Revitalizing STEM Ghost Towns in K–5 Education

1. Welcome & Framing the Challenge (5 minutes) Content: Introduce the concept of “STEM Ghost Towns” and the challenge of inequitable access to STEM opportunities in K–6 schools. Engagement: Poll the audience via hands raised or a quick digital tool (Mentimeter/Slido) to gauge how their schools currently provide access to STEM. Purpose: Build shared understanding of the equity problem and connect participants' contexts. 2. The Design & Innovation Studio Model (10 minutes) Content: Overview of Purdue IN-MaC’s Design & Innovation Studios—purpose, structure, technologies (coding, robotics, 3D printing), and statewide implementation. Engagement: Show images/video clips of studios in action. Ask participants to turn to a neighbor and share one way they currently integrate—or wish they could integrate—STEM tools. Purpose: Connect the model to participants’ existing practices and inspire possibilities. 3. Research Findings: Teacher Perspectives (10 minutes) Content: Share key insights from mixed-methods research guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), including teacher adoption, barriers, and successes. Engagement: Provide the audience with a short case vignette from a rural or urban studio. Ask them to discuss in pairs: “What support would teachers in your school need to succeed here?” Purpose: Encourage reflection and peer-to-peer connection. 4. Implementation Strategies & Lessons Learned (15 minutes) Content: Highlight best practices for launching and sustaining studios: professional development models, industry-school partnerships, and leadership strategies for scaling. Engagement: Small-group brainstorming activity: each table creates a quick “Studio Starter Plan” answering: Who are your partners? What technology would you start with? What challenges might you face? Purpose: Move from theory to application; give participants a chance to adapt the model to their own setting. 5. Sharing Out & Resource Walkthrough (10 minutes) Content: Invite groups to share one idea from their Studio Starter Plans in brief. Walk participants through digital resources, frameworks, and templates they can take back. Engagement: Audience Q&A with real-time resource links (QR codes to case studies, planning guides, IN-MaC website). Purpose: Provide tangible tools and collective knowledge-sharing.

The Next Generation for Manufacturing Competitiveness?: Investigating the Influence of Industry-Driven Outreach on Children Career Perceptions — Strimel, Krause, Harrell et al. SpringerLink - https://link.springer.com/journal/41979/articles?page=3&utm_source=chatgpt.com This article explores how industry outreach shapes K–12 students’ perceptions of manufacturing careers, which supports your framing of co-education and bridging STEM access. Purdue IN-MaC Design & Innovation Studios – Program overview and statewide impact - https://www.purdue.edu/in-mac/design-and-innovation-studio Elementary Students’ Engineering Design Process: How Young Students Solve Engineering Problems (with Sung & Kelley) - https://academicworks.cuny.edu/ny_pubs/959/ Walls, W. H., Strimel, G. J., Bartholomew, S. R., Otto, J., & Serban, S. (2023). STEM learning labs in industry settings: A novel application in manufacturing and its influence on student career perceptions. International Journal of Design & Technology Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-023-09863-5 Bosman, L., Strimel, G. J., & Krause, L. G (2020). The role of higher education in establishing career perceptions related to manufacturing: An exploratory study. Industry & Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1177/0950422220976292