Battelle 2023: A Columbus Monthly Special Section

Growing Our Future

The Why (and How) of STEM Education

Exploring Battelle’s commitment to supporting STEM education in Central Ohio and beyond

In 2019, Battelle’s CEO, Lou Von Thaer, set an audacious goal for the organization: to make a positive impact on 1 million students each year through access to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education by 2025. In November 2022, Battelle reached that goal—three years ahead of schedule.

Battelle was established by the last will and testament of Ohio industrialist Gordon Battelle, which called for an institute that would serve “for the purpose of education in connection with and the encouragement of creative and research work in the making of discoveries and inventions.” Nearly a century later, that founding mission thrives, influencing research, innovation and its philanthropic focus on STEM education.

“We’re contributing to the technologies that are helping the world with the day-to-day application of science and technology, while also helping to

develop the next generation of innovators and problem solvers,” Von Thaer says.

1.4 million

The number of students Battelle impacted with STEM education last year

Although the United States has seen significant growth in STEM jobs in recent years, educational offerings have not met the demand. Wes Hall, Battelle’s vice president of philanthropy and education, says that gap comes down to a lack of awareness about STEM opportunities.

“The question is: Do students and teachers understand what opportunities are out there in the future,” he says, “and are we being intentional about connecting the education experiences that those students are having in the classroom with pathways that lead them to emerging professional opportunities?”

Through the Ohio STEM Learning Network and the Tennessee STEM

Innovation Network— both created in partnership with each state’s department of education—as well as through several national initiatives, Battelle was able to provide STEM programming to 1.4 million kids in 2022. These partnerships, including at U.S. national laboratories where Battelle has a management role, allow Battelle to meet the needs of teachers in their communities.

“We want to empower educators,” Hall says. “What we do well is leverage the creativity and knowledge of local educators with new training or resources. With those supports, they can create powerful new STEM experiences for students.”

The groundwork for this success was laid in 2006, when Battelle and Ohio State University co-founded Metro Early College High School. Metro,

Kids and adults alike watch a demonstration at the 2022 COSI Science Festival.

Ohio’s first STEM school, today serves students from more than 20 local districts, with a majority hailing from the City of Columbus. Nearly 100 percent of students graduate from Metro, and more than 75 percent of its students earn college credits before graduating.

During his first week as CEO of Battelle, Von Thaer visited Metro Early College High School and was struck by the success of Battelle’s impact on STEM education. “It sunk deep into me that there’s something special here that the people of Battelle have helped to build over time,” he says.

Battelle’s philanthropic and education work is centered on STEM identity: making sure students from all backgrounds can see themselves in a future STEM career. Historically, women and people of color have not been equally represented in STEM fields.

“It’s very hard to be what you can’t see,” Hall says. “If students don’t know what an engineer does or they’ve never met an engineer that looks like them, it’s very hard to connect the STEM skills they are learning in the classroom to the opportunity these fields offer.”

While Battelle has a strong presence across the country, more than 60 percent of its philanthropic giving stays in Central Ohio. By partnering with local institutions such as COSI, the PAST Foundation, and the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council, Battelle is helping to bring STEM education beyond the classroom to better reach underrepresented groups who may not have the same access to STEM programming.

Now that Battelle has achieved its goal of reaching 1 million kids annually, Von Thaer and Hall say the organization is focused on making those experiences even richer, so everyone can benefit from a high-quality STEM education, no matter what career they pursue.

CONTRIBUTOR Brittany Moseley

“What we’re really interested in is building critical thinking skills that will empower this next generation to solve the problems that we’re going to face as a country in the years to come,” Hall says. “Whether they become scientists or engineers, or even if they don’t go into a STEM career, the thinking skills that they’re developing is what is most important to us.”

As Ohio and the larger Midwest region become hubs for science and technology companies, providing every student in the state with a quality STEM education will become even more important. “What you’re seeing now is this move into Midwestern cities, and a lot of cities are vying for these jobs,” Von Thaer says. “We want to make sure that Central Ohio is ready, and our kids are prepared to succeed well into the future.”

PROJECT MANAGER Emma Frankart Henterly

DESIGN DIRECTOR Betsy Becker

Above, students showcase their research about healthy food access at the Ohio STEM Learning Network’s annual Design Challenge State Showcase; below, Battelle CEO Lou Von Thaer conducts a science demonstration during the COSI Science Festival.

STEM for All

When Ben Di’Chiara began teaching at Peabody High School in 2016 in Trenton, Tennessee, he knew what the acronym STEM stood for, but not the impact that a curriculum based on science, technology, engineering and math could deliver. After attending a STEM expo in Chicago, Di’Chiara’s interest was sparked, and he left motivated to apply what he learned in his school district.

Today, Di’Chiara is the career technical education director and STEM coordinator for the Trenton Special School District, where STEM education is now a foundation at every grade level.

“We’ve incorporated project-based learning and design thinking into every aspect of every classroom within our school district,” Di’Chiara says. “We feel like we are STEM, and STEM is us.”

Di’Chiara says the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network was instrumental in helping the rural district achieve this feat. Created in 2010 through a partnership between Battelle and the Tennessee Department of Education,

the network is focused on increasing interest and participation in STEM and creating programming that ensures Tennessee students are prepared for success in college and in their careers.

“They helped us understand that STEM isn’t just a one-off project that you find on YouTube. There’s a much deeper part to STEM, and the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network provided that for us,” Di’Chiara says.

With support from the network, Di’Chiara says teachers can now implement new and interesting projects, centered around STEM, into their lesson plans. It’s less about trying to change what teachers are doing, he says, and more about giving them the resources to “fill in the blanks.”

A solid STEM education can benefit everyone—even those who are planning for a career in another field. “Part of STEM is building effective communication and collaboration skills,” Di’Chiara says. “You put yourself out there in uncomfortable situations on purpose. It makes you grow as a person.”

STEM education is now a foundation for learning at every grade level in the Trenton Special School District in Tennessee.

Trenton, TN

The Path Ahead

How STEM education today supports the workforce of the future

As STEM education continues to evolve, Battelle is committed to helping teachers create exciting and innovative experiences for their students. This starts with giving educators the tools they need through professional development opportunities.

Marisa Saelzler, a library media specialist at Chapman Elementary School in the Dublin City School District, attended the Ohio STEM Learning Network’s Computer Science K–5 Workshop last summer. She describes the experience as transformative.

“It has completely changed students’ thinking of how we can further develop our STEM mindsets,” Saelzler says. “A change in thinking is evidence that new learning has occurred.”

The five-day workshop focused on coding and computational thinking, deconstructing the concepts through both plugged-in and unplugged activities. Saelzler says this unique approach allowed her to “understand and unpack the why” behind the concepts and make new connections to interdisciplinary subject areas.

“When I am teaching, I just keep pulling from these experiences that I had there,” she says. “We learned how to deconstruct each concept and then reteach it in multiple ways, from multiple viewpoints and through multiple different modalities.”

Saelzler found new ways to teach students about coding and design thinking through “unplugged” learning experiences that are based in nature and the students’ natural environment. She focused on creating conditions where students could make discoveries, wonder about possibilities and gain experience using tools and resources to help them further their investigations. “The student is at the center of all the learning taking place,” she says. “I am there to help support

the learner and keep nudging their thinking on their journey to discovering the answer.”

“I feel like my students understand things so deeply, because we’re going at it in so many different ways,” she adds. “Research is a multisensory experience. It is not just reading something printed on a page; it is experiencing it, deconstructing it, playing with the possibilities, imagining the what-ifs.”

Through professional development opportunities and classroom grants, Battelle supports educators, like Saelzler, who are finding engaging and innovative ways to foster a passion for STEM in students.

“This experience is changing these kids’ lives and what they think is possible,” she says. “They’re hearing, from this young age, about what’s

possible and being encouraged to pursue that—and [it’s being] nurtured. I am really proud of them and honored to be a part of their learning journey.”

Attending an Ohio STEM Learning Network workshop inspired a new way of teaching STEM concepts for Marisa Saelzler of Dublin City Schools.

It has completely changed students’ thinking of how we can further develop our STEM mindsets.

­—MARISA SAELZLER, library media specialist at Chapman Elementary School

BUILDING A NATIONAL STEM WORKFORCE

Battelle’s impact stretches far beyond Central Ohio.

Regional philanthropy grants from past year

Educational outreach at national laboratories where Battelle plays a management/operations role

Members of the Battelle-managed STEMx network of state STEM organizations

Battelle-managed state STEM networks

STUDENTS REACHED

Over the last three years, Battelle has roughly doubled the number of students it’s impacted through STEM education each year.

833,000

FY 2022

FY 2021 1,400,000

TIMELINE OF BATTELLE’S STEM EDUCATION EFFORTS

2006 Metro Early College High School founded

2008 The Ohio STEM Learning Network founded in partnership with Battelle

2010 The Tennessee STEM Innovation Network established in partnership with Battelle

2012 The STEMx national network launched by Battelle

2015 Battelle-led consortium takes on management of the Army Educational Outreach Program, a portfolio of national STEM programs

2019 Battelle’s campaign to reach 1 million students begins

2022 Battelle reaches 1 million students, three years ahead of schedule

TIMELINE OF METRO’S GROWTH

Milestones for Metro Early College High School

Erika Reeves-Bodies (center) discusses botany with Reem Bader (left) and Aandrea Peavy (right).

Photo by Kim Rottmayer.