Teachers try their hands at drilling!

Regina Sackman is the principal at Springmill STEM Elementary in Mansfield City Schools. She took advantage of OOGEEP's elementary STEM teacher workshop, then took her learning back to her teachers.

Sackman shared the lessons Sweet Explorations and Build a Model Oil Well from the Drilling and Well Stimulation unit during district professional development. "First, I had teachers review the list of products that are petroleum based to see if they used any of the products," Sackman said. "This introduction sparked a lot of conversation and interest as well as questions for future investigations, especially the toothpaste and aspirin! Next, we dived into a vocabulary and career lesson focused around the career connections and word wall words of unit four."

Sackman shared a short video from the field trip at Reno Oil and Gas LLC where the drilling was explained and had teachers explore the OOGEEP website and teacher resources.

With a bit of background information the teachers were ready to try their hand at "drilling"! Throughout the Sweet Explorations lesson, teachers were engaged, making connections to the information shared earlier as well as discussing how the content aligned with state standards and how it could be applied to their classes. They really enjoyed the lesson.

"The materials I shared and then placed in our resource library have already been checked out and used by several teachers," Sackman said. "And the students in the classrooms have shared their learning with me and their families. One student who had to be in quarantine during his class’s lesson of Sweet Explorations asked his teacher if he could join in virtually because he didn’t want to miss the lab. His request speaks of the engagement generated by the OOGEEP lessons for all of the students."

Sackman found the workshops to be well-organized, providing participants with lessons and materials to share with their students. "The format of the workshop allowed all teachers to delve into several lessons and become comfortable with the format of the lessons and supplemental materials by presenting the lesson to the group. The networking with people working in the industry was one of my favorite parts, as it allowed us to learn from those in the field and have discussions that will inform our teaching. This networking carried through to the field trips which were superb! After the workshop, the field trips allowed for the development of greater connections to oil production, industry suppliers, and career opportunities to share with students. I greatly enjoyed the workshops and field trips and appreciate the professional development that provides a greater understanding of Ohio oil and natural gas production."

Watch the OOGEEP website for information about upcoming teacher workshops!