CERL Hosts Local teachers' STEM Workshops

Published Sept. 9, 2011

Sept. 9, 2011

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In August, for the second time this year, ERDC's Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) hosted a group of local math and science teachers for workshops under the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program. The workshops "teach the teachers" how to use different tools in their classrooms to encourage students' interest through hands-on experiences.

Eighteen teachers took part in the science section, choosing either Nanotechnology or Food Packaging, both of which are included in Material World Module (MWM) kits. Each MWM session includes discussion time followed by a laboratory design challenge. After the workshop, the teachers were given, through STEM, the module and supplies for their classroom, valued up to $1,000 each. For the Nanotechnology training, led by Stu Schultz with the National Center for the Advancement of STEM Education (NCASE), the teachers were challenged to make a model of an atomic force microscope to measure nanoscale structures using basic office supplies.

Before the exercise began, CERL's Dr. Kensey Amaya and Dr. Rebekah Wilson demonstrated an actual atomic force microscope, which is used in biosensor and other research. They also participated in the design challenges and made themselves available as resources for the teachers during the school year. "It gave the teachers a unique opportunity to see the actual device," said Schultz. "That's how the DOD [Department of Defense] labs are so helpful to the STEM program because teachers can interact with scientists and engineers and see that they are real people who are fun to be around. It also lets them see how research and development is going on right here in their own town."

The Food Packaging course provided a look at how different types of foods could be packaged for transport and storage, how the packaging is insulated, and the packages' potential to be recycled. The design challenge was to develop packaging for a baked potato delivery service that would allow proper protection and insulation. CERL's Susan Drozdz baked the potatoes for the workshop section the night before the lab work. Dr. Kathryn Guy also shared her professional knowledge with the attending teachers.

"We could bring in any material we chose to design our packaging," said Theresa Feller, a teacher from an Urbana school. "It had to be able to maintain a certain temperature and to withstand dropping from different heights."

A second workshop for math teachers presented three-dimensional gaming using Tabula Digita products comprising DimensionU, for which local schools were given licenses through the STEM program. This computer program includes games that make learning math principles more fun. Twelve teachers, along with CERL's Dr. Michelle Swearingen and Dr. Dan Valente, participated in the math section, which was led by Joelle Shostell and Michaelyn Conley, NCASE.

"These inquiry-based labs are a good way to round out our curriculum," said Bryan Foli, a teacher with Centennial High School. "Otherwise, we teach and test, and the students are done. This lets them have a hands-on experience and to learn by trial and error."