Educators participate in i-STEM Institutes at North Idaho College

COEUR d'ALENE — Teachers love to teach, but they also love to learn.

Nearly 100 educators from across North Idaho and other parts of the state participated in four days of i-STEM Institutes at North Idaho College this week. They deepened their knowledge and enhanced their science, technology, engineering and mathematics practices through projects and principles they can bring to their classrooms this fall.

“I love just being able to do more hands-on learning in the classroom,” said Ashley Rogers, who spent 12 years teaching at Spirit Lake Elementary School and will be a K-6 STEM teacher at Christian Center School at the start of the 2024-25 school year.

She and other teachers worked Thursday morning to build a Sierpiński triangle with colorful Strawbees. Their goal was to build the triangle tall enough to reach the ceiling of a large room in the Bob and Leona DeArmond Building.

"(The Sierpiński triangle) is a repeating pattern,” said Julie Anderson, a Gifted and Talented Education instructor for the Lakeland Joint School District. She and Idaho Region 1 and 2 GATE facilitator colleague Breland Tommerup led the project-based learning strand for third-through-eighth grade educators.

“The best part is they love to collaborate, they want to learn, they’re excited,” she said. “They’re taking time out of their summer to come, so then you know you have educators that really want to be here, really want to learn and be involved. This is my favorite activity — teaching teachers that are excited about learning.”

This year's theme was, "Launching a STEM Identity." The workshops have been presented by the Idaho STEM Action Center since 2012.

Independent strands for 2024 included "Earth's Place in the Universe," "Drones: The Sky is Not the Limit" and "Explore the World through Lego," to name a few.

“The goal is to support educators in the space of STEM and computer science education through the four days of i-STEM,” said Katie Bösch-Wilson, the STEM education coordination officer for the Idaho STEM Action Center.

“They get to walk away with about $300-$500 worth of resources to take back to their learning space to do everything they learned throughout the week and implemented with their students," Bösch-Wilson said.

Shelly Hoisington, a third grade teacher at Valley View Elementary in Bonners Ferry, crafted a little scooter and some other items in the Lego workshop. She and her peers learned how to use Legos to integrate STEM into different subjects.

"All kids love Legos and it will make for very engaging lessons,” Hoisington said. “We learned how to put it into all different areas of the curriculum, including math — not just science — and English language arts as well. Even music.

"It's been really really informative for us, which is what we’re trying to do, is bring more STEM into our classrooms," she continued. "This has been a great introduction. I just wish I could take all of the strands."

The Idaho STEM Action Center is an education and growth catalyst that helps educators, businesses, families and communities prepare the workforce of tomorrow.

Info: stem.idaho.gov

    Northside Elementary School teacher Johanna Soderberg, left, and Valley View Elementary teacher Shelly Hoisington participate Thursday morning in the "Explore the World through Lego" strand during the i-STEM Institutes at North Idaho College.