STEM in the Workplace

STEM in the Workplace: a professional development initiative of The Education Foundation

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“STEM in the Workplace” is The Education Foundation’s most recent professional development offering for Trident area teachers who work in the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

Over the course of the summer and in partnership with The Citadel’s STEM Center of Excellence, 52 Trident area teachers participated in a professional development institute. The week-long institute consisted of two days spent at a STEM-related business and three days of instruction in “project-based” teaching strategies to enhance teaching of STEM disciplines and 21^st century workplace skills.

Project Based Learning (PBL) is based on the idea that real-world problems capture students’ interest and provoke critical thinking as the students acquire and apply new knowledge in a problem-solving context. Teachers worked to develop project-based lessons in STEM for implementation in the 2011-12 school year.

Through a generous grant awarded by The Boeing Company, participating teachers spent two days with a business partner learning a SITW externship hosts bout the unique needs of the industry and how STEM skill sets relate to their workforce needs. The teachers got to see first-hand the types of skills needed to succeed in that particular work environment. Likewise, area business partners had the opportunity to get a glimpse into the daily life of teachers who are having a direct impact on the quality of their future workforce.

Each business partner shared project ideas with teachers that would strengthen specific competencies for students who may have an interest in their field of work after graduation “The STEM in the Workplace initiative strengthens our region's future workforce. It gives teachers skill-based STEM tools for use in classroom applications which makes lessons authentic and relevant for students. Students who have experienced STEM in the classroom may become our future engineers, chemists, doctors, or accountants and enjoy a higher standard of living and quality of life than if they had never been exposed to these programs,” said Amy Kovach, Chair of The Education Foundation and interim Community Relations Coordinator for Berkeley County School District.

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For more information about this initiative contact Angie Rylands, Regional STEM Coordinator, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 843.805-3077.

Visit the Buck Institute for Education or click here to learn more about Project Based Learning and how to incorporate PBL into your classroom teaching.