PITTSBORO – Two East Surry High School teachers were among 11 educators who attended the STEM Educator Solar Institute sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the CREATE Energy Center earlier this summer at Central Carolina Community College’s Chatham Main Campus.
Alison Hooker and Amy Jessup, both from East Surry, joined nine other educators from around the state for the workshop.
“The camp has been very well received,” said Andy McMahan, one of the instructors from Central Carolina Community CollegeMcMahan. “We have an audience that is able to take what we’re teaching and apply it however it will fit in their classes. I’m really excited about what we’re doing.”
The Solar Institute is intended to provide high school and community college educators with an opportunity to learn about curriculum resources the CREATE Center has developed for educators, gain experience using tools of the solar trade, and learn ways they might be able to incorporate solar energy lessons into their own classrooms. To facilitate the adoption of lessons they learn over the three-day workshop, participants receive an equipment stipend to help purchase materials they would need to bring the hands-on experiences to their students.
“It’s really fun to teach other teachers,” said Jennifer Clemons, another instructor from Delaware Technical Community College. “They’re learning some really great stuff. … It’s a really great opportunity.”
Instructors explored fundamental solar and electrical principles, and learned processes to ensure electrical safety and code compliance – and even learned how drones are being used throughout the solar industry. During the Institute, participants also explored hands-on classroom lab activities that bring solar energy to life for students and shared strategies and techniques for teaching students.
According to the Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census, the solar workforce more than doubled from 93,000 jobs in 2010, to more than 250,000 jobs in 2020.
The National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education program supports the development of innovative approaches for educating skilled technicians for the industries that drive the nation’s economy. The CREATE Energy Center strengthens connections between high schools and community colleges to help promote career pathways and provide a skilled technical workforce for the clean energy sector.
The CREATE Energy Center is led by Madison Area Technical College, College of the Canyons, Indian River State College, Central Carolina Community College, and Delaware Technical Community College.
In addition to Hooker and Jessup, other educators attending included Kellie Buchanan of Holly Springs High School, Ann Castillo of Clyde A. Erwin High School, Bree Kerwin of Seaforth High School, Janet Mitchell of Eckerd Connects, Kimberly Oakley of New Century Middle School, Denise Renfro of Douglas Byrd High School, Joe Roche of Wor Wic Community College Richard Strohecker from Richmond Community College, and David Zimmer from IC Imagine.
In addition to McMahan and Clemons, instructors included Scott Liddicoat of Wisconsin Public Service Corporation and Joel Shoemaker of Madison Area Technical College.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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