STEM education focus of conference
Friday, October 24, 2014 2:00 AM
News
Pittsburg, KS
In a few years, Aaron White hopes to be at the head of a classroom teaching his students various principles and facets of science, technology, engineering and math.
In other words, he’s “going into STEM.”
For White and his fellow technology education classmates at Pittsburg State, STEM education is not only a subject in which they’re most interested. It’s an area they deem vital to today’s students’ education.
“I think you’d be hard pressed to find any area of life that doesn’t somehow relate to STEM education,” White said. “Technology is everywhere. Math is everywhere. Science is everywhere. That’s why STEM education is so important.”
That’s also why more than 300 educators and students gathered in Branson, Mo., recently for the third annual International STEM Education Association (ISEA) Conference. Conducted at the Hilton Branson Convention Center, the conference featured a variety of STEM-related sessions and activities aimed at advancing the attendees’ understanding of how to teach STEM principles to students of all grades.
“The idea behind the conference is to put current and future educators in a spot where they can network and learn about new ways to integrate STEM programs into the curriculum they teach or will teach,” said Mike Neden, assistant professor of technology education at Pitt State and ISEA conference chair. “It’s important in today’s world to make sure STEM education is a part of every students’ education.”
Educators and students alike took part in several hands-on activities that could and in many places are taking place in school classrooms.
“What we learned by going through the sessions were ways to bring STEM principles into our classrooms in ways that would keep the students interested and engaged,” said Kriztena Graham, PSU alum and fourth-grade teacher at Pittsburg’s Westside Elementary School. “Students won’t learn if they’re not engaged in the lessons. You have to keep their attention.”
Students from as far away as Wyoming attended the conference, hoping to get a fresh perspective on new STEM activities and how to incorporate them into their future careers.
“It’s really about getting a better understanding of STEM education,” said Stormey Morton, a senior at the University of Arkansas. “I think we’ll all look back in a couple of years and realize that the things we’re doing in our own classrooms are things that we learned about at this conference. It’s an incredibly beneficial for us as students.”
Trevor Maiseroulle, a sophomore technology education major at Pittsburg State, was one of the coordinators of the student “Amazing Race” activity. The interactive competition, inspired by the hit TV show, challenged teams to finish a variety of STEM-related tasks before being handed a clue to where they found their next challenge.
“This is something we did at the first Gorilla Games we held at Pitt State in the spring,” Maiseroulle said. “It’s a competition, but it’s really about using the STEM concepts we’ve learned and putting them to use in challenging ways. It’s educational, but it’s also a blast.”
One of the main benefits of the conference, according to Arkansas senior Alexa Smith, was the networking between students and current educators.
“A lot of the teachers here aren’t much older than we are, so it’s nice to chat with them and learn from their experiences,” she said. “That aspect combined with the hands-on learning makes for a great conference.”