IEEE Program Schools Preuniversity Educators On Tech Topics

The TryEngineering workshops help teachers deliver engaging STEM lessons An educator constructs a microchip model during the IEEE Making a Microchip lesson plan demonstration. Now in their third year, theIEEE TryEngineering educator sessionscontinue to empower preuniversity teachers with specialized professional development programs on engineering topics and classroom-tested lessons. This year’s sessions, held across theUnited States, have focused on educating teachers aboutartificial intelligenceandsemiconductortechnology. One session was held inEgypt. In all, 54 educators learned about theengineering design processthis year. They received an overview ofTryEngineeringresources including theMaking of a MicrochipandTrain Your Treelesson plans. Workshops are scheduled this year in Greece and Guatemala. TheTryEngineeringprogram is administered byIEEE Educational Activities. These teachers and guest speakers attended the two-day session held at the Florida Semiconductor Institute and SkyWater Technologychip manufacturingfacility.IEEE Educational Activities Central to the educator session program’s success is its university network. Host campuses welcome teachers into their facilities, where faculty provide background information about some of the technologies being taught, as well as possible engineering career paths and job opportunities for students. This year’s sessions involved the educators in hands-on projects. Facilitators at each location were selected based on their experience inengineering education, and they worked with the TryEngineering staff on their presentations. Sixteen teachers from nine schools participated in the session, held in Cairo. It was facilitated byMarwa Soudi, an IEEE member, and Senior MemberStamatis Dragoumanos. Both are past chairs of the IEEE preuniversity coordinating committee. GEMS provided outstanding STEM facilities for teachers, Saudi and Dragoumanos said. Participants received an overview of theWorking With Wind EnergyandTall Tower Challengelesson plans. Another educator session is scheduled for later this year. Educators from across the state gathered at the university’sFlorida Semiconductor Institute, headquartered in Gainesville, and FSI’s NeoCity high-tech manufacturing campus near Orlando. The session was hosted byRoseanne Perez, an FSI workforce development program specialist, andSophia Watson, FSI’s assistant director of workforce development. The two-day experience featured an inside look atmicroelectronicsthrough a guided tour of aSkyWater Technologychip manufacturing facility. Engineering instructorMary Ackenfacilitated hands-on lesson demonstrations for the 15 attending teachers. Reflecting on the workshop’s impact, one participant said the SkyWater tour was excellent, the instructors were great, and the teachers enjoyed learning from like-minded educators. Michael Kozicki, an IEEE member, andStefan Myhajlenkofrom the university’s engineering school welcomed 11 Arizona teachers to the Tempe campus. The session was facilitated byJanet Hartkopf, an Arizona school leader and a former TryEngineering educator session participant. Hartkopf highlighted collaborative learning, the need for diverse perspectives in engineering education, and career paths. The teachers received instruction on how to implement the hands-on lessons in their classrooms, and they toured theuniversity’s NanoFabfacility to observe microelectronics research. “This training was amazing!” said a participant who leads an elementary after-school STEM club. “I loved the hands-on lessons ande-books, which I will definitely be using with my students. I am excited to explore all the resources on the TryEngineering website. The experts from ASU were great.” Sixteen STEM educators attended this session, held at the university’sInternational Institute for Biosensingin Minneapolis. Its director,Patricia Khashayar, an IEEE member, introduced participants to the capabilities of the university’sSupercomputing InstituteandNano Center. Under the guidance ofClaire Dietz, an education and outreach coordinator, andPam Schumacher, an instructor atSt. Paul College, the teachers completed classroom-ready lessons including aphotonicsexperiment using the Nano Center’s equipment. Schumacher attended last year’s TryEngineering educator session. Nano Center DirectorSarah Swisher, an IEEE senior member, provided an overview of semiconductor operations and highlighted growing job opportunities for the state’s young people. The experience inspired all 16 teachers to plan student field trips to the Nano Center during the upcoming academic year, they said. “Great class!” one participant said. “I’m excited to bring some of the TryEngineering materials back to our school.” This year’s sessions built on the momentum from last year when, with financial support fromOnsemi’s Giving Now program, nearly 80 teachers attended sessions across five U.S. states andMexico. Driven by that success and the demand for more, theIEEE Educational Activities Boardcontinued its support. Upcoming global sessions are expected to expand the program’s international footprint. “I appreciated the time to collaborate with peers on how to implement hands-on lessons,” one participating teacher this year said. Some participants said they planned follow-up visits with the experts and campus tours. You can learn more about the sessions by emailingTryEngineering. Debra Gulickis director of IEEE student and academic educational programs.