Research shows effective teacher professional development leads to increased student achievement.
So MESA provides teachers with top-notch training opportunities to equip them with the skills and resources needed to implement rigorous middle- and high school STEM curriculum in low-performing schools.
MESA’s premier teacher training event is MESA Academy for Science and Mathematics Educators (MASME). More than 200 California educators who work with students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds will gather virtually on August 6th to gain in-depth training of hands-on activities and explore ways to excite students about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
With the theme “Coding a New Path” the day will focus on computer science, offering workshops on such topics as introduction to Arduino, computer science teaching tips and a code-powered prosthetic arm.
MASME offers best practices, national trends in STEM education and cutting-edge approaches developed by educators and industry, so that MESA teachers can see and try out new classroom activities and projects.
Other workshops focus on MESA’s new UC-approved curriculum as well as hands-on engineering projects such as balsa wood gliders and stick bridges. These projects bridge the classroom to the real world and give students a glimpse into careers in aeronautics, civil and computer engineering.
MASME also allows MESA teachers to interact with the larger MESA network, heighten their expertise and learn from STEM professionals.
The conference takes place at the University of Southern California MESA center at the Viterbi School of Engineering in Los Angeles and will be streamed to 17 MESA centers serving as viewing sites throughout the state.
MESA teachers will virtually participate in MASME at the following viewing sites:
Chapman University, CSU Chico, CSU East Bay, CSU Fresno, CSU Long Beach, CSU Los Angeles, Imperial County Office of Education, Resources for Indian Student Education (Alturas, CA), San Diego State University, Santa Rosa Junior College, UC Davis, UC Los Angeles, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, Ukiah Unified School District, University of the Pacific, University of Southern California (host site).