Central Washington University students in the Teach STEM program visited the West Valley Innovation Center in Yakima last quarter as part of their STP 406 capstone class, according to an April 8 announcement. The visit was organized by Science and Mathematics Education Department Chair Alyson Rogan-Klyve, who said the trip aimed to expose future teachers to project-based learning in a real school setting.
Project-based learning is an educational approach that emphasizes hands-on projects connected to real-world applications. Rogan-Klyve said, “We focus on project-based learning, so we provide opportunities for our students to experience and get excited by what that can look like at an actual school.” She credited Kendra Bourne, a Teach STEM alumna now working at WVIC, for inviting the group: “Fortuitously, this year Kendra Bourne reached out to us to invite us to the WVIC, where they’ve worked really hard to bring project-based learning to life.”
Bourne explained her motivation for hosting CWU students: “We work hard to do a real application of project-based learning, so we were excited for them to come visit and see what that looks like in practice. We got to show off what our rotations look like, as well as a typical day in the classroom.” She added that she hopes such visits help prepare future teachers.
Teach STEM senior Cris Galvan Zamora described being surprised by how cross-disciplinary projects were integrated at WVIC: “I was extremely wrong, because at WVIC, they do cross-disciplinary kinds of projects… They really show their students how all of their subjects are connected.” Fellow senior Andrea Lancaster was impressed by one ninth-grade student’s depth of knowledge in health science: “She knew all the nerves in the human body… She was in ninth grade, which was just so impressive to me.”
Both Galvan Zamora and Lancaster plan on using lessons from their visit when teaching their own classes. Rogan-Klyve emphasized the importance of alumni involvement: “It’s so exciting and fulfilling to see Kendra take all her experience and education from CWU and bring it into her community… To close that loop with our students… is fantastic.” Lancaster expressed hope about her future impact as a teacher: “I just really hope that I can touch all of the students’ hearts and make sure that everyone who comes into my classroom leaves with the feeling that they are able to learn. I hope to instill in them that failure isn’t the end of the road, but the beginning of learning.”