Voinovich School to Offer Professional Development Opportunities for Appalachian STEM Teachers
Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service plans to host three professional development webinars for local K-12 educators in the science, technology engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields.
Through its association with the Southeast Hub of the Ohio STEM Learning Network and the Ohio Museum Complex, the Voinovich School will offer free one-hour Zoom sessions, building on a STEM professional development series that began in the spring. Participants will receive certificates of attendance at the conclusion of each session.
The first event, “Hosting Local Science Fairs,” will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17. The session will provide an overview of how to host a local science fair with a focus on the learning benefits for students. The discussion will identify considerations for teachers and share information on aligning local events with district and state fair guidelines.
In the second event, “Simulating Science Experiments for the Classroom” from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15, teachers will explore classroom science experiments, including a simulated hands-on experiment to engage students. The approach can be applied to a variety of grade levels and science topics.
The final event of this series will present an overview of the “Appalachian STEM Enrichment Academy'' and is planned for Wednesday, Jan. 19 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Appalachian STEM Enrichment Academy is a new resource of the Voinovich School and other partners that provides online STEM learning opportunities and career track development for K-12 students throughout Appalachia Ohio.
The events will be facilitated by Jacob White, a senior executive in residence at Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service. White emphasizes that the sessions are free and scheduled at times meant to be convenient for teachers to attend.
“I would like for the Voinovich School to become recognized by teachers throughout the region as a partner,” he said. “We want to help them. We want to be available to them. We want to do our part to help secure and provide resources that would be of benefit to them.”
The events are co-funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office, PORTSfuture Program, American Electric Power Ohio Foundation, and Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, along with support from the Ohio University Museum Complex.
For more information, contact White at jacob.white@ohio.edu. Register for the webinars here.