Hamburg Area High School German teacher, Brynell Stevens, has received a grant from the German government that will send her to Germany for three weeks this coming summer. The grant includes flights, room and board for participation in a STEM program for German teachers.
While Stevens is in German she will attend a seminar for K-12 educators in Leipzig with other German teachers that also won the grant. The seminar will explore the integration of STEM subjects in the German classroom. Stevens plans to observe classroom instruction, take part in many workshops and design instructional materials as well as visit historical landmarks.
The invitation to enter for this grant was sent out to 4,000 members of the American Association of Teachers of German. How many applied is unknown, but Stevens along with 19 others won. In 1998 Stevens won a similar grant preparing her quite nicely for this one.
Included in Stevens application was a resume, an essay, a letter of support for the idea from the school district and a test proving she is advanced in German.
Stevens says, “It took me a few weeks” to prepare the application, but she recommends not to work on the application alone. Having someone else proof read it is so important as well as acknowledging whoever helped.
Stevens mentioned a term used at the STEM camp she attended last summer, “Lead Learner,” and says, “I like that.”
Stevens has been trying to incorporate science, engineering and math ideas in to German class for years now. Technology had always been included in her classes, but the other subjects were never her forte, so she is reaching out for help.
She feels by gaining knowledge on science, engineering and math she will not only be benefiting herself, but her classroom and students as well. Students who are interested in those three subjects can only benefit from learning more about them in German class.
This grant will provide Stevens with new information on STEM to teach in her own German classroom.
Recently Hamburg Area High School has been working on setting up an exchange with Liborius-Gymnasium, a school in Dessau just north of Leipzig. Stevens is most excited about visiting that school because of the potential exchange coming up. She is also delighted to visit places and meet people from the former GDR because those are areas she has yet to visit.
Overall she is looking forward to her trip this summer and is hoping to come back with much new knowledge on German STEM.
