TEACHING THE TEACHERS  College of William and Mary 2009 STEM Summer Institute Assistant Director Jason Kramer (second from right) helps train Arnold High School math teachers, Chris Coan (far left), Ronada Rushing and Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division Mechanical Engineer Jeff Feldstein. Photo by Dan Broadstreet

Designing Their Own Pathways to Success

A Unique Program Enables Students to Pursue Professional Careers in Technical Fields

By Lee Gordon

Mosley High School sophomore Ian Gamble is a science whiz. But even a gifted student like Gamble likes to have fun — which, for him, involves figuring out how to program a military-style robotic metal detector to find land mines.

That’s one of the big reasons why Northwest Florida educators are so excited about a new program that teams area high school students and teachers with the region’s cutting-edge defense research think tanks.

Gamble got to mix his love of robots, rocketry and science with learning in a summer institute geared toward future scientists and engineers. And with the hands-on training he received, the Bay County teenager is likely well on his way to a successful career in science or engineering.

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program, which began in Bay County in 2008, was designed to stimulate student interest in STEM-related careers. That means students such as Ian had the opportunity to build a metal land mine for a metal detecting robot and could even program their robots to attack a series of problem-solving tasks.

“It made me realize how fun science and engineering can be — that it isn’t all just desk work and boring,” Gamble says. “In my opinion, the hands-on projects we were given are probably one of the better ways to teach kids, especially students who may need a little more of a boost.”

Bay District School Board Chairwoman Ginger Littleton says the STEM experience really has two audiences — teachers and students.

“First, teachers learned robotics, environmental testing and rocketry in preparation for working with the students,” she says. “Students were totally engaged in hands-on learning and were quickly able to grasp complex concepts and apply them. The lesson for teachers was that moving students to apply their learning paid great dividends.”

Bay High School sophomore Sahara Peters believes what she learned over the summer could be an enormous help as she prepares herself for higher education studies.

“The STEM program could help me succeed in medical school by placing me in a difficult situation where I have to rely on teammates to solve problems,” Peters says. “If for some reason I had to take an engineering class in college, I would be grateful for my exposure to STEM.”

The summer institute took place in June at the Florida State University Panama City campus’s Holley Academic Center. In 2008, the program consisted of one week with middle school teachers and one week with rising eighth graders. In 2009, about 200 middle and high school students trained with teachers, scientists and engineers to program robots, study environmental aspects of coastal waters and train with some of the Navy’s state-of-the-art electronic sensors.

“I learned a lot about robotics. That was really fun,” says Rutherford sophomore Caleb Whitcomb, who attended the institute both years. “We did that thing where we had to create an amphibious vehicle, and I learned a lot on how to do that kind of stuff. We learned about different circuits and robots.”

Signe Redfield of the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Panama City Division says the robots were used to solve a series of tasks similar to the ones that professionals grapple with all the time.

“We need the robots to sense their environment and get useful information out, and we need to be very clear about the instructions we give them,” Redfield says. “The problems the kids had to solve required their robots to face exactly the same challenges.”

The institute was funded in part with a $240,000 grant from the National Defense Educational Program. AT&T provided an additional $100,000 grant so the STEM program could hold a summer camp for area high school juniors and seniors in July and August.

The project came together because of the vision of David Skinner, an assistant professor in electrical engineering at FSU Panama City and former executive director of the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Panama City Division. Organizers point out that the partnership between the participating school districts and the National Defense Education Program is a “marriage made in heaven.”

“The goal is to enhance STEM interest and education in the classroom … and show the fun side of science and engineering,” Skinner says. “This program trains teachers to provide a hands-on learning experience for the students in a way that has traditionally not been available in the classroom.”

Students go on to attend Gulf Coast Community College and then earn a baccalaureate and a graduate degree in engineering at FSU Panama City. They can then go straight into the work force in Bay County. With Tyndall Air Force Base, the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Panama City Division and numerous government contractors in town, local students who have experience in the STEM program will have a leg up on their competitors in getting a job at one of the many engineering firms in Panama City.

“There is a shortage of scientists and engineers in the U.S., particularly among U.S. citizens,” Skinner says. “Science and engineering (careers) are very good professions, as starting salaries are at $55,000. And jobs are available in our area. It was natural to seek funding to stimulate interest by local students.”

Littleton agrees that students have vast opportunities to start out at competitive salaries in Bay County.

“For those who avail themselves of these educational opportunities, chances that they will remain in the area and add breadth and depth to our communities are excellent,” Littleton says. “This type of opportunity, I would venture to say, does not exist in any area of our size in the country.”

The Bay County STEM program was modeled after the Virginia Demonstration Project, which is overseen by the College of William and Mary.

“W&M folks have been very helpful in helping us shape our program,” Littleton says. “That having been said, this program is tailored for the districts involved and has moved this summer toward the structure and planning being done by teachers in the districts. We will continue to tweak the program and to ensure that it remains creative and innovative while meeting the needs of the students involved.”

Ed Linsenmeyer, a scientist at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division and a naval liaison for the National Defense Education Program, is the Florida STEM Coordinator.

According to Linsenmeyer, the STEM Educational Alliance seeks to measurably increase the number of students pursuing college degrees in science and engineering.

“It is our hope that with the support of the federal funding, as well as public support, in several years we will have reached into the elementary schools to hook students early on the value and the fun of science and math,” Littleton says. “Five years out, our goal is to have every student and every math and science teacher in the districts involved excited and prepared to participate in what continues to be an amazing and fun learning experience.”