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A Day in the Life of a STARBASE Instructor

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A Day in the Life of a STARBASE Instructor

- by Jill Englund

ALL students get involved in the action!

It’s not every day you get to feel like a rocket scientist, unless you’re an instructor at STARBASE.

For the past five years, I have been known as “Luna,” part of the instructor team here at STARBASE Minnesota, and I love my job. Our teaching days are jam packed with inspiring moments where I get to see students’ eyes light up time and time again, and outside the teaching day, I work with scientists and engineers who come to teach us about real careers in STEM. I am constantly learning!

I first came to STARBASE Minnesota for the five-day experience as a classroom teacher with my 5th grade students. As soon as we dove into the first engineering task on day 1, I got to see my students soar to new heights, overcome challenges in teamwork, and dig deep into their skills of perseverance and creativity. It was truly an inspiring week, and I knew I wanted to be part of it long term. My teaching experience ranged from 2 years subbing in Minneapolis to 5 years teaching K-6 Spanish, and I just wasn’t sure I was the right fit for a STEM program. One of the lightbulb moments I had while watching my students at STARBASE is that truly everyone can find their place in STEM, so I decided to apply!

Computer Aided Design was definitely not a skill I ever thought I could teach! Now, a favorite!

Now that I get to be Luna in STARBASE classrooms every day, I love experimenting with the latest technologies and developing curriculum to meet the wide range of needs of students we serve. It is an honor to work with so many different schools each year! Hearing from students that they might pursue a future in STEM after their week at STARBASE makes me feel like the future of the world is in good hands.

Beyond the classroom, I focus on engaging corporate STEM industry partners like Medtronic, Delta Air Lines, Cummins and many others. Meeting with these professionals helps our instructor team stay informed on the real world our students will encounter as they grow up and pursue careers. We are lucky to be partners with such dynamic and influential groups, and I get to coordinate visits to various corporate campuses where we get sneak peeks into their fascinating research and development.

Students receive a set of career and watch videos as research for their bright futures!

One of my favorite projects over the past few years has been finding local STEM professionals to feature in our career video collection. (Check it out here! www.starbasemn.org/career) It is crucial for students to see people who look like them represented in STEM fields, and I love finding people who are passionate about their careers and willing to share that with our students!

Most of all, I love working with students in this unique environment. Being able to give kids an unforgettable experience is a privilege and we strive for continuous improvement. Our team at STARBASE is small but mighty and I am grateful to be part of our mission!

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What People Are Saying

STARBASE is the best place I have ever been! If I could, I would stay here forever!

– "Mad-Dash", 5th Grader

STARBASE is the best place I have ever been! If I could, I would stay here forever!

– "Mad-Dash", 5th Grader

My expectations would blown out of the water. They did a fantastic job. It taught me so much about my students abilities and skills I don't think I otherwise would have seen without this experience.

Teacher, Frost Lake

Could not have asked for a better week. Students applied their new learning in meaningful ways. Science, math, technology all integrated seamlessly in great learning experiences.

Teacher, University Avenue Elementary

I want to be a STARBASE Instructor when I grow up.

-"Owl", 5th Grader

Students' ability to learn outside of the traditional classroom setting and curriculum is incredibly valuable. The equipment at STARBASE (Ozobots, rockets, AR/VR, 3D printers) aren't found in every school, so this enables students to gain exposure to unique (and fun!) STEM equipment.

Parent

I find the blended use of technology for learning and engagement and the high energy of the staff are the most valuable aspects of STARBASE.

Teacher, Crossroads Elementary

I was inspired to learn about science and engineering because I was never really good at those two. I learned so much more in STARBASE about STEM in these 5 days than I would have learned in school in a month! I just wanted to tell how much of a difference you made in how I felt about STEM.

"Ella", 5th Grader

I liked giving commands to the robots and launching rockets! STARBASE was the best place I have ever been!

-"CR-7", 5th Grader

My STARBASE instructor made math easy!

-"Snow", 5th Grader

I loved getting to launch my rocket. I love exploring science. I love STARBASE!

"Lunar", 5th Grader

I want to learn more about STEM, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and also STEM careers. STARBASE has made me way more interested in STEM and made me ask questions.

"Jelly" 5th Grader

It was inspiring to see the robots, knowing they were built by a person.

-"Jewel", 5th Grader

The staff and curriculum are fantastic, the activities are really fun, and the students get to use a variety of software and technology that they aren't normally exposed to, like using different types of robots, playing around with CAD software, and building their own rockets.

Teacher, Emerson Elementary

I learned a lot! Not just the content but also my students. I saw how they learn by being hands on, and that brought out some strengths I hadn't seen in some of my students before.

Teacher, Cannon Falls

The ability for every students to see themselves and scientists and engineers is very powerful. It was nice to see all the students take risks and show agency in their learning.

Teacher, Loring Elementary

I am very happy and excited to learn more about STEM. It will change my life in ways I cannot imagine. My instructor has helped me to understand things in a different way and I am really happy about that. THANK YOU STARBASE!

"Star Berry", 5th Grader

STARBASE provided students the opportunity to think about global problems and taught them problem solving strategies. Showing them career related videos and integrating them into the day helped students to improve their awareness of what they can do to create a better and more peaceful world.

Teacher, XinXing Elementary

I want to challenge myself more in school and out of school. I like science even more.

"Sunny", 5th Grader

I learned more STEM on the first day at STARBASE than I ever have before.

-"Aly", 5th Grader

STARBASE encouraged me to start coding again and STARBASE helped me get back into it.

-"Cheerleader", 5th Grader

This experience made the learning come alive for them!

Teacher, Willow Lane

I’m excited to go on from this and tell people about this experience. I really do wish that you could do this every single year! I have learned a bunch and I have had a bunch of fun here at STARBASE!

"Taylor", 5th Grader

I saw some students that struggle at school SHINE at STARBASE! The differentiation was commendable, I felt like this week was professional development for me!

Teacher, Birch Lake Elementary

The hands on, project/experience based learning has been great for all the varied learners in my classroom regardless of their academic ability.

Teacher, Evergreen Park STEM School

My students loved it, we had an ice storm that I thought could have prevent some students from attending. 100% attendance even on that day. That to me means that every student (and parent) wanted to be here. That is huge.

Teacher, Saint Andrews

My dream job includes STEM, so what I learned at STARBASE will help me in the future.

– "Books", 5th Grader

STARBASE helped my students get excited for a potential future in STEM. My students are able to see their success at STARBASE and then feel more confident in their abilities in STEM. They have been exploring different careers and current events related to STEM outside of their time at STARBASE and are more excited to do STEM activities in the classroom!

Teacher, University Avenue Elementary

I am inspired to follow my dream of becoming a mathematician for NASA!

"Phoenix", 5th Grader

My expectations were exceeded. The students were hands-on, engaged, using teamwork, creativity, STEM, and perseverance every day. They had a great experience and I loved getting to see my students in this way.

Teacher, North Park

At the start of STARBASE, I did not want to have a STEM career, but now I am very interested in that being part of my career. STARBASE is something that I really enjoyed, and I would totally come back! I want to thank my instructor for being the best ever!

"1989" 5th Grader

I hope every student will get to enjoy this experience just like I did.

-"Celestial", 5th Grader

STARBASE taught me more about STEM and convinced me that I would like to have a career in STEM.

-"Char", 5th Grader

I would describe STARBASE as fun, engaging, and challenging. Many of our students were highly encouraged by the instructor to persevere in the high rigor of the curriculum.

Teacher, Birch Lake

STARBASE was really a once in a lifetime opportunity.

-"Marvel", 5th Grader

This was WONDERFUL! I truly loved my experience. STARBASE Instructors made me excited about teaching science!

STEM Coordinator, Evergreen Park STEM School

I'm always excited to bring my students to STARBASE. We have a lot of 5th graders this year who really struggle in the classroom, so I was excited to come here to see how well they would thrive in the STARBASE environment. STARBASE has an amazing way of engaging students with math and science, and it has been so fun as an educator to see my struggling learners engaged with high value curriculum.

Teacher, University Avenue Elemetary

STARBASE made me more curious about science and want to do more creative things.

– "Little Coke", 5th Grader

I used to think that STEM was boring and that it was worthless in a job that I would want to do in my future, but STARBASE turned my whole perspective around and now I want to be a food scientist. I think that STARBASE was so fun and a great learning experience.

"Panda", 5th Grader

They engaged scholars directly in discussion about various topics, meeting them where they were at. Very well designed for all learners.

Teacher, Sojourner Truth Academy

I have never ever seen the kids more excited to learn about science.

Parent, Monroe Elementary

I really want to learn more about space and rockets. Thank you all so much for this super fun experience. I normally don't like school, but this was super fun, thank you again.

"Nite Bite", 5th Grader

The AR we used was really life changing.

-"Dr. Strange", 5th Grader

I am inspired to learn more about space and Mars because on the first day I was not really excited and didn't want to learn about Mars, but once we got more into it, I go so interested and amazed.

"Vermillion", 5th Grader

I learned so much at STARBASE, and I know I can do more.

"RDVFury", 5th Grader

I was very impressed that each day at STARBASE, the activities were engaging for the students, they were excited about the activities, and learned so much!

Teacher, Castle Elementary

I had a bunch of fun. It made me think I want to do more STEM jobs or some STEM projects now at school or home. This was for sure a field trip I won’t forget.

"Billy Jo", 5th Grader

I’m good at STEM now. This was very fun. The week was the coolest! I wish I could do this again.

"Quoia", 5th Grader

With respect to science, this is the most engaged I have ever seen my students.

Teacher, Willow Lane

STARBASE Minnesota, Inc. is a non-federal entity. It is not part of the State of Minnesota, the Minnesota National Guard, the National Guard Bureau, or the Department of Defense or any of its components and it has no governmental status.