Free event provides STEAM education to teachers from across West Virginia

ROANOKE, W.Va. (WBOY) — On Wednesday, the annual STEAMPOSIUM was held at Stonewall Resort in Lewis County.

This event is a collaboration among Marshall University’s June Harless Center, West Virginia University’s STEAM Technical Assistance Center (STEAM TAC), and the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE), according to Erika Klose, Director of PK-12 Academic Support for the WVDE.

The STEAMPOSIUM was free of charge and open to all PK-12 educators from across the state with the goal of providing education about different opportunities in STEAM so teachers can bring this knowledge back to their students.

“Our West Virginia educators are constantly seeking new opportunities to learn,” Klose said. “To learn more about new and upcoming skills, new and upcoming research, new and upcoming technologies. And this event provides a wonderful venue for our educators to learn new things and bring them back to their classrooms.”

Attendees were separated into different grade bands based on what age they teach and were sent through different stations related to learning and technology in their grade band.

Program Director of STEAM TAC Jennifer Schwertfeger said that the educators who attended the event cover a wide array of content areas. She also said that by inviting these educators into the STEAMPOSIUM, they’re hoping to “really encourage them, to guide them and to inspire them in all things STEAM learning.”

Schwertfeger said that many attendees are returning teachers from last year’s conference and have come to her and informed her of all the benefits they saw in their respective classrooms as a direct result of the education received.

“I’m a firm believer that STEAM is the key to the future,” said Cherish George, a seventh-grade science teacher from Jackson Middle School in Wood County. “Through hands-on experiences like we’ve been doing today—whether it be drones or forensic studies, I do believe that we can incorporate it into any subject area, any classroom setting.”

George said that this is her first year attending the conference, which she heard about through STEAM TAC. When STEAM TAC began advertising a free event aimed towards educators, George said she “immediately grasped at the opportunity to attend.”

“It’s been a blast so far—learning new ideas, hands-on activities to do with the students back in Wood County,” she said.

She feels that many of the lessons she’s learned from the STEAMPOSIUM can be modified to be used in any lesson plan, stating that they align with any content standard. Her favorite lesson was learning how to program and fly drones. Her group used the drones to determine the needs of farm settings, and they tackled those needs by programming and coding the drones.

“We had to code the drone in order to reach a certain target, and it was all around agriculture—which I’m a huge fan of,” George said.

Even if they can’t attend the STEAMPOSIUM, George said that she feels every educator, no matter the subject matter, should reach out to STEAM TAC and schedule an immersion visit . These visits are free of charge and open to all West Virginia public schools that serve students in grades 5-12.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com.