Partnering to bring engineering concepts to Elementary Students

A partnership between Michigan Technological University (MTU) and the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education (http://www.wupcenter.mtu.edu) provides valuable learning experiences for K-12 students, teachers, and families throughout a five-county area, well beyond the limited staffing and budgets of typical rural school districts. Most of the programs are delivered with assistance from university students, both volunteer and paid, as well as university faculty and staff. Two programs developed through this partnership were established with NSF funding: (1) Family Science Nights where math, science, engineering, and technology (STEM) majors earn credit to develop and present lessons for K-12 students and their parents, and (2) paid internships for university STEM majors to teach after-school enrichment classes for K-12 students. The purpose of these two programs was to introduce K-12 students to engaging, hands-on activities in math, science and technology that utilized engineering applications, and provide an opportunity for STEM majors to work with K-12 students to determine if a teaching career is of interest to them. This paper will describe the benefits of the partnership that has been developed and provide a case study of the internship that was created for undergraduate STEM majors to teach after-school STEM enrichment classes to K-8 students.