When it comes to sparking excitement about STEM, Dr. Carmen Sidbury believes “It begins with teachers.”
Her passion for the academic discipline was expressed to a group of educators from Sampson County Schools for its Beginning Teacher Professional Development Day. Sidbury is the director of the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s (UNCW) Center for the Education of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
For the Onslow County native, the role is the pinnacle of her career — a journey that started with her fifth-grade teacher, who was new to the classroom.
“It was a gamechanger for me,” Sidbury said as the keynote speaker. “She taught us how to have a passion for learning.”
Her interest in education, especially with STEM, continued in high school thanks to a teacher and getting involved in a summer engineering program at Clemson University. It opened up a whole new world for Sidbury when she learned how to do interesting activities like making cement blocks that would float.
“It made me reflect back again on how meaningful the teacher was in my experience,” Sidbury said. “I know many of you will be that for your students. You’ll see something in the child that perhaps they didn’t see in themselves.”
Those experiences led Sidbury to becoming the first African-American female to earn a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology after earning a bachelor’s and master’s in mechanical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University. Her career journey includes technical positions at AT&T Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies. Prior to joining UNCW, Dr. Sidbury led her company, The Sidbury Group, to help organizations increase research capacity and to support pathways from K-12 to higher education.
Her experiences also includes leadership positions at several universities including Spelman College, the University of Washington and Georgia Tech. She also spent several years with the National Science Foundation in the Division of Graduate Education as a program director for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
“I tell you my story because I don’t think that I’m so special,” she said. “I know that I’m a product of hard work and I’m a product of teachers who believed in me and instilled in me a good work ethic.”
After asking the new teachers to raise their hands, she made a request for the educators to inspire hope in the students they face every day. While it may feel like a challenge, Sidbury said there’s a lot of support for STEM education through UNCW. Through her experience in higher education, Sidbury said a lot of students are not ready for the rigor of STEM, with gaps in their academic preparation.
“I think K-12 is the place where we’ll get a really big return on our investment, while recognizing that technology moves so fast,” she said. “It’s exciting to be part of this professional development, where we are helping teachers become more comfortable with delivering content to make sure we’re having our kids have relevant content presented.”
She added that teachers are the bridge for the future when it comes to preparing the youth and was glad to see a lot teachers eager to enhance their skills. During her speech, Sidbury said a lot of teachers were influential in her decision to attend college, study STEM and earn a doctorate. She returned to her home state of North Carolina after working many years across the country and enjoyed sharing experiences with Sampson County teachers.
The event was sponsored by the Wells Fargo Foundation in partnership with the UNC Watson College of Education and the school district. A grant from the foundation paid for program materials and payments for substitutes in the teacher’s absence. During the day, teachers participated in sessions focusing on STEM. Some of the topics were based on coding, engineering, art, activities and career opportunities in STEM.
“I think it’s a great thing that they’re doing,” said Megan Mouldon, a teacher from Hobbton Elementary School. “The majority of us are beginning teachers and we can get information from people who are in our shoes too, as well as participate in the breakout sessions. It’s a lot of great information that they shared, that we probably wouldn’t normally get.”
More than 50 first- and second-year teachers in the district received instruction from STEM leaders. Somer Lewis, director of the UNCW Professional Development System, said the sessions allowed teachers to learn about integrating content and connect with others from the university.
“It’s about teachers thinking critically about their content and being able to apply it to real-world applications for students and we see that a lot in STEM,” Lewis said. “We see students accessing critical skills that they’re going to need in the workplace through the STEM subject areas. This gives teachers an opportunity to think about how they can do that in their classrooms.”
Brenda Nordin, director of the district’s Teacher Support program, said Sampson County Schools was fortunate to partner with Wells Fargo and the university.
“The teachers are enjoying it and the different course offerings that they can do,” Nordin said. “It’s a great opportunity.”
Jennifer King, STEM leader from Hobbton High School, led a session titled “Greenhouse Effect.” She talked about building two greenhouses at the school to teach students about the standards for plant life and soil types.
“I enjoyed sharing what I do and how I use different applications for the classroom,” King said. “Hopefully they can take it back and hopefully benefit their classroom.”
Eddy Zigmont, media specialist at Salemburg Elementary School, showed appreciation for the support and grant funding for the program. Jenni Li Wong, an educator from Union Middle School, felt the same way as her colleagues and enjoyed meeting others across the school system. Alesha McPhail, a kindergarten teacher from Salemburg Elementary School, praised the learning aspect of the sessions focusing on different grade levels and subject areas.
“That’s a great thing and I love that,” McPhail said. “If you’re a new teacher, you get to meet other beginning teachers and it makes things a lot easier. I like this and it’s great.”
