I was delighted when my work was featured recently on the Kenan Voices site – an online newsletter for the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership. Not only do I owe my summer corporate research experience to them and the learning opportunities gained for my students, but getting a shout out by them was an exciting surprise!
See their post HERE.
Through the work I did this summer in the Ply Gem Insight Center, their North Carolina home for research and development, I not only fulfilled a need for the company, but also learned about a variety of STEAM careers to share with students. The integration in the R&D lab of engineers from different disciplines can directly translate to project-based learning units in the classroom. When teachers are given opportunities to see careers available to our students, it helps make learning more focused on the types of collaborative learning teens need now so they can perform in the future. Indeed, it is especially important for those of us who teach at schools where students are first-generation college and/or below poverty levels to see manufacturing, industry, and corporate careers. As someone who came to teaching after working in business, I had a good handle on what type of employees I wanted, but getting this opportunity to view it from the science side (I’m an English teacher) was particularly useful to me.
Thank you to both Ply Gem and Kenan Fellows for expanding my teaching palette! I can’t wait for implementation of the lessons I’ve developed.