SheShinesOn…Michelle DiIeso, Engineering is Elementary

STAT BOX

Senior Curriculum Developer with EiE for 2.5 years

An AmeriCorps alumna, she taught in afterschool classrooms and did one-on-one literacy tutoring

She recently travelled to Africa to bring EiE to a schoolteachers in Northern Uganda

Currently re-reading a favorite novel, "A Walk in the Woods", by Bill Bryson

First of all, tell us about your trip to Uganda!

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to volunteer with the educational organization Oysters and Pearls to bring Engineering is Elementary to a school. A colleague and I continued the work started this summer with a group of teachers in Northern Uganda, providing professional development, and taking part in their engineering class. We also had some time to travel around the South West section of the country, which was amazing and beautiful.

Q: You roles with AmeriCorps and EiE seem closely related. Can you tell us more about your work?

My AmeriCorps and summer camp positions taught me how to vary activities for a wide audience, and create thoughtful lesson plans that meet specific learning goals. Now at EiE, in addition to collaborating with my colleagues to create similarly engaging engineering curricula for elementary and middle school out-of-school time programs, I design and implement professional development workshops.

Q: What advice would you give to people who are interested in EiE’s work?

I would suggest getting as much experience in education as possible. Volunteering is a great way to gain experience and get your foot in the door. Finding positions that allow you to work with diverse groups of people will help you learn how to vary activities in response to the needs of your audience. This is very helpful when designing a curriculum that encourages everyone to engineer!

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