The Statler College offers a free engineering boot camp for K-12 teachers

The engineering boot camp was created to help K-12 teachers in West Virginia integrate engineering concepts into their classrooms.

Igniting a child’s passion for engineering stems from many places and the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University has created an engineering boot camp to help K-12 teachers in West Virginia integrate engineering concepts into their classrooms.

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Offered this August to teachers from rural West Virginia, the one-day Engineering Boot Camp is a training program that will give the teachers an opportunity to share ideas, lessons, and connections for integrating science, technology, engineering, and math into their school year curriculum. Sessions and topics are selected to demonstrate that STEM is everywhere and can be woven throughout multiple subjects already being taught.

“We believe that training the next generation of professionals starts with investing in developing their love for STEM,” said Pedro Mago, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the Statler College. “We are excited to offer this program to build strong relationships for our rural communities’ support and integration.”

Community partners are Keri Law, Title I Reading Interventionist with Berkeley County Schools in West Virginia and Melissa Workman educational consultant of the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative Sparking Early Literacy Grant.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources on this teacher training initiative,” said Keri Law, the director of the literacy grant. “Our goal is to enrich learning opportunities by equipping educators with activities and empowering them to facilitate transformative learning experiences for all students for the challenges of the 21st century.”

Participants in the program will gain access to educational resources and engineering/STEM curriculum, hands-on activities, and instructional kits. The Lane Innovation Hub will provide a collection of design, machining, building, and fabrication spaces for creating STEM prototypes for classroom integration. Participants will also become a part of the Statler College network that includes industry and college professionals.

“These efforts will further enable us to develop opportunities for K-12 students in our state while promoting greater STEM awareness and integration to increase science and engineering literacy,” said Cerasela Zoica Dinu, associate dean for student, faculty and staff engagement and camp organizer.

The inaugural Engineering Boot Camp for teachers will be held on August 12, from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. at Evansdale main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. For more information contact, Cerasela-Zoica.Dinu@mail.wvu.edu.

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