Office of Energy Development Trains Local Teachers
Published: March 31, 2021 | Author: Daviann Kauweloa | Read Time: 2 minutes
Beginning on March 16th, 2021, Southern Utah University’s STEM Center for Teaching and Learning hosted a two-day workshop for the Utah Governor’s Office of Energy Development. The workshop presented teachers in southern Utah with the opportunity to take part in these trainings, something that has not been possible in past years.
The Utah Governor’s Office of Energy Development (OED) has created a curriculum to help students gain a better understanding of the critical role of energy in their lives, through hands-on activities and interactive learning material. The OED partnered with the Utah Science Teachers Association to bring teacher training events that walk through the energy curriculum with lesson supply kits and tips that help and encourage students to explore the energy workforce, both in and out of the classroom. With a system that typically only hosts these workshops in Salt Lake City, many of southern Utah’s teachers are unable to attend and partake in the benefits of the lessons being taught.
"Utah is one of the most energy-rich states and students will play a critical role in the development and use of these energies,” said Dawn Monson, executive director of the Utah Science Teachers Association. “These energy lessons provide teachers and their students with the education needed to utilize scientific thought and skills for the world that they will build. The professional development that was presented on March 16th and 17th at the SUU STEM Center was developed in a collaboration with the Utah Science Teachers Association. All of these lessons and training meet the state SEEd standards and will help students develop problem-solving skills.”
Applicable to both elementary and secondary education, teachers from both sectors joined in on the training, where they were able to participate in various lessons and receive kits that would allow them to bring what they have learned back to their own classrooms.
The location of the STEM Center serves as a wonderful resource as it continues to open up opportunities for STEM education that encourage and engage students within our community. To learn more about the energy curriculum and more ways to bring STEM into classrooms and lives in southern Utah, visit https://energy.utah.gov/energy-education/curriculum or contact SUU’s STEM Center at stem@suu.edu.
Tags: STEM Center