Lethbridge Polytechnic invites you to be our partner in encouraging an interest in STEM in students in kindergarten through Grade 12.
Lethbridge Polytechnic’s Centre for Trades is forging partnerships in K-12 school systems and among skilled tradespeople to help introduce students to career possibilities in the trades while providing meaningful, authentic and relevant learning opportunities in STEM.
This page will introduce K-12 teachers and trades experts to the many ways to partner with Lethbridge Polytechnic in support of teaching and learning math and science.
Connecting K-12 curriculum with real-world experts
With help from Westwind School Division K-12 teachers, the polytechnic’s Centre for Trades instructors identified natural alignments between the curriculum covered in our Trades programs and elementary, junior and senior high curriculum. The review included a look at the new Math and Science curriculum.
The polytechnic’s STEM team began identifying and planning lesson activities and teaching resources that could help bring math and science concepts to life for K-12 students.
The result is a series of free videos, detailed guides to activities, and for-loan physical kits with the tools needed to teach K-12 concepts in a way that is inherently relevant in the real world. When students asks “Why do I need to learn this?” or “When will I ever need to know this?,” these lessons will provide the answer.
Real-life examples enhance student engagement
Here’s an example of how it works. A junior high teacher is teaching students about electrical circuitry. The teacher can borrow from the polytechnic’s lending library of toolkits. Each box has 12 circuit boards that power windows in an automobile. The kits come with a teacher’s guide to using the circuits to demonstrate the concept on something that exists in the students’ lives. Odds are good, students will look at the power windows of their family vehicle in a different way, knowing how electricity works to keep the window functioning.
How to become a partner
There are many ways to join this innovative partnership with Lethbridge Polytechnic and promote STEM.
Facts to know
256,000
new apprentices are needed over the next five years to meet demand in Canada1
14
Trades programs offered at Lethbridge Polytechnic
~$75,000
Amount of scholarships and awards available to students annually in the skilled trades at Lethbridge Polytechnic.
Open the door to Trades training
If you know of a student interested in pursuing a career in the trades, Lethbridge Polytechnic is ready to help them make that dream a reality. Refer interested students to our Centre for Trades and Technologies page to see the many options, and watch for information on Lethbridge Polytechnic’s dual credit opportunities, which support a student’s high school success and entry to post-secondary trades training.
14 trades programs offered at Lethbridge Polytechnic
“Knowledge of STEM subjects is more necessary in the trades than you might think. But for those who felt math or science were not a strength, they often find when they use it in everyday life, it’s a lot less intimidating and might make more sense.”
— Dan Van Haberden
Automotive Service Technician Apprentice 2003
Two-time Alberta Skills champion
Secondary teacher, Calvin Christian School
Lethbridge Polytechnic: Your Partner in STEM thanks our partners in Westwind School Division who have been working on this project since its inception, and the Government of Alberta for funding through the Apprenticeship Partnership Grant.
1 source: Employment and Social Development Canada