What do educators do in the summertime? Sometimes they sign up for a bit of extra education themselves.
Over 100 science and math teachers from across the Coastal Bend and dozens of current education students and future teachers attended the 19th annual Me by the SEa STEM educator conference Friday at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
“I really enjoy coming and learning about new projects or new programs or new software that teachers are using that helps them enhance the learning in the classroom,” Bishop CISD middle school math teacher Laura Rivera said.
Over the course of the day, attendees heard from keynote speaker and Texas Teacher of the Year Taniece Thompson-Smith and participated in sessions about technology in the classroom, incorporating nature into lessons, strategies for student growth, teacher burnout and research projects.
Many students are visual and tactile learners, Rivera said.
“It’s neat to incorporate both in teaching math and giving them real-world situations where they don’t realize they’re using a lot of the topics and concepts that we’ve learned in the classroom,” Rivera said.
Moody High School teacher Chris Cavazos, who teaches at the school’s CITGO Innovation Academy, led a session about the design and problem-solving process he uses in his classes, instructing attendees to use the process to build a bean bag catapult.
The activity is similar to the mini-labs he uses in class with students. Cavazos teaches principles of engineering and 3D design.
“They get to build stuff and break stuff and have fun,” Cavazos said, explaining that through projects, students learn about math and engineering concepts, as well as practical skills that prepare them to earn industry certifications while still in high school.
Coles High School science teacher Gary Leary attended a session about outdoor activities and bringing nature into the classroom in the morning. Later that afternoon, he co-led a session with fellow Coles High School science teacher Angelique Fernandez-Leary about how a school garden can enhance student knowledge of biology and food science.
“We had (the garden) a couple of years ago, and we brought it back this year because when you ask kids where food comes from, they say, ‘H-E-B’,” Leary said. “We were like, ‘We’re going to try growing our own food.'”
Students grew food that was then used in food science class.
“They kids got to grow their own food and then cook it,” Leary said.
Leary has attended the annual conference for nearly a decade and has presented for the past several years.
“It’s a great networking opportunity for teachers, finding out about the cool projects that other teachers are doing and how you can bring that back into your classroom,” Leary said.
Most attendees aren’t required to come to the conference by their school districts, organizer and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi professor Faye Brunn said, but they volunteer to do so.
“They get to meet other people in their profession,” Brunn said.
Teachers can see how other Coastal Bend educators are approaching the same topics and connect with others they can turn to for advice if they have a question or problem.
Educators also serve on the conference leadership board.
Robstown ISD coordinator for instructional technology and conference president-elect Rachel Medrano said that after years of attending the conference, she now knows teachers all over the region she can reach out to. She remembers learning new ways to teach fractions and new hands-on activities to bring learning to life.
“I’ve connected with people from Gregory-Portland, Bishop, Calallen, Corpus Christi, West Oso,” Medrano said. “Now I have people in all those districts I can reach out to if I stumble onto a concept that I can’t quite figure out.”
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Hands-on learning ideas shared at teacher STEM conference
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