Written by Allen Davidson, Superintendent of Employee Services
From CASSA – Conference July 2-4 Montreal, QC
Theme: SCIENCE • TECHNOLOGY • ENGINEERING • ARTS •
MATH (S.T.E.A.M.)
The conference kicked off with keynote
speaker Natalie
Panek.
Panek’s passion for science and exploration have lead this Calgarian to
become a Mission Systems Engineer (Rocket Scientist and Explorer) at MDA Space
Missions after internships with NASA. Follow Natalie on Twitter @nmpanek.
During her inspirational message
Natalie touched on the key learning opportunities and competencies that
she sees as integral for engaged learning. First she highlighted the need for Perseverance as she recounted 4 rejections from the NASA space
exploration internship program. After her 4th rejection she decided
to pick up the phone and call NASA herself. It only took two minutes on the
phone before she was offered an internship! Natalie reminded us we as educators
must encourage the young people in our lives develop perseverance and resiliency accept failure and learn to pursue our
goals relentlessly. Next she discussed the concept of Peak Moments and ensuring our young people are able to recognize and
pursue these in their own lives. She discussed her important Peak Moments as those times where she
was engaged in a project or
undertaking where she was full of life including her work on the U of C Solar Car
Project and her NASA internship teams. In
Foothills we know this as ‘Flow’ where students are intellectually engaged in
authentic tasks provide appropriate challenge for the skills and competencies
that students have. The takeaway here is that as educators we can help our
students identify what the conditions for peak
moments are and how to evaluate if students are moving toward or away from
those conditions and how to pursue those Peak
Moment conditions.
Panek then addressed Teamwork and the skills necessary to be part of successful teams where
she has achieved her own advances and breakthroughs in S.T.E.A.M. She
emphasized our obligation to develop the skills and competencies required to be
part of an effective team including dealing with frustrations through
self-awareness and self-regulation. Communication was a competency that
Panek has come to understand is important for her work on teams but also
helping others understand the importance of the work she is leading. By
example, she discussed Science
Communication and how essential clear communication is to gain support for
fostering research in robotics technology to advance sustainable space
exploration through recycling and re-purposing of abandoned satellite
technologies. Relatedly, Panek outlined the importance of Multidisciplinary
Understanding throughout all the research and design
projects she has been a part of. She recounted the rich history of the arts
throughout NASA’s history. Further, she discussed how it has become imperative
for her to have perspectives from multiple disciplines as she considers the
broader social and ethical impact of her work in environments beyond the earth.
Finally, Natalie Panek left us with the
need to ensure our young people have innovators and pioneers in S.T.E.A.M. for Mentorship opportunities. She reminded us that societal obsession with
reality TV personalities like Kim Kardashian was overshadowing our awareness of
significant female leaders and role models like Ziya
Tong and Jessi
Combs.
