Woonsocket Teacher Picks Up STEM Teaching Skills at Space Camp

By: Tim Studebaker

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WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WLNE) – It’s a unique approach to career development.  A sixth grade teacher in Woonsocket is among those upping her game by going to space camp.  What she learned there should take her lessons to the next level.

Fresh off her trip to the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Woonsocket Middle School at Hamlet 6th grade science teacher Jennifer Polacek is still beaming with excitement.

Polacek says, “It was probably the best experience I’ve ever had professional development-wise.”

Officially known as the Honeywell Educators at Space Academy, the program gives middle school science and math teachers the chance to experience some pretty cool stuff.

Polacek says, “We went on the multi-axis simulator, which is a simulator that spins you around to make it seem like you’re coming back through Earth’s atmosphere in a space ship.  We got to build rockets.  We got to code Raspberry Pis to send up in the rocket so it could tell us how far it went, how fast it went.”

They also got to go on simulated missions, each with a job to do.  In the process, those teachers from all around the world had the chance to compare STEM teaching skills.

Polacek says, “You get to meet a great many different personalities, teaching styles.  And it all comes together so you learn from each other.”

She says it gave her the opportunity to remember what it’s like to be the student rather than the teacher.

Polacek says, “You might struggle with new things you’re learning, so you kind of feel now how my students might feel in my class.  So, it made me step back and evaluate how I might want to come into the school year and help my students a little bit more.”

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