Summer 2020 was extra long for Utah’s students and parents due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, Junior Achievement of Utah (JA) had the opportunity to partner with TechTrep to announce the first-ever virtual STEM camp. More than 250 parents immediately registered 468 students for this camp.
How did JA pull this off during the pandemic?
- Partnerships and technology experts – The engineering and design thinking camp was conceived when JA received generous funding to support summer 2020 STEM camps from Hill Air Force Base, one of Utah’s leading STEM education funders. The challenge was execution in this year’s restricted-gathering climate. JA’s problem was solved when they were introduced to Marlon Lindsay, CEO of TechTrep and 21st Century Ed. Marlon is always looking for a challenge to solve, particularly when it comes to STEM education. He and his team quickly created advanced curriculum to give 4th – 8th graders a chance to experience engineering and design thinking concepts.
- Learning through Zoom – Although all of the participants had experienced Zoom or other online platforms, very few students had used the “breakout rooms” within Zoom. . By using smaller groups, students could see each other and were very engaged and enthusiastic to learn with their group.
- Facili-mentors – This two-day, three-hour camp was unique in other ways as well. While the majority of participants were JA students centered in Utah, the facilitators/mentors (facili-mentors) came from all over the country with roots all over the world. And, of course, JA was able to garner local volunteer support from their faithful volunteers from UBS Bank, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Synchrony.
- STEM learning and problem solving – Marlon’s team at TechTrep created the hands-on curriculum, which was to create and prototype a backpack for another person whose needs and wishes are different from their own.
The STEM camp and exercises became a profound learning experience for these students as they progressed through the design thinking process—Feel, Imagine, Do, Share. The skills the students learned in this camp can be applied not only to future STEM-related careers, but also to create solutions for complex real-world problems.
“A STEM education is the great equalizer in the 21st century. There is no better way to address equity, develop 21st-century skills, and prepare our children for a world shaped by AI, robotics, automation, the emerging technologies that are disrupting and reshaping the work for the rest of the century. Our greatest responsibility now is to get them ready for what’s coming.”
– MARLON LINDSAY, CO-FOUNDER OF TECHTREP AND 21STCENTURYED
JA looks forward to bringing more opportunities like this STEM camp, to help shape the future of Utah’s students.
JA would also like to thank DesignForChange, InnerVue, The Black Chamber of Commerce, Domo and the Forever Young Foundation for contributing to this event.
