Next Generation Manufacturing

Educators

Educating Educators

Community college and high school teachers were challenged during a week-long, intensive workshop that gave them insight into working behavior styles and project management in engineering. The "Engineering Challenge" program offers a similar after school program for high school and community college students. See below for details on the Engineering Challenge program being offered this summer at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

What's New

Engineering Challenge for the 21st Century - Summer Workshop

July 12-17th, 2009

The RCNGM is hosting a week-long residential program designed to help you help your students develop the necessary skills to become qualified and productive engineers and technicians. The program runs from July 12-17th, 2009 at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. Participants will be immersed in problem-based learning robotic projects around U.S. Coast Guard Life Saving missions, learn about interpersonal behaviors, personal accountability and will observe 200 high school students participating in problem-based teamwork.

The RCNGM is offering this course free of charge, which includes tuition and accommodations. Participants will also receive a program stipend of $250 and will receive 3.2 CEU credits.

For specific information on the program, go to this link.

For specific schedule of events, go to this link.

Educators Learning Through Workplace Experiences

Teachers and Company Leaders Learn from Each Other

Creating a new dimension for pergolas furniture is John Hoyle, drafting teacher at Cheney Tech, who helped Baldwin Pergolas Furniture this summer develop a 3-dimensional online program that shows users how to build a pergolas. Seated at left is Max Baldwin, President of Baldwin Furniture. John Hoyle is seated right.

The Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing (RCNGM) is dedicated to helping educators prepare the workforce of the future by not only giving them relevant and current curriculum programs, but by giving them exposure to industry practices that they might not otherwise have.

The Center has developed a teacher externship program that brings both high school, technical high school and community college faculty into the workplace for four-weeks in the summer. Following their externship experience, teachers develop a work-based learning project for their students.

Preparing the next generation of workers to meet the expectations of a highly technological workforce can be a challenge to educators. Often, the demands of teaching within a set curriculum prevent educators from broadening their students' knowledge of workplace requirements because they, themselves, are unfamiliar with those expectations. By exposing educators to business environments - whether it be through teacher externships, company visits, visiting lecturers, or collaborative work-based projects in the classroom - educators are given the opportunity to infuse some excitement into their classes. Educators who participate in these kinds of professional development programs have an opportunity to not only engage their students in more active learning experiences, but to become part of those experiences themselves.

For more information about these programs, contact Mary deManbey, Program Manager, CBIA, (860)-244-1900, email Mary.demanbey@cbia.com