Corporate
Samsung Launches Solve for Tomorrow STEM Teacher Academy
8/22/2019
Evolving its commitment to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. this summer launched the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Teacher Academy, with a weeklong professional development practicum held in San Jose, CA. Nearly 40 Solve for Tomorrow alumni teachers from 35 states attended, participating in hands-on problem-based learning activities, diversity and inclusion training in STEM and an externship experience at Samsung Research America and Samsung Semiconductor U.S. to learn about STEM career pathways for their students.
“Samsung understands why Solve for Tomorrow alumni teachers are excited about teaching real, genuine STEM by pulling away from that textbook, because the real world doesn’t operate step-by-step,” said Harry Preston, a Teacher Academy participant and 7th and 8th grade science teacher at James McHenry Elementary/Middle School, in Baltimore, MD. “Samsung took their pedagogical cue from the Solve for Tomorrow contest in creating the Teacher Academy. They know that problem-based learning cultivates crucial professional skill sets for both students and teachers.”
The Solve for Tomorrow Teacher Academy, a new initiative and off-shoot of Samsung Electronics America’s national Solve for Tomorrow STEM contest for 6th through 12th graders, is intended to provide a long-term collaboration and professional development platform specifically for the unsung hero-teachers who empower and mentor school-aged scientists.
“After witnessing the incredible innovative thinking that our Solve for Tomorrow alumni teachers have inspired in our student contestants, it was a natural evolution of the program to develop a curriculum for teachers’ professional development that would support them in being champions of STEM education in their school districts,” said Ann Woo, Sr. Director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America. “After all, these are the teachers who have incidentally helped Samsung create the legacy of Solve of Tomorrow and who will continue to inspire our future workforce for years to come.”
Teachers Becoming Students of STEM
The inaugural teacher academy in July brought together teachers who have each steered a team of their students to become state finalists, national finalists or national winners of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, a public-school contest that challenges 6th through 12th graders to solve a problem in their community using STEM skills. Teachers were challenged with using STEM to create innovative solutions for combatting San Jose’s youth homelessness problem, guided by non-profit partner mindSpark Learning, and non-profit Techbridge Girls, which facilitated a workshop to deepen teachers’ understanding about roles of identity and gender in STEM.
“Our group’s idea was to take an existing homeless shelter, rebrand and revamp it as a youth community center, with gamified solutions and tech resources that would make it make more sense for the kids,” said Preston who’s professional passion is getting youth of color involved in STEM, something he accomplishes as a teacher and as a leader of after-school and summer-camp STEM programming for kids in his school’s inner-city neighborhood.
Preston says his students and campers have gone on to careers in healthcare, software design, business and even fashion, having flourished in a unique atmosphere of discovery and problem-based learning that Preston created. He is just one example of the type of teacher and approach to STEM education Samsung has continued to proliferate with its Solve for Tomorrow legacy.
“These teachers were already doing amazing things, but they typically don’t get the recognition or a high level of support they deserve,” said Michele Mosa, Senior Manager of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America. “We provided them with a professional development roadmap and a critical problem that needed solving, and they wowed us by devising STEM-based solutions overnight. They inspired each other, and they inspired us.”
That ripple effect has since continued beyond the week spent together in San Jose, Preston said, not only helping to foster lifelong friendships and openness to collaborate despite working in different school systems, but also broadcasted the week’s themes and discussions farther afield as teachers brought the inspiration back home.
“[Solve for Tomorrow] Teacher Academy provides educators with a concrete path to follow as we build real career-ready skills,” explained Mary Cabral, language arts teacher at Mt. Hope High School in Bristol, RI and a Solve for Tomorrow State Winner during the 2018-2019 contest year. “All across America, the charge is to prepare students for the 21st century.”
All participants were assigned Professional Learning Communities, through which they will be working together over the next year in order to collaborate online and support one another throughout the academic year.
“The diversity training was eye-opening for me, particularly around gender, sexual identity and hidden bias,” Preston said. “I thought we needed to bring more of this training to teachers in my district, so I brought it to my union and we’ve voted to create a new section on equality and inclusivity.”