This project funded by

Wadsworth, OH - Educators' Workshop

Grade Level:
4-12
Location:
Wadsworth, OH
About the School:

Arconic Foundation supported STEM teacher professional development for educators in the region surrounding Arconic facilities in Wadsworth, Ohio in July 2016. Partnerships were at the heart of bringing Solar 4R Schools’ education program to eight teachers across five schools in Wadsworth City Schools is expected to reach over 500 local students in the first year. Representatives at Solar 4R Schools connected with Wadsworth City Schools through the Alcoa Foundation, which is also supporting the district’s PRIME initiative (http://www.smeef.org/prime/). This workshop was designed to support a Wadsworth City Schools Energy and Matter STEM summer camp with continuing applications to the classroom. In addition, a representative from Alcoa Wheels also took part in the training and led a discussion with teachers about STEM careers and education for the next generation of industry leaders.

As we learned during the workshop, even on the mostly cloudy day with the right container designs, teachers melted crayons in solar ovens they designed and constructed. One teacher used her multi-colored crayon creation to doodle on her workshop booklet with interesting effects. At the end of the day, one of the participating teacher told us; “I am excited to use the concepts from this workshop to incorporate two new design challenges into my classroom next year. The Solar Cars and Solar Ovens were very engaging and will align wonderfully with the standards that I teach.”

Arconic Foundation is proud to support Solar 4R Schools and bring this innovative program to Arconic communities nationwide. The mission of the Arconic Foundation is to advance science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and skills training worldwide, with a special emphasis on engaging and creating access for underrepresented and underserved groups. Through our partnerships, we are helping to change the perception of manufacturing by creating excitement around the rewarding career opportunities available to the next generation of talent – from career and technical education to the most advanced robotics and digital manufacturing. Solar 4R Schools is a proven and innovative model that we believe can bring to life the issues and solutions around energy management. Energy is a critical component of what we do in industry and in all of our personal lives – it is a topic that we want our youth educated about so that they can solve the problems of tomorrow.