Defined in Texas

Defined connects classrooms to careers through deeper learning. Our vision is to transform learning environments where every student discovers their potential through authentic learning experiences that bridge education and future success. Explore how the Defined ecosystem aligns with and supports career-connected deeper learning in Texas!

Defined & Texas

Defined & Texas Alignment

Alignment with Texas Standards

Defined's projects align with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) helping bridge classroom content with authentic career applications, enabling students to develop and transfer knowledge while building essential future-ready skills.

Our ecosystem of career-connected deeper learning resources and offerings supports Texas's Effective Advising Framework (EAF), providing schools and districts with the tools needed to set and measure students' Portrait or Profile of a Graduate (PoG) goals through high-quality content combined with an assessment system designed around key objectives.

Career-Connected Learning

Defined's comprehensive career-connected learning platform supports the Texas Education Agency's Career and College Exploration (CCE) TEKS, which requires students to develop career awareness, explore career clusters, reflect on personal skills and interests, and write post-high school career plans. Our ecosystem provides districts with tools and resources that can enhance their implementation of Texas's Perkins V State Plan and support the coordination of secondary and postsecondary CTE pathways across the state's 53 programs of study aligned to labor-market demand.

Defined includes hands-on and minds-on projects across all career clusters, allowing students to explore and experience real-world industry scenarios. Students develop higher-order thinking skills and gain valuable career experiences to help them make informed decisions about their future whether they are entering the workforce or continuing their education.

Additionally, Defined offers a customized platform built exclusively for Texas schools, Texas@Work. This platform bridges the gap between education and industry by providing students with authentic work-based learning (WBL) experiences. Texas@Work empowers career exploration and networking preparing Texas students for success in the workforce.

Defined Careers Elementary School

Computer Science & STEM

From artificial intelligence to renewable energy, today's most pressing challenges require computer science and STEM skills. We help educators connect K-12 students to these exciting career possibilities through career-connected deeper learning experiences that bridge classroom concepts with real-world applications.

Defined's engaging projects advance the goals of Texas's STEM Framework, EcoSTEM, exciting students about computer science and STEM careers and empowering them to build the future-ready skills they need to succeed.

Partnerships in Texas

Explore Our Engaging Career-Connected Projects

Defined provides K-12 career-connected learning opportunities for every student. Our extensive course catalog contains standards-aligned academic programming across all grade levels and subject areas. Our projects actively engage students in hands-on experiences that offer a real-world perspective, mirroring the work of industry professionals to expand career exploration for all students. Check out a few Defined Learning and Defined Careers projects below!

Defined Careers Grades K-2

Computer Programmer: App Designer

Students take on the role of an App Designer to create a fun and engaging app for students to use during indoor recess. This app should be educational and something students can play together.

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Defined Learning Grades 2-3 Math

Backpack Designer

In this task, students will explore how math and engineering play a significant role in product design. They will be measuring to ¼ inch and determining areas to help design and manufacture a backpack for a specific audience.

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Defined Careers Grades 3-5

Veterinary Assistant

Students step into the role of a Vet Assistant. Vet Assistants work with pets and their owners. They help take care of sick and hurt pets. Part of their job is to teach pet owners how to care for their pets to keep them from getting sick. Students make sure pet owners have the information they need to keep their pets healthy.

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Defined Learning Grades 3-5 Life Science

Wildlife Biologist: Bats

Students step into the role of a wildlife biologist studying bats. Acting as an expert, students explore the important role bats play in the environment while working to dispel common myths about these fascinating and beneficial creatures. Students will also explain how bats use echolocation to navigate and survive. Their ultimate goal: to get the public excited about welcoming bats into the neighborhood!

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Defined Careers Grades 6-8

Biomedical Engineers

Students apply knowledge of engineering, biology, chemistry, computer science, and biomechanical principles to the design, development, and evaluation of biological, agricultural, and health systems and products, such as artificial organs, prostheses, instrumentation, medical information systems, and health management and care delivery systems.

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Defined Learning Grade 6 Math

Food Truck Entrepreneur

In this task, students will be creating their own food truck. Students make informed decisions about the food they'll be serving, the truck, and their business strategies. Additionally, students will create equations to create a fuel expense chart and determine profit and income for a monthly budget.

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Defined Careers Grades 9-12

Game Designer

Students step into the role of a Game Designer, designing core features of video games. This role includes specifying innovative game and role-play mechanics, storylines, and character biographies; creating and maintaining design documentation; and guiding and collaborating with production staff to produce games as designed.

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Defined Learning Grades 9-12 Biology

Forensic Entomologist

Students take on the role of a Forensic Entomologist helping the production staff of a new streaming series create a show focused on forensic science, and specifically how forensic entomology can help to solve crimes.

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Read the Research

Explore how Defined is connecting classrooms to careers through career-connected deeper learning in Texas!

Webinar: Driving Student Success with Career-Connected Learning

In this webinar, educators from across the country, including Michael Pflug from Region 10 ESC, share their insights on how to provide K-12 students with meaningful career-connected learning opportunities that build future-ready skills and expand career pathways.

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Case Study: Aligning & Assessing for Career Readiness

Learn how Region 10 ESC in Texas aligned their curriculum toward future readiness through cornerstone tasks and how they assess student achievement towards those goals.

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Webinar: Equity is the "E" in STEM

Learn how Duncanville Independent School District in Texas utilizes career-connected deeper learning and project-based learning to promote equity and inclusivity across their STEM curriculum.

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White Paper: Career Readiness Through Career-Connected PBL

Explore the career readiness solutions Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma and Grand Prairie ISD in Texas are implementing to help students explore careers and build the critical skills they need to be successful in the future workforce.

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Webinar: Educating for Authentic Performance: The Essence of Future Readiness

PBL expert Jay McTighe and Michael Pflug, the former K-12 STEAM Curriculum Designer at Proper ISD in Texas, dive into how authentic project-based performance tasks help students build the real-world skills and transfer abilities they need to succeed in college and the workplace.

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White Paper: Evidence-Based Strategies to Boost Student Engagement and Success

In this white paper, we share what the experts have to say about the Understanding by Design (UbD) and project-based learning approaches providing examples from districts, including Richardson ISD in Texas, that have effectively implemented these strategies to boost student success.

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Webinar: Driving Student Success with STEM and CTE

PBL and STEM experts and administrators from Grand Prairie ISD in Texas share how they're improving student outcomes through STEM and CTE diving into the steps they took to create a unified team and how they are engaging students in high-quality projects based on authentic career scenarios.

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Interested in learning more about how Defined can support Texas's goals and initiatives?

Ready to see how Defined can transform education in your school or district? Request a demo with Texas's designated partnerships representative today and witness how our platform bridges classroom learning with future success.

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