Marshall University’s Weisberg Division of Engineering has been hosting teachers from states represented by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) for two weeks of specialized engineering training.
This is the sixth year that Marshall has hosted the training, which is taking place in the Weisberg Applied Engineering Complex and has attracted teachers from across the southern United States. Under the supervision of Dr. Richard Begley, an engineering professor in Marshall’s College of Information Technology and Engineering, the training began June 11 and continues through Friday, June 22.
Thirty-six high school teachers have traveled here to prepare for project-based engineering courses at their home high schools. Each teacher has the opportunity to participate in four different workshops, including Integrated Production Technologies, Energy and Power, Innovations in Science and Technology, and Automated Materials Joining Technology.
“The investment our institution has made, and is making, in our engineering facilities and staff serves as an excellent combination for the SREB Advanced Career program,” Begley said. “The high school teachers are getting hands-on training in setting up experiments that help integrate the STEM subjects in projects that have been selected by industry and academic experts. The projects help prepare high school graduates for entry level jobs or for further academic studies in the high demand technical fields for their states.”
This training qualifies them to be certified to teach engineering-related courses at their high schools and obtain grant funding from various resources.
It’s also a wonderful recruitment tool for Marshall, Begley said.
“The masterful job that the SREB has done in achieving participation from high schools in 16 different states has greatly enhanced our opportunities to recruit college students into our engineering programs,” Begley said. “Many of the projects that the high school students work on in this program are uniquely similar to projects common to our first-year engineering courses.”
For information regarding next year’s SREB training, contact Begley by e-mail at begley@marshall.edu or visit https://www.sreb.org/advanced-career.
