NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June. 12, 2023) – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math educators from Metro Nashville Public Schools and Clarksville-Montgomery County School System wanted to find creative ways to educate their students and bridge the gap between learning and practical application. They turned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District for inspiration.
During the week of June 5-9, Nashville District held two STEAM externships for MNPS CMCSS educators with the intent to provide them real world application opportunities to take back to their students.
John Baird, natural resources specialist, Operations Section, organized a two-day outing to Old Hickory Dam to showcase hydropower for the MNPS group which included Margaret Locke, Stratford STEM Middle School Science teacher; Ivy Franklin, Dupont Hadley Middle School Science teacher; Dr. Jennifer Berry, MNPS director of STEAM and science; Dr. Jeannie Whitlock, STEAM instructional designer; and Ashlie Jackson, MNPS District Lead STEAM coach.
“We partnered with the Corps because of our focus on hydroelectricity and potential career paths within the field students can expect,” Whitlock said.
Whitlock thought of the externship as a way to provide educators with new and practical ways to think about teaching the educational standards set by the Metro School District.
The first day involved discussing the district’s footprint and its mission. Lt. Col. Joseph Sahl, Nashville District commander, provided an overview on areas of operation, current and future challenges within the Nashville District, and reinforced the commitment to environmental stewardship and justice.
He also discussed the role USACE, and the Nashville District, plays in supplying the nation’s hydropower.
“USACE is the largest generator of hydropower in the nation,” Sahl said. “The Nashville District, alone, owns nine hydropower power plants with 28 units generating power.”
At the conclusion of his briefing, Sahl stated, “As your students grow up, they’re going to have to learn how to balance resources and tackle climate change, while continuing to provide the cleanest and most efficient way to move materials.”
Area Maintenance Engineer Patrick DiNicola, Nashville District Water Supply Manager Amanda Burt, Biologist David Adams, Chief of Construction Eric Pagoria, and Civil Engineer Frank Mills explained their career paths, scope of work, and how all their sections come together to deliver projects.
“USACE is an interesting place; everyone works together in their own roles to collaborate and solve really complex issues,” said Locke.
After a day of briefings, Baird took the small group on a tour of Old Hickory Dam, powerhouse, and lock. The educators walked away with a sense of excitement and clarity as they begin to shape the curriculum for the upcoming school year.
Jackson, who attended this event last year as an educator and an instructional coach this year, believed the conversations would help shape how students imagined their future. “We believe you cannot be what you cannot see,” she said. Hearing how different disciplines contribute to the hydropower process, “allows students to feel like this is something they can actually do.”
Joanne E. Traicoff, P.E., deputy chief, Engineering and Construction Division, organized the second STEAM externship for teachers at Northeast High School’s Computer Information Technology Academy, and believes the externship is an excellent way to start shaping the future.
As she welcomed Heather Carroll, Physical Science and Biology teacher, Stephanie Garner, Algebra and Geometry teacher, and Nicholas Dubee, Robotics and Technology teacher, Traicoff said, “We [the Corps] have to innovate constantly. The next generation of engineers will have to get past the ‘how’ of problem solving and figure out the ‘why.’”
Carroll said she found the externship very exciting and helpful with developing a curriculum. “Students need to see the full picture of the field and projects,” she explained. “They see bits and pieces, but never it all put together. I’m hoping this will help me bridge that gap for them.”
To bridge the gap, engineers from the Engineering and Construction Division took the teachers through the planning phase of the Bristol 8th Street Improvement and Flood Reduction Project, a real-world example of why a project is born and how it comes to full realization.
Ben Rohrbach, P.E., Engineering and Construction Division chief, gave a broad overview of USACE mission to provide engineering solutions for the nation’s toughest challenges. He introduced the project delivery team and explained their respective roles in Nashville District’s past, ongoing, and completed construction projects.
The PDT, which includes Planning Project Manager Ramune Matuliauskaite, PMP., Water Resources Section Chief Kelley Philbin, P.E., Design Branch Chief Phillip Evans, Civil Engineer Frank Mills, and Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project Resident Engineer Tommy Long, P.E., D N.E., gave detailed explanations of project planning, project development, and project delivery phases.
The teachers were stunned to realize how many other careers besides engineering existed in the Corps and how they were all crucial components of the organization.
The Nashville District is a behemoth of opportunity for a wide range of STEAM careers. Externship programs are a vital means of partnering with educators to prepare students for the future.
Mills discussed the future with both groups and what he and other engineers viewed as challenges in field for newer engineers. He mentioned areas of opportunity and what he hoped educators would take back to their students.
“Students need to learn not only how to solve a problem, but how to define problems – they need to ask, ‘the what and the why,’” he said.
The future problems USACE and the Nashville District will have to solve are forming now. Continued externships with educators ensures the future problem solvers are prepared.
“I thought this was just Army people,” joked Carroll. “There is so much more opportunity with the Corps for my students than just engineering.”
The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps.
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