The EiE professional development team has been hard at work developing a suite of PD experiences that fit the diverse needs of elementary educators. If you're looking to improve your teaching practice this spring, it's the perfect time to check out what EiE PD has to offer. In February, join us for two free webinars: Fostering Engineering Habits of Mind in Students and Meaningful Integration of STEM in Elementary Classrooms. Or be one of the first to experience our brand new, three-part online professional development series, Intro to Engineering for Elementary Educators. And for an in-person experience, join us in Boston on March 8–9 for the hands-on, introductory Everyone Engineers workshop. Read on to learn more and register today!

The EiE team has found that young engineers are most engaged when they’re working on solving problems that connect to their own lives. Throughout our in-school and out-of-school-time curricula, we highlight the relevance of engineering and technology. And because our units are focused on engineering design challenges set in the real world, our team is constantly finding videos and articles that relate to our units. Check out the real-world connections below and share them with your class to show kids how engineers are changing the world every day!

EiE turns 15 this year, and we’re excited to kick off our 15th anniversary celebration recollecting some of our earliest failures and, of course, triumphs. EiE fans and long-time blog readers will know that one of our most-loved Engineering Habits of Mind is “persisting and learning from failure.” We wouldn’t have made it to where we are today without a few challenges along the way!

2018 marks the 15-year anniversary of EiE! That’s 15 years, 15 million students engaging with engineering across 50 states, over one hundred thousand educators reached, hundreds of professional development workshops, and many more to come. All throughout the year, we’re celebrating this tremendous achievement with new product launches, more online professional development opportunities, and supplemental resources to better support YOU! Take a look at what we have in store for you, and keep checking our blog for more updates.

One of the best ways to re-engage students after the winter break is to rebuild a positive, collaborative classroom culture. Positive and collaborative classroom environments foster equitable learning experiences for all learners! Throughout our educator guides, we provide teaching strategies and tips that will help you create a positive learning environment because we’ve done the research that shows, for example, that competitive classroom environments can negatively impact and discourage girls and children of color from participating in classroom activities. As you and your students re-acclimate to the classroom this month, try out these quick and easy ways to get your students pumped for the rest of the school year!