As schools around the state prepare to open their doors for the fall, 50 grade-school teachers will return to their campuses prepared to answer a classic student question: When will they use what they’ve learned?
N.C. State’s Kenan Fellows, a group comprised of elementary and secondary educators, attend a summer conference for hands-on leadership training each year that includes laboratory time and mentoring sessions with professionals from the University and elsewhere in the Triangle.
During the program, members of the group engage in an 18-month fellowship with University researchers and industry scientists. Teachers participate in a five-week research “externship” and two-week professional development program.
The teachers are placed in research labs, manufacturing facilities, hospitals and other workplaces to see how researchers and industry professionals use Science, Technology, Education and Math education on the job.
After the completion of these externships, the fellows attend mentoring sessions that help them design classroom curricula that implement what they have learned.
Now in its 12th year, the Kenan Fellows program has brought 250 teachers from 50 counties across North Carolina to participate in the seminar. Ruben Carbonell, director of the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science, said he has seen the benefits of the program first-hand.
“It’s shocking, but approximately 50 percent of all teachers leave the profession after the first five years,” Carbonell said. “That being said, 92 percent of teachers who have gone through the Fellowship program are still teaching in their respective fields.”
After completing the program, the Kenan Fellows take what they have learned from their summer work experience back to the classroom where they create STEM lessons that involve students with relevant and practical applications.
“During their time with the program, the teachers are taught how to write proposals for STEM grants,” Carbonell said. “Ultimately they learn how to be leaders and advocates for student success.”
The other part of the participants’ duty is to pass their knowledge to fellow educators. Carbonell said the renewed excitement about educating students drives participants to supplement their communities with opportunities to increase outside excitement as well.
Kenan Fellows lead interest-specific workshops and study groups with other teachers, and they also present papers at various STEM education conferences.
Efforts are left to participants to ensure teachers’ time as Kenan Fellows is prosperous. Due to recent state-level budget cuts, the program has shifted most of its funding to individual and corporate donations and sponsorships.
“Though our funding now comes from largely private-sector sources, we’re still feeling the effects of the cuts, much like the rest of the University,” Carbonell said.
The Kenan Fellows program’s corporate partners include Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Cisco Systems, Duke Energy Progress, Lenovo, NASCAR, SAS, and WakeMed Health and Hospitals. Educational partners include Appalachian State University, Meredith College, Duke University, N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill. Governmental partners include NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Regardless of the potential financial hardships, Carbonell said he is optimistic about the future of the program and the ultimate mission of the Kenan Fellowship.
“Our main goal is to keep teachers teaching,” Carbonell said. “Of course we can’t reach every teacher in the state, but having the participants go back with their own ideas ensures educators will transfer their enthusiasm to the students.”
