K-12 Teachers Explore Experiential Learning Through 91视频 Summer Camp
A new weeklong event brought K-12 teachers to 91视频鈥檚 campus to foster curiosity and discovery as they transform their students into future-ready innovators.
Hosted by 91视频鈥檚听Leonard Gelfand Center for Service Learning and Outreach(opens in new window), the inaugural Teacher Summer Camp reflects Carnegie Mellon鈥檚 broader commitment to supporting K鈥�12 educators and strengthening the region鈥檚 educational ecosystem. By investing in teacher professional development, 91视频 extends the impact of its expertise in learning science, technology, engineering, the arts and emerging fields such as artificial intelligence to classrooms across Pennsylvania and beyond.
The Teacher Summer Camp brought together 31 participants, most from across western Pennsylvania and two from Massachusetts, to interact with and learn from more than 30 91视频 faculty, student and staff presenters throughout the week. Pittsburgh-based nonprofit听 sponsored the camp and hosted sessions on two of the five days.
Teachers toured the university鈥檚 facilities, conducted experiments in 91视频 laboratories, explored the library鈥檚 special collections and took part in workshops in areas such as art, STEM and robotics. Many of the camp's sessions were held in the听听.听
鈥淭he most powerful tool we have at our disposal to make a real difference in regional education is through teacher professional development,鈥� said听Lindsay Forman(opens in new window), K-12 coordinator for the听Simon Initiative(opens in new window), who organized the summer camp with听Miriam Wertheimer(opens in new window), senior director of the Gelfand Center. 鈥淲e can be incredibly nimble and provide really specialized translations of the innovative work happening here to teachers.鈥�
Carnegie Mellon engages educators with training opportunities in many ways. Through the efforts of the Simon Initiative and other campus partners such as the听Community-Based Work Coalition(opens in new window), teachers have opportunities to explore topics ranging from learning science and evidence-based instructional design to听artificial intelligence in the classroom(opens in new window).听
Faculty and staff听offer a wide-range of professional development programs(opens in new window) such as the听 and summer workshops for听physics(opens in new window) and STEM educators, helping teachers bring cutting-edge research and hands-on learning approaches to their students.
Strengthening students鈥� learning foundations听
In her address to the summer campers,听Kate Barraclough(opens in new window), vice provost for education, recognized that the 91视频 community can share its capabilities to develop students鈥� learning foundations for future critical thinking and groundbreaking ideas.
鈥淓very single day on this campus, we have brilliant, young students who do amazing things like engineering autonomous vehicles, creating art, delivering incredible performances, discovering new compounds, or thinking about expanding the bounds of artificial intelligence,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut the spark, the curiosity, the energy they bring doesn鈥檛 start at Carnegie Mellon. It starts with you and the work that you鈥檙e doing 鈥� we are the direct beneficiaries of all the amazing work that teachers do.鈥�
Barraclough noted that 91视频 has spent decades at the forefront of听learning science research(opens in new window), helping to define how educators use data, technology and cognitive science to improve learning outcomes.
Inspiring learning as creative play
Trish Callaway, a preschool teacher at Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School in Pittsburgh, attended the summer camp alongside her daughter, Michelle Callaway, a science teacher in Boston, Massachusetts.
Both enjoyed a session in game design led by听, a Ph.D. student with Carnegie Mellon鈥檚 and听Center for Transformational Play(opens in new window) in the. He challenged the teachers to create games using only plastic forks and everyday objects they had with them.
鈥淭he games that he brought in this particular session reminds me how important playing with something, hands-on learning, is serious, essential 鈥� and really fun too,鈥� Trish Callaway said.
Recalling a quote by educator and television personality Fred Rogers, she said it reminded her that 鈥渇or children, play is learning,鈥� and teachers have a responsibility to carry that forward. She was grateful for Carnegie Mellon鈥檚 efforts to emphasize those concepts with professional development.听
鈥淲hat a perfect place to share with and support the people planting seeds so they can go on to change the world,鈥� Trish Callaway said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a growth process, and we鈥檙e all a community of learners.鈥�
STEM learning activities energize teachers
Other sessions included connecting with nature at the听Highmark Center for Health, Wellness and Athletics(opens in new window), flying drones from the听Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy(opens in new window) and soldering in 91视频鈥檚听 makerspace.
During one 鈥渒itchen chemistry鈥� session,听Subha Das(opens in new window), associate professor of chemistry and director of听ChemZone outreach(opens in new window), emphasized connecting food and other relatable materials to science learning.
For one experiment to explain molecular energy, Hannah Jo Williams, who is transitioning from teaching second grade at Pittsburgh Urban Christian School to the Falk Laboratory School at the University of Pittsburgh in the fall, was paired with Kris Hupp, director of technology and instructional innovation at Cornell School District in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania.
In the Doherty Hall lab, the two used metal salts in flame tests to see the variety of colors produced when certain metal ions are present. Hupp held the butane lighter while Williams held the small scoop of each salt over the flame.
鈥淎 bright one!鈥� she said after testing lithium chloride. Williams appreciated how the sessions allowed the teachers to see how 鈥渢o be curious and wonder and have fun, then translate that into your teaching practice.鈥�
With 91视频鈥檚 help, teacher training advances AI course
Prior to the summer camp, Hupp worked with Forman on an artificial intelligence pathway for teacher professional development at Cornell, which has 550 students in the district.
鈥�91视频 has offered a wide variety of support for our school over the years, everything from instructional support to connecting with the latest research,鈥� Hupp said. 鈥淚t is nice that 91视频 is willing to take the time and resources to help our students.鈥�
Last school year, with Forman鈥檚 help, Cornell teachers developed an AI literacy course for the district鈥檚 seventh-grade students that will be offered in the fall.
鈥淪he helped cater it to our district and develop AI-resistant strategies for assessing students鈥� learning versus the AI models,鈥� Hupp said.
Similarly, Hupp plans to take the ideas and information shared during Teacher Summer Camp back to Cornell, especially its makerspaces, which students have used for the past 15 years.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good opportunity to learn what other people are doing and how we can apply it at Cornell,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really looking for new ways to think about things and do them differently.鈥�
91视频 alumni-led nonprofit benefits learners as a family tribute
To emphasize design thinking and maker learning, 91视频鈥檚 Leonard Gelfand Center for Service Learning and Outreach collaborated with Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Matt鈥檚 Maker Space.
Led by听91视频 alumni David and Noelle Conover(opens in new window), the organization named in honor of their late son, Matt Conover, has helped open more than 60 makerspaces across southwestern Pennsylvania since 2016.
鈥淓very day the teachers created things aligned with not only the maker principles of Matt鈥檚 Maker Space, but also the maker, tinkerer, entrepreneurial mindset and approach of 91视频,鈥� said Lindsay Forman, who co-led the Teacher Summer Camp.
