Building Excitement in K-5 STEM Education – A Conference Success!
The Building Engineers in K–5 Classrooms 2024 Conference (BE Conference) welcomed over 350 educators from North Carolina, including representatives from 48 counties. The Conference was held on Friday, April 26, 2024, at the McKimmon Center on the campus of NC State University. Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin, Executive Director of SERVE at UNC-Greensboro, welcomed the group and recognized conference organizers and educators for their commitment and dedication to STEM education.
The guiding focus of the RC6 Building Engineers program is to guarantee ALL students in North Carolina access to high-quality STEM practices and career pathways. The program provides ongoing support to LEA cohorts, resources and materials, and statewide support through the Annual Conference and the STEM Teacher Collaborative. Steve Johnson, the Regional Comprehensive Center 6 (RC6) STEM Specialist for SERVE at UNC Greensboro has led the conference through his work with RC6 for the past three years.
Dr. Charles Aiken, Section Chief of Mathematics, Science, & STEM for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), provided remarks about the importance of viewing STEM education beyond the four walls of the classroom. Audience members were fascinated by the example he shared of Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir 4: Fly to Paradise, which used 8,409 videos, and 5,905 singers from 101 countries to create a digital experience that showcased digital technology and various math, science, and engineering tools to create a seamless experience. He also provided information about how the NCDPI supports the work of STEM through robotics grants, digital teaching learning grants, a STEM Teacher Collaborative, and STEM Schools of Distinction.
“Building Empathetic Engineers to Save our World” was the topic of the morning keynote speech given by Dr. Laura Bottomley, Director, Engineering Education at NC State University. Dr. Bottomley noted in her talk, “Every challenge in the classroom is an opportunity for growth – both for our students and for ourselves. We need to prepare them to solve the challenges that we’ve never experienced before. We need to teach them to be socially responsible, to be optimistic. Let’s not train the wonder out of our students. Let’s let them be excited.”
The K5 Engineers Conference would not be complete without our elementary school students! This year’s conference featured a Student Showcase, where attendees had the opportunity to observe students doing inspiring STEM work. The showcase featured projects that students were working on in classrooms across the state. As one attendee noted, “the children were engrossed in their activities, and it was exciting to see the inspiration and joy of learning that they exhibited.”
The lunch keynote featured Rolanda Baldwin, Vice President of Mathematics at UnboundEd. Ms. Baldwin’s presentation focused on the important topic of diversity and inclusion in STEM education. Her presentation was titled “Eliminating the Black Unicorn”, and she shared her personal journey in STEM education, as well spoke about the importance of “reimagining what it means to experience STEM success.”
From “Books + Bots: What’s the Buzz?!” to the “Sky’s the Limit: Elevate your Curriculum with Drones!”, the conference offered five learning sessions throughout the day for attendees on 32 different topics and featured more than 50 presenters who represented the best STEM K-5 educators across North Carolina.
The conference was made possible through a partnership between the NCDPI and SERVE, as well as the following exhibiting partners: Center for Inquiry-Based Learning, Robo Wunderkind, Code.org, hand2mind, Lakeshore Learning, Burroughs Welcome Fund Drone Legends, UnboundEd, and Sphero.
The statewide Building Engineers initiative represents a partnership between the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and SERVE‘s Region 6 Comprehensive Center. Learn more about Building Engineers in the K-5 Classroom program.
Post by: Judi Rossabi, SERVE Communications Specialist
Photos: by SERVE staff
