Curriculum & Training

TechREACH Trainings build the capacity of teachers to provide innovative science, technology, engineering, and/or math (STEM) content to students. All curricula focus on increasing student interest in STEM, and also implement strategies known to help involve minority and underserved populations. Units are designed to last 30-40 hours in an after school or summer program environment. A training can take anywhere from one day to one week, depending on the topic and intended application.

As part of the training, instructors receive:

• Curricula correlated to standards
• Instructor guide
• Student materials and supplies
• Warm-up activities
• Software requirements
• Evaluation tools

Curricula examples

Podcasting: Students learn how to create Podcasts, a kind of broadcast that you can listen to on the Internet or on a portable media player. Students write a script, record audio, edit sound, and produce a podcast segment to post on the Internet using a free program called AudacityTM.

Renewable Energy: Students learn about renewable energy sources and investigate how wind can produce electricity. Then students build model turbines, design blades, and measure energy production.

Arcade Game Creation: Students design their own arcade game similar to Dance Dance RevolutionTM. They learn about circuits and sensors to create the hardware design, and add music and use XML programming skills to create the game.

Robotics: Students build LEGO MindstormsTM robots such as a Mars Rover and robots that use sensors to imitate animal behavior. Participants program their robots and end the unit with a robot Olympics.

"TechREACH is a wonderful program in our school that has a very strong positive impact in the lives of our participants and those whose lives they touch with their learnings and contributions. It is our hope and desire to keep this program alive and available for our students.” – TechREACH club leader