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This paper presents the experiences of two STEM outreach specialists as they prepared two rural middle school teachers with limited STEM backgrounds to implement a 3-part grade level specific engineering design elective course at their schools. This work is part of an Innovative Experiences for Teachers and Students (ITEST) project designed to provide community-based engineering design experiences for underrepresented middle school students (grades 6-8) from rural N.C. The course engages students in authentic STEM design experiences situated in the advanced manufacturing industry in an effort to improve their STEM content knowledge and career awareness and their self-efficacy, identity and interest in STEM careers, particularly engineering. The outreach specialists experienced a number of challenges as they worked with the teachers, many of which were exacerbated by the on-going pandemic. In response to social distancing requirements imposed by COVID-19, the specialists adopted a just-in-time (JIT) approach to teacher professional development (PD) where the content, pace, and scheduling of PD sessions were based on each individual teacher’s prior content knowledge, comfort level and work schedule. This paper focuses on the process of skill preparation of the middle school teachers in the execution of the 6th grade course in the 2020-21 school year. Additional aspects to be discussed include a sampling of best practices, an overview of lessons learned and implementation strategies during the second iteration of the 6th grade course and the first implementation of the 7th grade course during the 2021-22 school year. 

In early 2020, a research collaboration between a college of engineering, a research institute, a pre-college STEM program, a rural school district, and the local advanced manufacturing industry began. The goal of this Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) project was to create community-based engineering design experiences for underserved middle school students (grades 6-8) from rural NC aimed to improve their cognitive (STEM content knowledge and career awareness) and non-cognitive (interest, self-efficacy, and STEM identity) outcomes, and ultimately lead to their increased participation in STEM fields, particularly engineering. The project leverages strategic partnerships to create a 3-part, grade-level specific Engineering Design and Exploration course that engages middle school students in authentic engineering design experiences that allow them to research, design, and problem-solve in a simulated advanced manufacturing environment. Shortly after receiving university approval to begin the research process, progress was halted due to an unprecedented global health crisis. The school district was closed for several weeks as administrators and teachers prepared to transition to remote learning. In addition, the district experienced unexpected teacher and administrator turnover. In the wake of such uncertainty, the partners have pivoted their research design to work more closely with industry partners while still maintaining an active relationship with the school district as they rebuild. This paper will describe the challenges faced, strategies employed, and lessons learned during the course development and implementation process.