Aerospace Education and Training Day (ETD) and the Oklahoma Aerospace Fellows Program

Do you want to be an Aerospace Fellow? But what is an Aerospace Fellow and why would you want to be one?

Background: The aerospace industry, comprised of over 400 companies, employs 70,000 people and contributes $12.5B to Oklahoma’s economy each year. These companies are engaged in many facets of the industry including aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, engineering and modification; supply chain management and manufacturing; and applied technologies. A common ingredient across the industry is the need for a well educated, trained, skilled and motivated workforce. This workforce includes mechanics with technical skills ranging from sheet metal to sophisticated avionics technologies, business and program managers, engineers and information technology managers. All of these careers require an understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The understanding and application of STEM is something that can only be developed over many years starting in elementary school continuing through college and into the workplace. In order to achieve the goal of a well-educated and trained workforce, a partnership among the leaders of the aerospace industry and educational institutions must be developed and sustained.

Purpose: “Bring together educators, industry and government to create the aerospace workforce of tomorrow”

The need for a partnership between industry and education led to the creation of the Aerospace Education and Training Day (ETD) and the Oklahoma Aerospace Fellows Program (OAF) in conjunction with the annual Oklahoma Aerospace Summit and Expo in 2008. The goal of ETD/OAF is to introduce STEM teachers from grades 3 through 12 and school counselors to the opportunities in aerospace industry careers and to provide teaching and training materials and techniques for use in their classrooms. The teachers and counselors are referred to as Aerospace Fellows. To date, over 240 Fellows have participated in ETD. Volunteer mentors from aerospace companies are aligned to the individual teachers or to schools or centers in order to provide expertise and advice about the aerospace industry. Relationships are what the mentor and the Fellow want to make of them and can include class room visits, lectures, field trips and guest speakers. The desired effect is for the Fellow to be able to improve his or her knowledge of the aerospace industry through learning at the ETD and the relationship with a mentor. Ultimately, if the program is a success, more young men and women will consider the aerospace industry as a potential career. ETD has been a success for the last three years and a fourth event is planned for 8 June, 2011 as part of the annual Oklahoma Aerospace Summit and Expo held in Tulsa from 6-8 June 2011.

A mid-year survey will be sent to each of our 2010 Fellows requesting feedback on how they are using the information they received at ETD and the assistance from their mentors is helping them in their classrooms. We will use this feedback along with the ETD critiques from the actual ETD event to improve the effectiveness and value of ETD to our Fellows and the industry.

Impact Beyond the Event: Aerospace Fellows are provided opportunities to receive professional development and to apply for classroom curriculum grants during the following school year. The ETD committee has partnered with NASA and the LEGO® Company to provide teachers with fun and exciting STEM curriculum to employ in their classrooms. Fellows are encouraged to bring another teacher with them at no cost. This strategy promotes teachers who did not attend ETD to get involved. A high percentage of the guest teachers apply to attend the following year’s ETD.

Aerospace Fellows are given the opportunity to apply for Aerospace Classroom Curriculum Grants. In 2010, the first grants totaling $3500 were awarded to three Oklahoma classrooms. For 2011, $10,000 will be awarded to fifteen classrooms. The grants are made possible through a partnership with Lt. Governor Jari Askins, the PITSCO Education Company, and the Oklahoma Aerospace Alliance.

Plan: ETD will kick off with an industry presentation on the second day of the Summit. That evening a reception will be hosted by a Tulsa based aerospace company. The next day, ETD events will be held on the campus of the Tulsa Technology Center at the Riverside Airport in Tulsa. The agenda will consist of a welcome, a kickoff speaker, a panel discussion, displays and interface discussions, a lunchtime program, breakout sessions and a closing. One hundred new Fellows will be invited to the 2011 ETD. Each Fellow is awarded a stipend and is provided a hotel room and meals.

Application Process: All Oklahoma STEM teachers will be notified of application process via an email from the State Department of Education. This should be after March 1, 2011.

Contacts: For additional information on ETD and the OAF program contact:

Ben T. Robinson, ben.robinson@ossm.edu or cell 405-812-1292

H.L. Baird, harvey_baird@okcareertech.org or cell 405-747-4707