INL News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2016
NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
Lori McNamara, 208-520-6066, lori.mcnamara@inl.gov
Laura Scheele, 219-381-8672, laura.scheele@inl.gov
Registration now open for summer i-STEM Teacher Institutes
Idaho National Laboratory’s daily operations require skilled technical workers educated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. INL supports and hosts many activities and initiatives designed to inspire the future workforce.
One of the most important ways we do that is by educating the educators. We strive to serve as a regional resource for teachers and administrators committed to educating STEM-literate students.
This summer, Idaho’s teachers again have the opportunity to enhance their STEM knowledge and use that information in their classrooms. Six low-cost i-STEM teacher institutes will be held around the state in June and July:
June 20-23 at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene
June 20-23 at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston
June 21-24 at Idaho State University in Pocatello
June 27-30 at Eastern Idaho Technical College in Idaho Falls
June 27-30 at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls
July 27-30 at the College of Western Idaho in Nampa
Interested teachers can register for the i-STEM teacher institutes by visiting the following website: http://sde.idaho.gov/academic/istem/events.html.
During the workshops, participants choose a specific topic to study, such as clean energy, environmental sustainability, nuclear science, chemistry, computer science, manufacturing, agriculture, gaming and others. They attend sessions taught by STEM experts and participate in general sessions to learn how to integrate STEM, 21st-century skills, career awareness, and the practices of the Idaho Core Standards into the subjects they teach. Participants receive continuing education credits and resource kits.
“The i-STEM program helps educators enhance their STEM content knowledge through context,” said Anne Seifert, executive director of i-STEM and INL’s K-12 STEM manager. “We are proud to support a wonderful team from across the state that is helping sponsor and support this important professional development opportunity.”
This is the seventh year i-STEM has sponsored the K-12 teacher professional development summer institutes. Since 2010, the number of workshops has expanded from two to six. Thousands of Idaho educators and administrators have participated and in turn reach an estimated 17,500 students annually.
The workshops are organized and funded by the Idaho Science, Technology, Engineering and Math initiative, or i-STEM, a partnership lead by INL in collaboration with educators, government agencies and private companies working to improve STEM education in Idaho.
i-STEM members include Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho universities and community colleges, State Department of Education, Idaho State Board of Education, Intermountain Gas, Micron and Idaho Power, and others. More information is available at http://sde.idaho.gov/academic/istem/.
INL is part of the Department of Energy’s complex of national laboratories. The laboratory performs work in each of DOE’s strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science and environment. INL is the nation’s leading center for nuclear energy research and development. Day-to-day management and operation of the laboratory is the responsibility of Battelle Energy Alliance.
See more INL news at www.inl.gov. Follow @INL on Twitter or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/IdahoNationalLaboratory.
—INL-16-009—
