“STEM Learning Everyday All The Time”
Background of STEM in Mobile County
STEM is a widely-accepted acronym for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It represents the key skills in highly technical careers and training programs offered in the local community. These cross-cutting skills can be found in the top five industries in Alabama including Aerospace, Manufacturing, Maritime, Healthcare, and Construction. As our community continues to draw new industry to our area and as existing industries expand in the region, the demand for a highly skilled workforce increases. STEM exposure in students’ academic careers has the potential to inspire the future generation of our workforce. However, STEM education is more than a workforce development effort. It provides a pedagogical approach to engaging young people as early as elementary school in rich and rigorous content, inspiring students’ sense of curiosity, and giving them the tools and habits of critical thinking to understand the world around them.
In Mobile, STEM education began to take hold in 2006 when the Mobile Area Education Foundation (MAEF) launched its K-12 partnership driven, workforce and economic development initiative called Engaging Youth through Engineering (EYE). The program’s theory maintains that students who have engaging, real-world, hands-on learning experiences are more likely to comprehend the value and relevance of mathematics and science content taught in school. As a result, students are more likely to choose to pursue STEM college and/or career pathways that ultimately meet Mobile’s workforce needs.
MAEF STEM Specialist MAEF STEM Specialist
Johnnie Adams Melissa Nordmann
AM/NS Calvert Steel Mill
AM/NS Calvert is a major supporter of student STEM skill development in Mobile County. MAEF has been charged with assisting AM/NS Calvert in developing STEM skills in the Citronelle High School feeder pattern which in turn will enhance the local workforce STEM job skills for employment into advanced manufacturing and beyond. MAEF has led the way in STEM development by implementing STEM Leadership training and developing a STEM blueprint with the following schools: Calcedeaver K-6, N. Mobile K-8, McDavid Jones K-5 and Lott Middle 6-8. Also, an AM/NS Summer STEM Camp has helped kick-start STEM skills with students and teachers in these communities. The AM/NS Summer STEM Camp engaged students in paper electronics + more electronics, coding + coding devices + Parrot drone coding, Scratch, Unity Gaming + game design, Mavic Drone piloting + video, Lego Mindstorm robots, Vex Robotics, Sunfounder electronics + RaspberryPi, wood bridge building + structures, 3D design + printing products, and Makey-Makey controllers.
We are excited to be going into our fourth year of AM/NS Summer STEM camps and the enhancement of STEM skills for all students in North Mobile County.
MAEF has partnered with ACCEL Charter School and Thompson Engineering to create the Thompson Engineering STEM Studio inside ACCEL Charter school. The STEM Studio will serve the students of ACCEL Day and Evening Academy for the purpose of integrating STEM skills into a Project Based Learning curriculum. Students will learn 3D Design and printing, Vex robotics and Code.org skills in year one. All students will be trained in the STEM skills and produce a product each quarter that correlates with Alabama science and math standards.