Project #4: Learning & Engagement

April ’24 Updates

Project lead: Jennifer Ramos-Chavez

The final cut of the EVR Virtual Tour video was completed with editing input from the EVR team in mid-December, and will be incorporated into the CED curriculum.
- Watch the video here!
CED PD proposal accepted for the 2024 NSTA National Conference in Denver, CO and the 2024 ASEE National Conference PCEE Division K-12 pre-conference teacher workshop in Portland, OR.
Vigourous pre-college engagement including:
- series of seven CED virtual ASPIRE Meet & Greets presented by ASPIRE EVR student researchers with five teachers at three CED piloting schools engaging 215 high schoolers;
- series of high school presentations by UTEP ASA members at 3 local high school pre-engineering programs serving 71 students and 12 teachers;
- and community events in El Paso serving over 650 STEM students and their families.
Planned SLC/ASA cohort trip to Seattle visiting host sites including: Kenworth Assembly Plant, Kenworth R&D, PACCAR Technical Center, Washington State Ferries, NW Energy Coalition, Amazon -Zero Emissions Transportation, Lewis County Transit, TransAlta First Mode Proving Grounds, and Centralia College – Center of Excellence for Clean Energy.
Disseminated EWD information and networked with potential workforce training partners at Women4STEM 2nd Annual Conference.
Facilitated a collaborative relationship between the Westside’s Neighborhood House, USU’s 4-H Extension programs, and ASPIRE for expanded K-5 STEM education efforts.

The Cohort Travel program serves to provide networking and mentoring opportunites for our students (SLC/ASA). IIB members like Kenworth (Paccar) were able to engage in this program in several ways, including helping set up host site visits, offering their organization as a host site, serving as mentors and traveling with the students, or sponsoring student(s) to visit and network a their facilities. The event was successful and a fantastic way of connecting the next generation of workers to industry experts in the field.
Similarly, the ETS course (ASPIRE 101) provides a platform for IIB to connect with ASPIRE students and share their organization’s offerings and opportunities through guest speaker opportunities. This spring, we’ve had speakers representing industry and innovation members from the Central Florida Expressway Authority, Stadler Rail US, MERGE and EPE Consulting, along with Utah partners, like the Utah Department of Transportation, Utah Transit Authority, and Wasatch Front Regional Council.
Our pre-college team is activtly building programs to engage and educate K-12 learners about ETS career pathways. IIB members can collaborate in these efforts by providing information on meaningful/required skills, technology and jobs they feel are relevent to their organizaiton.

The CED Environmental Justice StoryMap collection engaged students in comparing and contrasting EV and ICE vehicles to help demystify the need for moving from fossil fuel-powered to sustainable transportation options.
Students in the Transportation Equity class gained valuable knowledge and skills to address equity barriers to widespread EV adoption.
General community outreach in underserved areas helps build literacy and understanding of ETS so that people, particularly those from under-resourced communities can make educated choices about their choice of vehicles.

Project 4 leads the Center in providing access to educational resources and materials that bridge the disparity in electrified transportation systems literacy and culturally sensitive outreach within such communities to better understand adoption barriers, public perceptions/understanding, and needs.
The CED Environmental Justice StoryMap collection authentically engaged students in learning about and understanding transportation-related emissions and their impacts on air quality and public health, especially in underserved communities disproportionately impacted by transportation corridors.
Preliminary work in ETS career pathways, certificates, badging, etc., will provide a framework for community members to understand and explore possibiltities within ETS careers and training.
General community outreach in underserved areas helps build literacy and understanding of ETS and ETS career pathways so that people, particularly those from under-resourced communities, can make educated choices about their choice of vehicles and careers.
Education initiatives in the school space provides the opportunity to build capacity within educators to confidently teach EV-related curriculum, which in turn increases ETS literacy.
Students in the ETS class gained valuable knowledge and skills to address equity barriers to widespread EV adoption.