K-12 STEM Education News

72 middle and high school students and 26 teachers from Atlanta, Gwinnett, and Clayton County Public School participated in STEAM Innovation Workshops at Georgia Tech during the spring and summer of 2020. The spring event consisted of five unique breakout workshops to engage students in STEAM activities taught first-hand from Georgia Tech faculty and community professionals.  The summer teacher professional development consisted of a 3-week, interactive online professional development program for GoSTEAM teachers.

Julia Varnedoe, Gifted Education Specialist at Mount Bethel Elementary School, was selected as a Grand Prize Winner of The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation Teacher Innovator Awards sponsored by Raytheon Technologies. Varnedoe was 1 out of 10 Grand Prize winners and was the sole winner from the state of Georgia.

For many years, K12 students were able to discover Georgia Tech's campus through exciting science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) based learning programs hosted in the summer by the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC). This year's registration had already begun when the recent shelter in place orders resulted in the need for students to stay at home. Through its new STEAM Whistle Workshops, CEISMC was able to respond to this challenge by quickly moving to a virtual online platform.

Georgia Tech’s K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals held on March 11th, 2020, featured 98 teams of K-12 student entrepreneurs from across Georgia. The competition resembles the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize. It encourages elementary, middle, and high school students to present projects that identify real-world problems and design unique solutions.

Special exhibit at the Richards Gallery of the Ferst Center for the Arts gave faculty and staff the opportunity to showcase their creative side through a personal representation that is separate from their identity at Georgia Tech. Dr. Diley Hernandez, Senior Research Scientist at Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC). Diley submitted a painting to visually represent her interpretation of “Welcome Home” titled “Sunflowers.”

Thousands of people focused on the future of Georgia Tech by helping us complete phase one — visioning and drafting — of Georgia Tech’s strategic planning process. Now, the process moves into the goal-setting phase that will include an opportunity for review and input from the Georgia Tech community.

The Georgia Tech Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) will host the 2020 Honeywell STEM Challenge Showcase and Awards Ceremony at the Georgia Tech Student Center on January 29th, 2020.

The challenge for Metro Atlanta middle and high school students is to design a technology-based solution to a problem in their home, school, or community. This year's theme is disaster preparedness and response. 25 student finalist teams accompanied by their teachers will showcase their solutions. A public viewing of the showcase will be held between 10:20 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. 

Excel at Georgia Tech has been restructured into CEISMC, moving the program out of the Scheller College of Business, and into a centralized unit within the Office of the Provost.

Amazon is teaming up with EarSketch, co-led by Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Professor Brian Magerko, and singer/songwriter Ciara for the latest phase of the Amazon Future Engineer program.

This summer, CEISMC facilitated over 30 sessions developed for rising 4th-12th-grade students for the CEISMC Summer PEAKS program on-campus. Students participated in sessions that cover topics in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM).

Four-year project will bring teachers into Georgia Tech labs and create new curriculum materials for them to use in class.

Georgia Tech’s K12 InVenture Prize, held on March 13, 2019, pushed students to approach the innovation process from a unique and challenging perspective inside and outside of the classroom. 

The nationwide NSF - 2019 STEM for All Video Showcase shares short videos on the progress and impact of K-12 STEM learning and teaching projects that are funded by the NSF and other government foundations. This year, the Georgia Tech Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing, (CEISMC), submitted 3 videos to the showcase.

Rosemary Pitrone, a graduating senior at Georgia Tech, provides insight on the advantages of holding a student assistant position during college.

At the 2019 STEM Teacher Leadership Program (STLP) Symposium, students participating in the Honeywell STEM Challenge presented their engineering projects designed to solve real problems in their communities. Pettrus Konnoth and Divij Motwani, sixth-grade students at Autrey Mill Middle School in Fulton County, won first-place overall for their project, “Blind Sight.”

The Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics & Computing (CEISMC) utilizes the resources and expertise of the Georgia Tech community to enhance K-12 education and to prepare students for college and careers in STEAM fields. One of the goals of CEISMC is to address the lack of equitable access to STEAM education and opportunities for many students today.

Approximately 80 middle and high school students from Gwinnett County, Clayton County, and Atlanta Public Schools came to Georgia Tech to participate in the STEAM Innovation Workshop. The workshop consisted of three sessions focused on specific subjects: computer science and music technology, paper mechatronics, and engineering and robotics.

Effective immediately, the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC) will become a unit within the Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U).

On March 29, 2019, Dr. Meltem Alemdar, Associate Director for Educational Research & Evaluation for the Georgia Tech Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) was featured on "The Story Collider - True Personal Stories About Science" podcast on https://www.storycollider.org.

Sirocus Barnes from Horizons Atlanta at Georgia Institute of Technology has been named as one of two recipients of the 2019 Horizons Leadership Award, which is given to a Horizons Executive Director or Site Director who contributes both on a local and national level and embodies the spirit of Horizons: inspiring minds, building community, and transforming lives.

The Georgia Tech CEISMC Summer PEAKS programs will provide Elementary to High school rising 4th-12th-grade students a summer inspiring explorartions in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

The Center for Education Integrating Science Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC) at Georgia Tech is recruiting dynamic individuals for our 2019-2020 Innovators-in-Residence Cohort.

Through its partnership with Code.org, CEISMC provides professional development sessions at Georgia Tech to help Georgia K-12 teachers implement computer science curriculums in their classrooms.

Georgia Tech CEISMC fall and winter sessions of K.I.D.S Club and STEAM Workshops provide K-12 students with a wide variety of activities that aim to introduce students to new and fascinating STEM concepts.

A study conducted by Georgia Tech CEISMC researchers examining the impact of middle school engineering courses has been published in the International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology. The results suggest that students who enroll in at least two of the engineering courses perform significantly better on standardized tests than students who do not enroll in any.

Researchers at CEISMC have completed Phase I of a study that examines how the personal networks and self-efficacy beliefs of Noyce teachers impact retention in high-needs schools.

The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design will have an impact far greater than the Georgia Tech community—it is meant to transform the entire Southeastern United States. One way to impact our region, and in particular our state, is to engage with K-12 schools. CEISMC will create an outreach curriculum pertaining to The Kendeda Building. This curriculum connects the State of Georgia’s teaching standards directly with biologically-inspired elements of the Living Building Challenge to help guide students’ understanding of how nature and science can help solve the many challenges of achieving Living Building Challenge certification.

Fayette County middle school teacher Dr. Kathleen Lanman was named one of the Top 10 Innovative Teachers by the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovators. Lanman works extensively with Georgia Tech’s K-12 InVenture Prize.

CEISMC partnership with M.R. Hollis Innovation Academy’s yields its first cohort of Innovators-in-Residence, who helped integrate technologies such as robotics kits and 3D printers in K-12 classrooms during the 2017-18 school year.

Valdosta State University education majors spent the summer gaining real-world teaching experience while also making an impact in the lives of young learners through Atlanta Horizons at Georgia Tech program.

This summer, high school students from CEISMC’s GoSTEM program participated in Fun Summer of Service (FSOS).  The program was designed to provide opportunities for students to both help others and gain community service hours for their college applications. Over time, FSOS has expanded its scope to include college tours.

Lizanne DeStefano, executive director of the Georgia Tech Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing, is one of 18 inaugural members of the STEM Education Advisory Panel of the National Science Foundation. The new panel will advise the interagency federal Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Science teacher Carrie Beth Rykowski of Cumming, Georgia, is one of the 2018 recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The White House announced the award on June 25. The recognition is the highest for excellence in teaching that is available to K-12 mathematics or science teachers in the U.S.

This spring, CEISMC hosted a discussion panel called “Representation Matters: Black Images in STEM” that followed a screening of Black Panther at Regal Atlantic Station. Panelists, who hailed from a variety of fields and professional backgrounds, reflected on the film and discussed how figures in media can illuminate opportunities in STEM for young people.

Winners from the K-12 InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech held in March compete and place at the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo.

The Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping Integrated to Unlock Potential (AMP-IT-UP) program at Georgia Tech will be featured in the 2018 STEM for All Video Showcase funded by the National Science Foundation. The online event will be held May 14 -21, 2018.

Horizons Atlanta at Georgia Tech is participating in Horizons Giving Day, a national effort on May 16 with a single goal: to raise more than 1 million dollars to expand existing Horizons programs and bring Horizons to more communities and families nationwide.

The STEAM Leadership Conference aims to help STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) decision makers – including superintendents, curriculum coordinators, principals, academic coaches, content specialists, teacher leaders, and artists – lead their districts and schools in becoming more STEAM-focused.

On March 17, 2018, Georgia Tech’s GoSTEM program held its Sixth Annual Latino College and STEM Fair. Latino families from Atlanta and beyond came to Tech’s campus to learn about college and STEM opportunities through workshops and panel discussions.

On March 14, 2018, Georgia Tech hosted 89 elementary through high school teams in the K-12 InVenture Prize tournament. The competition promotes student engagement with the engineering design process and empowers participants to pursue their innovative ideas. Competition winners will advance to the National Invention Convention & Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE) later this year.

The new STEM Teacher Leadership Program promotes computer science, computation, coding and software engineering skills. The program is a joint effort of Georgia Tech and Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the company’s corporate citizenship initiative.

February is Black History Month, a special time set aside to celebrate the contributions of African Americans. The College of Sciences joins the celebration by inviting the perspectives of African-American colleagues through a two-part Q&A.

CEISMC hosted a Division C regional tournament for the Science Olympiad, a nationally recognized competition for enhancing science education and interest. The regional tournament took place at Georgia Tech in the G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons.

Georgia Intern Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) program provides K-12 science, mathematics, and technology teachers with paid summer internships in university research laboratories and STEM industry workplaces. K-12 teachers can apply for the 2018 program now.

Georgia Tech held its sixth annual MLK Sunday Supper in the Bill Moore Student Success Center. Sirocus Barnes, Program Director for CEISMC and MLK Sunday Supper coodinator, reflects on the event and the importance of Black History Month.

For the sixth year in a row, the Georgia Tech community will partake of a community meal to discuss the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The meal is called Sunday Supper, even though it takes place during the workweek. The gathering evokes Sunday dinners of yore, when two or more generations of family and friends shared a comforting meal. It was a time to exchange stories, learn family histories, and discuss current events or concerns. 

The University System of Georgia recognized Sirocus Barnes for service excellence, awarding Barnes the Bronze Outstanding Individual Award. 

CEISMC and Georgia Tech College of Sciences​ are in need of volunteers for the Science Olympiad Division C Regional tournament held at Georgia Tech​ on February 10, 2018. If you are interested in being part of this exciting event, please sign up at tinyurl.com/gatechscioly.

The 2017 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology is quickly approaching and we are gearing up for another amazing event. As the Region Six University Partner of the Siemens Foundation, Georgia Tech receives innovative research science projects from high school students representing Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and Puerto Rico. The students are scheduled to present their research, via a virtual platform, November 17-18, 2017, with this be the sixteenth year in a row that Georgia Tech has had the privilege to partner with the Siemens Foundation to host this outstanding competition.

AMP-IT-UP teachers Cheryl Wilder and Kathy Duke from Griffin-Spalding County schools participated in an ECOGIG research cruise to the Gulf of Mexico. The cruise provided the teachers with real-world experiences that they will apply in the classroom, where they have been teaching their seventh graders three AMP-IT-UP modules on ocean ecology.

Teaching computer science to high school students requires creativity. A musical app called EarSketch proves to be the ideal learning instrument.

CEISMC's Meltem Alemdar, Sirocus Barnes, and Diley Hernandez recognized as Faces of Inclusive Excellence at Georgia Tech’s Ninth Annual Diversity Symposium.

CEISMC has been awarded a two-year  National Science Foundation (NSF) grant of $426,500 to explore social networks and self-efficacy as factors influencing the retention of Noyce teachers in high-needs schools. Funded by NSF, the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program recruits and prepares highly effective K-12 STEM educators to teach in high-needs schools

Georgia Tech participated in the 2017 NSF STEM for All Video Showcase: Research & Design for Impact. Its submission highlighted the AMP-IT-UP NSF Math and Science Partnership.

The GoSTEM program provides a unique mentorship experience for Gwinnett County Public students. Georgia Tech senior and mechanical engineering student Juan Turcios has experienced both sides of this unique relationship: as a mentee and a mentor. His participation as a mentee led him to pursue higher education at Georgia Tech while his work as a mentor has focused on pushing students to stay motivated in school despite the challenges they face.

Three young inventors from the state of Georgia won major awards at  the 2017 National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE), held on June 1-3, 2017, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA.

A team of volunteers put together by Sean Rodrigues, a Ph.D. student in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Georgia Tech, held a mini workshop series titled "A Day of Light" that aimed to both unify the concept of optics to K-12 students and to introduce them to career pathways in the field. 

Georgia Tech has selected Sirocus Barnes as one of the recipients of the 2017 Outstanding Performance Staff Award. Barnes is the director of the Horizons at Georgia Tech program at the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC).

Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) Evaluation Team collected interview data from attendees at the Science Festival Expo.

5th Annual Latino College and STEM Fair was hosted by CEISMC’s GoSTEM program and the University of Georgia’s LISELL-B initiative at Georgia Tech as part of the Atlanta Science Festival.

Each year, Georgia Tech hosts the FIRST LEGO League State Championship Tournament and welcomes more than 200 budding engineers and scientists to campus.

K-12 InVenture Challenge @ Georgia Tech encourages students to find and solve problems.

Jeff Rosen of CEISMC at Georgia Tech receives a special recognition award at the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) 79th Annual Conference held March 16-18, 2017 in Dallas, Texas.

Through the PRIME Research Experiences for Teachers Program, Hatzell and Okoh have partnered to create an innovative way to teach high school students electrochemistry techniques for water purification.

Georgia Tech’s InVenture Challenge encourages K-12 students to identify real-world problems and test solutions while exposing them to engineering and entrepreneurship. It is an extension of the Institute’s annual InVenture Prize, which awards cash prizes and fosters college students’ interest in innovation and startups.

The STEM-focused Academy is one of the first of its kind in the state – distinguished by its unique partnership with Georgia Tech – and is emerging as a model for other schools looking to travel a similar path. But this success is no accident. Behind the smiling faces of the Hollis students, staff and faculty is the support and leadership of its founding principal – and product of the Atlanta Public School System – Dr. Diamond Jack. Dr. Jack recently welcomed us into Hollis to show and tell the incredible journey to date of the Hollis Innovation Academy. Read her Q&A below and find out why Hollis is getting the gold star from parents, students, educators and community members alike.

MakeHer Mentor is a group of six through eighth-grade girls who get together after school to learn all about coding.

Georgia Tech hosted children from Horizons Atlanta for a special holiday party. The non-profit identifies and partners with under-served children, to help them keep pace all the way through school.

GoSTEM finishes a busy Fall with 3 special STEM events at its partner schools.

The science scores of Georgia students improved from six years ago, according to the latest Nation’s Report Card, which measures “what U.S. students know and can do in different subjects.”

Three-year grant aims to transform Georgia’s information technology curriculum in K-12 schools

Three students have been named National Finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology after earning top spots in one of two regional competitions that took place this past weekend.

In a collaboration with CEISMC at Georgia Tech, the Michael R. Hollis Innovation Academy has formed a new afterschool STEM program entitled “Hollis Hackers”. The goal of the program for 3rd and 4th graders is to inspire interest in computer sciences and engineering.

The Associate Director of School and Community Engagement at the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC), Dr. Tamara Pearson, leads CEISMC’s partnership with M. R. Hollis Innovation Academy to integrate STEM components in the classroom. She shares her vision for the initiative and her focus throughout the journey so far.

Horizons Atlanta at Georgia Tech soapbox derby racing team, “Team Swarm”, competed in the Georgia Gravity Games, sponsored by City of Douglasville, Georgia Tech, and Google.