Workforce of the future begins with Aviation STEM

Abstract

The United States has always been a world leader in aviation. This leadership position relies on the strength of the American STEM workforce and the quality of the nation’s educational, industrial, and government institutions. Therefore, it is imperative to nurture today’s students to become a well-trained STEM workforce in the future. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC) recognizes that in pursuing its mission of aviation research, engineering, development, and test and evaluation, it is in a unique position to support aviation STEM activities for schools (K-12), post-secondary institutions, and community organizations. In 2016, the Technical Center established the Aviation STEM (AvSTEM) Program as an outreach initiative to highlight the broad array of technical aviation career fields. Since its establishment, the AvSTEM Program has provided quality aviation-focused outreach to students and educators, and has expanded its efforts on local, regional, and national levels through in-person, virtual, and remote activities. This presentation will describe how to build an aviation STEM program from the ground up, sharing lessons learned along the way: how to engage students at their level and from an understanding of the terminology they are learning in the classroom; how to make use of unique facilities and subject matter experts to demonstrate career pathways in aviation; and how to integrate aviation content into engaging activities for both students and educators. Additionally, a discussion on how to develop and facilitate educator workshops and collaborations that are mutually beneficial will be included.

Author

• Digneo, Lyndsay Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• Aviation STEM
• STEM Education
• STEM
• Aviation Outreach
• Aviation
• Computer Sciences
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Educational Technology
• Engineering
• Science and Mathematics Education