Arizona State University’s new education program, called Engineers Serving Education, is introducing the field of engineering to elementary and middle school students in metropolitan Phoenix. According to a press release on the Arizona State University website, faculty members from the university’s Teachers College and Schools of Engineering and up to 200 engineering students are offering their expertise to teacher candidates on how to deliver STEM lessons in the classroom. The engineering students demonstrate activities, such as how to design a sail to capture wind energy, which the teacher candidates can then use in their classrooms. The idea behind the project is to get future teachers, and consequently students, excited about STEM through inquiry-based learning. The partnership is one of many efforts nationwide aimed at improving STEM instruction and preparing more qualified math and science teachers.
A version of this news article first appeared in the Teaching Now blog.