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In late 2005 MESA trained 338 faculty and staff members throughout the state in the delivery of the organization’s award-winning hands-on math and science curriculum for K–12 students. Educators from dozens of schools participated in trainings held over the fall and winter months at university and corporate campuses in Fresno, Fullerton, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Jose. Designed to prepare teachers for the math and science activities and projects they will undertake with their students for the 2006 engineering design competitions, the institutes were conducted by leaders from academia and industry. In addition to brushing up on pedagogy, instructors were exposed to the math and science behind the fabrication of model cars, planes, bridges, egg-drop containers, and other contraptions. A new competition this year is the trebuchet, a small-scale version of the massive medieval catapults used during castle sieges. “This is the best and most useful training I have attended in years,” MESA teacher Simon Perez of Roosevelt High School in Fresno said of the December 3 training at CSU Fresno. Added Elaine Yen of Sequoia Middle School, also in Fresno: “It is wonderful to go over the rules and understand the competition well. The training was very informative and helpful.” “This was a wonderful opportunity to provide MESA advisors with hands-on, quality training that translates into better experiences for MESA students,” Vonna Hammerschmitt, MESA Center Director of CSU Fullerton, said of “SMART: the Southern MESA Advisors’ Regional Training Institute” she held October 8. “Every teacher left with renewed vigor.” The San Jose training was generously staffed, supported and hosted again this year by networking giant Cisco Systems at its San Jose corporate headquarters. Cisco is also supporting the MESA San Jose Center with a $150,000 grant to improve the center’s data management.
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