Empowering Nevada Educators: The Impact of the Nevada STEM Co-Lab Project
As more Nevada teachers join the workforce to shape and educate the youth in the state, and as technology continues to advance, it is important to build confidence in educators who teach STEM. Enter the Nevada STEM Co-Lab Project.
A collaborative partnership between the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Education and Center for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering; the Desert Research Institute (DRI); and the National Institute for the Advancement of Education — the Nevada STEM Co-Lab project aims to bridge formal and informal education in Nevada communities by providing access to curriculum-centered STEM activities and training for educators.
“This project has been a nice collaboration between UNLV and DRI. It was a successful partnership and is paving the way for additional proposals and ongoing collaboration,” said Hasan Deniz, a science education professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning.
The project comes from a congressionally directed STEM grant with three important parts. “The overall grant was to support the development of the STEM Co-Lab, or the technology learning space in our Las Vegas DRI campus, as well as the development of 16 new Green Boxes covering kindergarten through fifth grade,” said Emily McDonald-Williams, STEM Education program manager for DRI.
Fostering Innovation: Collaborative STEM Co-Lab Sparks Creativity
The Nevada STEM Co-Lab, which is housed at DRI, is a collaborative space for educators to access STEM education resources for training purposes. The grant for the project allowed for DRI to upgrade an existing space creating a dynamic lab for educators to engage in STEM resources and materials, gain practical, hands-on experience and training opportunities in STEM.
The Co-Lab allows for collaborative STEM education that aims to bridge formal and informal curriculum-centered STEM activities and training. The STEM Co-Lab fosters robust experiences and inspires lifelong student engagement of K-12 students in Nevada. It is a place where educators, students, industry professionals, and community partners can collaborate to create a dynamic environment for STEM learning and innovation.
Read the full story on the university’s website.
Tags: STEM, teacher quality, technology
