STEM education focus of tech workshop

  Wednesday, June 11, 2014 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

A hands-on workshop at the Kansas Technology Center this week helped K-12 educators learn how to implement STEM concepts into their classrooms.

The two-day STEM Activities for Educators workshop was taught by Mike Neden, associate professor of Technology and Workforce Learning. He said the purpose of the course was to introduce teachers to engaging STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities that they could use with their students.

“We want to continue to promote STEM education at all levels, and the best way to do that is to incorporate activities and lessons that are both relevant and timely for students,” Neden said. “We want students to be able to understand why they’re learning certain concepts and how they’ll use them in their lives.”

The workshop projects included building a solar-paneled hot dog cooker, catapult and intermodal transportation system using Rokenbok materials.

“These are activities that are educational because they hit every aspect of STEM,” Neden said, “but they’re also fun and will keep the students engaged and interested.”