PHILIPSBURG, Pa. — The recent explosion in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education in public schools is geared toward preparing students for the modern world. But one drawback of that exponential growth is the struggle of teachers who have little to no experience teaching subjects like engineering.

With the help of Penn State College of Education faculty members, teachers and principals in the Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District (POASD) in rural Centre and Clearfield counties have not only gained that experience themselves but have helped other teachers gain that experience as well.

Matthew Johnson, professor of practice for engagement and outreach and executive director of the Pennsylvania School Study Council, has collaborated with POASD for years, on projects like a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded one called CarbonEARTH. This collaboration eventually led to a NSF-funded grant project called PERSIST in Engineering — an acronym for Practices of Engineers in Rural Schools Involving Students and Teachers. The project sought to improve engineering education, as few teachers in K-12 have experience teaching engineering, now a Pennsylvania-mandated requirement in every grade due to the Pennsylvania STEELS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Environmental Literacy, and Sustainability) Standards, which will be required of all school districts for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Johnson served as principal investigator (PI) for the project while fellow College of Education faculty member Kathy Hill, director of the Center for Science and the Schools, served as co-PI. Johnson said his initial research revealed a need for this type of teacher training not only in POASD, but in many other rural districts as well.

“I wrote the grant based on the idea that we have these rural kids that do a lot of engineering in their life, whether it's playing and building a tree house or working with grandma or grandpa,” Johnson said. “So, there's a lot of examples of doing engineering but at the same time, students from rural areas are pretty underrepresented in engineering fields. And so, it was interesting to me to learn about how these rural teachers that grew up in these districts and teach in these districts, have lived in this area and understand this place can learn about engineering, then modify it or enhance it by using locally relevant examples of engineering or technology that helps the students connect to the project.”

Johnson said the partnership with Penn State helped POASD provide its students with more meaningful engineering education by training school district faculty how to better teach engineering in a more practical way and providing access to the resources needed for many of the lessons and has made a noticeable impact on the school as a whole.

“Collaborating with Penn State has been a fantastic experience,” said Philipsburg Elementary School Principal Justin Fye. “Working alongside Matt Johnson and other educators has allowed us to integrate real-world applications into our lessons, which has made science more relatable for students. The support from Penn State has also provided us with valuable resources and training, enhancing our teaching methods. It’s important to highlight the holistic approach of the PERSIST Program, which goes beyond academics to address the overall well-being of students. This comprehensive support system has made a significant difference in fostering a positive school culture.”

Engineering units look to give students hands-on experience with design and creation of materials.

For example, one unit asks fourth-graders to design safety vests that incorporate an electronic communication system to increase pedestrian, cyclist or skateboarder safety at a busy intersection. Over a period of nine lessons, students learn how to identify a problem, design a solution and then build and test their designs. After the vests have been tested, students make necessary improvements before reflecting and sharing what they’ve learned.

“The training was amazing and provided key background knowledge for me to be able to successfully incorporate these lessons into my classroom,” said Chera Mason, principal of Osceola Mills Elementary School who is a former fourth-grade teacher who taught the safety vests unit in her classroom. “They not only guided me during this unit but teaching in general, by allowing students to discover learning. As a principal, these units were key in helping us meet the requirement with the new STEELS standards.”

The success of PERSIST led to a second grant of nearly a half million dollars from the Pennsylvania Department of Education from a program called PA SMART: Network of Elementary Engineering Educators. This project, nicknamed “NE3,” was a collaboration between CSATS and the Youth Engineering Solutions program.

Inspired by the success POASD experienced with PERSIST, NE3 was designed to prepare 60 teacher educators from across Pennsylvania to hold engineering workshops in their regions and provide them with curricular materials to create a lending library for teachers in schools without access or money to purchase curricular kits.

In that program, educators from POASD who had participated in PERSIST volunteered to become teacher leaders in their schools, leading to all K-5 teachers in the district being successfully trained on how to teach engineering to their students.

“I have had an amazing experience with the PERSIST and NE3 programs,” said Ashlea Cowher, a fourth-grade teacher, one of the lead teachers in PERSIST, and one of the teachers to provide training to her colleagues. “I was able to attend conferences and trainings that were not previously available to me. I gained valuable information from these opportunities and have employed a large amount of it in my classroom. I’ve also been able to provide professional development to my coworkers, which is something I really enjoy doing. My school and students have also benefited from the PERSIST program. By piloting this program, our district was better prepared for the transition to the STEELS standards. The kits provided us with an opportunity to implement engineering lessons, which our previous kits were missing.”

The partnership has undoubtedly made a tangible positive impact on POASD, said Johnson, who is quick to point out that the bulk of the credit belongs not to him, but to the people in the school district who took the opportunity and made the most of it.

“Collaboration is a two-way street.” Johnson said. “They weren't required to collaborate with Penn State. But they thought it was worth doing. They trusted me, and then when they used it, they liked the experience. 

“At the end of the day the change came from within," he added. "I helped a couple of teachers learn how to teach engineering. But then they went back and taught everyone else how to do it. The buy-in came because the other teachers saw the success Bethany, Ashlea, Chera and Ashton were having. I think that's a better way to allow for progress in education than telling schools, ‘you have to do this.’”