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Those who teach learn

| September 8, 2022 1:00 AM

SANDPOINT – Although school let out for summer break, the learning did not stop for Sandpoint High School math teacher Dalton Hawkins.

Hawkins spent his summer at Kochava in an externship program through the Idaho STEM Action Center. The program allows participants to gain hands-on experience working in a STEM job. Hawkins was among 23 externs the center placed with companies this summer to expand their skillsets so they can better prepare students for life beyond high school.

With the mission of bolstering Idaho’s workforce and economy through STEM education, the state organization oversees the implementation and promotion of STEM education in the state through programs, grants, professional development-based training, and student opportunities. The externship is one of the programs.

Partnering with businesses statewide, ISAC has worked with the Workforce Development Council to offer the program for the past four years. Pairing classroom teachers, college professors, and career advisors with companies related to their area of certification, the program requires them to complete 200 hours of onsite, experiential learning

“The goal is to have externs return to their classroom with knowledge of STEM skills, current and trending workforce needs, and an understanding of the importance of durable skills, or 21st-century skills, in the workplace, such as problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity,”, Tony Harrison ISAC public relations director, said. . “This type of relevant, real-world work experience helps them understand the unique needs of Idaho businesses and better prepare their students to meet workforce demands.”

Jill Bentley, Kochava human resource director, said the company signed up as a host company this year as a host company after an employee, who is a member of the Idaho Workforce Development Council, put Bentley in touch with the program director.

“Kochava's primary giving mission is closely tied to education, this program aligns well with how education supports our local community, especially as it relates to STEM education,” Bentley said. “We also heard there was a teacher in the LPOSD directly interested in computer science/development and would bring real life experiences to the high school students. Being a local SaaS company, we thought this was a great opportunity for students to learn more about STEM careers.”

Working with the solutions engineering team, Hawkins said in a blog post written the first week, that while he knew certain skills he was learning were specific to Kochava he still felt he would have a lot to give back to his students in the coming school year.

“I knew I would be learning a lot and that at times I would likely be out of my depth. Kochava gave me the opportunity to grow and learn as a programmer, and to understand how some of the tech industry works,” Hawkins said. “The majority of my time was spent figuring out how customer data was stored, and how I could change it to match their needs. I learned a lot about how a company could use a variety of languages versus using just one and I learned a lot about team management and how a team can respond to a crisis.”

Although the useage of GitHub and similar version control systems were among the key takeaways of the experience, Hawkins said it was the insight to a professional tech team that stood out.

“How a tech team functions and responds to a changing environment. Applying these can help me leverage many students' thirst for improvement and their ability to step up to a challenge,” Hawkins said.

Having completed the program and now back to teaching full-time, Hawkins said the experience not only broadened his knowledge to better teach and prepare his students but also gave some insight to what they might need moving forward.

“After just the first week I had a lot of content. I realized that if my students knew how to use it, they would be leaps and bounds ahead of other students. As I continued, I realized many aspects that are missing in traditional education — such as an employee's need to be a self-starter when compared with the level of structure in a classroom, that doesn’t really exist in a real programming job,” Hawkins said

To learn more about the Idaho STEM Action Center and it’s programs visit; stem.idaho.gov