A new collaboration promises to make it HOT for area schools. GEAR UP-ST. LOUIS, Vision GEAR UP, and two community partners - the EnTeam Organization and the St. Louis Science Center - are bringing "Higher-Order Thinking" (HOT) projects to GEAR UP schools.

1. Leadership opportunities (youth collaboration) Older and younger students study and learn together to build mastery of grade-level expectations (GLE’s).

2.Relevance of education to life (professional collaboration) Students, teachers and parents work together to access resources, improve relationships, and use technology.

3.Community involvement (peer collaboration) Students use higher-order thinking skills in community HOT Bowl events.

EnTeam Executive Director Ted Wohlfarth explains that the goal of the HOT project is to engage all four “gears” of the GEAR UP program: students, teachers, families, and community. The primary approach is experiential learning. For example, the metaphor exercise challenges students to work together to solve a problem. HOT Bowl teams answer open-ended questions and their level of cooperation is measured on a scoreboard. The HOT Bowl is unique in that winning requires cooperation - not competition - with other players. It’s about: LEARNING TO WIN TOGETHER.