Mississippi teachers take part in Creative Science Through Inquiry Workshop

Ten teachers from across the state of Mississippi broadened their knowledge of STEM and how to incorporate it into their classrooms through Bagley College of Engineering’s Creative Science Through Inquiry Teacher Workshop.

From June 20 through June 24, participating teachers took part in a variety of content areas, including electromagnetic spectrum, polymer science and catalysis from Mississippi State chemical engineering professors Santanu Kundu and Neeraj Rai.

Rai used his time with the teachers to explain the importance of chemical engineering and catalysis.

“At the workshop, I briefly introduced chemical engineering, its relevance in everyday life and principles of catalysis. The hands-on demonstration included an oscillating reaction where the aqueous reaction mixture changed color from deep purple to colorless in about 20 seconds. These oscillations can carry on for several hours,” Rai said. “Teachers can use this experiment to introduce catalysis and oxidation states to K-12 students.”

The material presented at the workshop was based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1757220 and 1752036, with the goal of identifying, developing and deploying academic science and technology to increase the state’s research and development competitiveness and foster economic growth.

Shana Lee, Director of K-12 Educational Outreach and Student Programs for the Bagley College of Engineering, said the opportunity to work with teachers across Mississippi is a positive experience for both the Bagley College of Engineering as well as the K-12 teachers.

“The K-12 Outreach Office for the Bagley College of Engineering is excited for this opportunity to guide teachers in STEM content. We look forward to working with each of these teachers in their classrooms in the coming school year,” Lee said. “Participants have said learning from the instructors and collaborating face-to-face with other Mississippi teachers is a refreshing experience that encourages a positive beginning to the coming school year.”