On Saturday, April 28, 2018, seven CASTLE Ambassadors volunteered at the Philadelphia Science Festival to teach hands-on STEM lessons to the community. These undergraduate STEM majors delivered lessons dedicated to demonstrating and understanding the concept of sound. 

On Friday, April 20, 2018 the DragonsTeach Student Organization (DTSO) hosted an Earth Day Fair for 3rd-5th grade students at Greenfield Elementary School. Eight undergraduate STEM majors organized STEM activities such as “cloud in a jar” and “oil spill clean-up” to help younger students understand different environmental processes. Greenfield students were also able to discover their carbon footprint and contribute to a large banner with a pledge to care for the environment.

The CASTLE seminar series is focused on continuous improvements in STEM education teaching and learning. Dr. Adam Fontecchio, Director of CASTLE, invites speakers from a variety of institutions to lead conversations on local, regional and national trends in the transformation of STEM education. The seminar is open to all who are interested in STEM education.

STEM education leaders, Adam Fontecchio, PhD, Professor of Computer and Electrical Engineering, and Director of Drexel University’s (CASTLE), and Jennifer Stanford, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biology, Co-director of CASTLE joined David Delaine, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Engineering Education, Ohio State University, to lead a panel presentation at the 2018 National SxSWEdu Conference on March 5, 2018.

“Multisite longitudinal educational studies are challenging because each institution has a unique educational structure, experiential opportunities, and data systems,” adds William Mongan, Teaching Professor and Associate Department Head for Undergraduate Affairs with the Department of Computer Science. “By collaborating on these challenges, we enable the study of educational effectiveness through experiential learning spanning the disciplines across several institutions. That study will identify best practices and inform effective development of our curricula.”