InTrans / Aug 24, 2015
Go!-ing forward with K-12 outreach activities
Other than car mechanics, airline pilots, and truck drivers, young people have little to no understanding of the myriad of careers available in transportation. This fact (the finding of a small survey of Iowa State University students by an Institute for Transportation staffer in 2007) makes it challenging to attract the best and brightest students to transportation careers.
Thus, Go! was initiated. This upbeat, online magazine has become the Midwest Transportation Center’s (MTC) premier tool for informing young people about careers in transportation and related academic programs. Go! sponsors several activities:
Articles. Every week at least one new story is posted on Go! and shared via Facebook and Twitter. Recent examples include a three-part series on “exploration”—transportation in space, oceans, and deserts.
E-newsletter. Go!’s latest articles and other resources are broadcast to more than 5,000 students, teachers, transportation professionals, and other subscribers.
K–12 partnerships. Working one-on-one with more than 20 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers and transportation professionals in Iowa, Go! staff are providing articles, video clips, and other resources. Go! is also partnering with MTC members Harris-Stowe State University, the University of Missouri–Columbia, and the University of Missouri–St. Louis to reach teachers in Missouri. And, using Go!’s “Curriculum Connections” series, teachers across the country can highlight STEM topics in transportation in their classrooms.
Webcomic. In “Dot’s Adventures with Transportation” (premiering spring 2015), young people can follow the life and adventures of teenager Dot as she learns about careers in transportation.
Mentor videos. Go! recently launched the “My Mentor” video interviews with professionals and InTrans graduate students. This series especially focuses on minorities and women in transportation.
Outreach. Go! is working with the Iowa Department of Transportation to implement TRAC™ & RIDES in Iowa schools. TRAC™ & RIDES, a national STEM-related educational program produced by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, provides educational modules to teachers.
For more information contact Brandy Abraham, communication specialist, babraham@iastate.edu
This aritcle is part of the CTRE EnRoute 2014 Year-at-a-Glance series. Download the full document (.pdf).