Now in their third year, the IEEE TryEngineering educator sessions continue to empower preuniversity teachers with specialized professional development programs on engineering topics and classroom-tested lessons.
This year’s sessions, held across the United States, have focused on educating teachers about artificial intelligence and semiconductor technology. One session was held in Egypt.
In all, 54 educators learned about the engineering design process this year. They received an overview of TryEngineering resources including the Making of a Microchip and Train Your Tree lesson plans.
Workshops are scheduled this year in Greece and Guatemala.
The TryEngineering program is administered by IEEE Educational Activities.
These teachers and guest speakers attended the two-day session held at the Florida Semiconductor Institute and SkyWater Technology chip manufacturing facility.IEEE Educational Activities
A network of host universities
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 in engineering education, and they worked with the TryEngineering staff on their presentations.
GEMS International School
Sixteen teachers from nine schools participated in the session, held in Cairo. It was facilitated by Marwa Soudi, an IEEE member, and Senior Member Stamatis 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 the Working With Wind Energy and Tall Tower Challenge lesson plans.
Another educator session is scheduled for later this year.
University of Florida
Educators from across the state gathered at the university’s Florida Semiconductor Institute, headquartered in Gainesville, and FSI’s NeoCity high-tech manufacturing campus near Orlando. The session was hosted by Roseanne Perez, an FSI workforce development program specialist, and Sophia Watson, FSI’s assistant director of workforce development. The two-day experience featured an inside look at microelectronics through a guided tour of a SkyWater Technology chip manufacturing facility.
Engineering instructor Mary Acken facilitated 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.
Arizona State University
Michael Kozicki, an IEEE member, and Stefan Myhajlenko from the university’s engineering school welcomed 11 Arizona teachers to the Tempe campus.
The session was facilitated by Janet 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 the university’s NanoFab facility 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 and e-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.”
University of Minnesota
Sixteen STEM educators attended this session, held at the university’s International Institute for Biosensing in Minneapolis. Its director, Patricia Khashayar, an IEEE member, introduced participants to the capabilities of the university’s Supercomputing Institute and Nano Center.
Under the guidance of Claire Dietz, an education and outreach coordinator, and Pam Schumacher, an instructor at St. Paul College, the teachers completed classroom-ready lessons including a photonics experiment using the Nano Center’s equipment. Schumacher attended last year’s TryEngineering educator session.
Nano Center Director Sarah 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 from Onsemi’s Giving Now program, nearly 80 teachers attended sessions across five U.S. states and Mexico.
Driven by that success and the demand for more, the IEEE Educational Activities Board continued 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 emailing TryEngineering.
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