North Columbus News

Earlier this month, 100 K-12 teachers from the Columbus area participated in a program at The Ohio State University designed to enhance classroom innovation. The STEAMM Rising Summer Institute is a collaborative effort among the city of Columbus, Columbus City Schools, Columbus State Community College, and Ohio State. It aims to refine curricula in science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics, and medicine (STEAMM) to align educational progression with career readiness for students.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment in STEM fields will grow "at twice the rate (10.8%) of overall employment (5.3%) through 2031." Ohio's tech industry is expanding rapidly with nearly $54 billion invested by companies like Cologix, Amazon, Intel, Google, Vantage Data Centers, Microsoft, and DBT Data.

Samantha Trzinski from the U.S. National Science Foundation HAMMER-ERC at Ohio State emphasized the importance of introducing students to new career pathways through innovative classroom experiences: "One of the major challenges with workforce development is reaching students at key points in their lives and encouraging them to pursue new lines of learning."

The event offered Columbus teachers exposure to STEAMM-focused activities that can be adapted for their classrooms. Participating departments included the College of Nursing and several other academic units at Ohio State.

Mars G. Fontana Laboratories hosted a session where Professor Elvin Beach and Laboratory Supervisor Pete Fallon guided teachers through material testing demonstrations using MTS Universal Testing machines. Fallon noted how these exercises facilitated discussions about material properties: “The three materials gave them a wide range of results that facilitated conversations around material properties.”

Alex Bandar from NSF HAMMER-ERC introduced hybrid manufacturing systems scalable for classroom use during another session. Teachers engaged in hands-on metal forging activities similar to those led by Fallon.

NSF HAMMER-ERC also conducted Digital Simulation Training for 25 Career Tech Education teachers using digital simulation software DEFORM FEM for metal forging exercises.

Trzinski highlighted how exposing students to STEAMM education prepares them for local career opportunities: “Maybe these students will become materials scientists, engineers, metalworkers or manufacturers.”

Overall, the STEAMM Rising Summer Institute aims to support educators in preparing students for successful careers through applied learning experiences supported by community partnerships.