2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Founded in 2000 with a grant from NSF (EEC - EWFD-Eng Workforce Development), our project is a free digital library of classroom-tested, standards-aligned K-12 STEM resources created in collaboration with educators across the nation. As part of this project, an inaugural teach-the-teacher style professional development (PD) workshop was held August 4-6, 2025 at the University of _____. This workshop is designed to be held annually to train ten “teacher champions” in engineering pedagogy, design, and mindset. These teacher champions are exemplary teachers from across the United States who were selected after an intensive application process.

Research shows that effective STEM PD includes a supportive teacher learning environment that focuses on improving teacher’s content knowledge (Avery & Reeve, 2013; Lo, 2021). The PD focused on teaching new content, creating a supportive learning environment, and providing a platform for a community of practice beyond the two-day workshop. The in-person portion of the PD consisted of a two-day, immersive program that blended hands-on exploration, collaboration, and reflection. To improve teacher content knowledge on teaching engineering, the PD featured workshops on engineering design curriculum, human-centered design, rapid prototyping, and embodied experiential learning. Upon completion, the teacher champions returned to their home states equipped with a practical ‘toolkit’ of resources to support their local communities and constituents in expanding access to K-12 engineering education.

Methodology:
The evaluation of the workshop was cross-sectional utilizing a mixed-methods approach. The evaluator observed six of the ten sessions and took field notes regarding the quality of each session and the engagement level of participants. At the end of the two-day workshop, participants received an online survey containing 6 items designed to measure the quality of the professional development, the impact of the PD, and collect their thoughts on next steps and how they can be best supported.

Results:
Observational data indicated strong interest and engagement with each of the observed sessions. Participants connected before and after through a Slack group where they regularly share successes and challenges with preparing to conduct their own PD. In the survey, all 10 participants rated the overall PD and five of the 10 PD session topics as excellent or good. For the remaining five sessions, nine participants rated them as excellent or good and one rated them as fair. Regarding PD impact, all 10 participants strongly agreed or agreed with each of five impact statements (e.g., My experience motivated me to share what I learned about teaching engineering).

Conclusion and next steps:
The evaluation revealed the participants were excited to attend the PD, appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the engineering design process, understand how to integrate the digital library of lessons into their teaching, and take advantage of the professional community established in Slack. They were excited to meet other teachers from around the country and felt the PD increased their knowledge of engineering principles. Evaluation results confirmed the need and usefulness of this type of PD and the creation of a learning community.