then compare the modified plant to a control plant in a lab setting.
Engineering and Manufacturing: In the Earthquake-Proof Home Gizmo, students design and test various house designs to withstand an earthquake in San Francisco.
Health Science and Medical Technology: Give students real-world practice that goes deeper than a textbook with the Circulatory System Gizmo. With this simulation, students trace the path of blood through a beating heart and take blood samples from different vessels to observe blood cells and measure the levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, sugar, and urea.
Preparing students for the future workforce
Bringing CTE and STEM together is one of the most powerful ways to prepare students for success beyond your classroom. Gizmos make it easier by giving you ready-to-use, standards-aligned simulations that spark curiosity and build real-world readiness.
- Need funding? Secure resources like Gizmos with Perkins V funding specifically for CTE programs.
- Need Virtual Career Days? Bring guest speakers to your classroom virtually with on-demand and interactive STEM Career Presentations.
- Need standards-aligned resources alignment? Every Gizmo supports state and national STEM standards. Browse the correlations!
This National Career Development Month, give your students hands-on ways to connect learning to real-life work skills and future career paths. Start your free Gizmos trial and see how easy it is to bring CTE and STEM exploration to life in your classroom.