Education Students Attend Naval STEM Academy

In February, students from the EDUC 320 Science Curriculum, Methods, Materials and Assessment course visited the Naval STEM Academy at NSWC Carderock in Bethesda, Maryland. The class was invited by Melissa Thompson, a recent Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow who currently leads the STEM educator outreach at Carderock.

Ashley Coen, assistant professor of education, accompanied her class to the Naval STEM Academy, where students toured working science laboratories, discussed innovative STEM teaching practices and participated in hands-on activities. “[Students] received resources that they can use now and in their teaching careers as well as an invitation to participate in further training and field trips with their own future students,” said Coen.

Among the various activities were a paper airplane engineering challenge, predicting the elasticity of materials stretched in a tensile testing machine and the creation of models to demonstrate the impact of barnacles on boats. Each activity was designed to inspire the group of teacher candidates with ideas for their future classrooms. This is exactly what Jordan Taylor ’26, an early childhood education major, plans to do.

“My favorite part of the trip was getting to learn about all the resources that the Navy has for teachers, including professional development opportunities,” said Taylor. “This experience taught me that there are so many resources in our country that can help students as well as teachers. I hope to use the resources given to us by the Naval STEM Academy and use them in my future classroom. I would love to take my students there and have them learn the science through the hands-on instruction of the Navy staff.”

Learn more about Hood’s education programs.