What did you do on your summer vacation? For some of the New York City students who will go back to school later this week, the answer is, “engineering!”

For the first time ever, hands-on engineering was part of the city’s summer school programs. Thousands of students boosted their STEM skills (and their understanding of what it’s like to be an engineer) by learning with Engineering is Elementary’s out-of-school-time (OST) curricula Engineering Adventures and Engineering Everywhere.

Every Thursday on the EiE blog we share resources and tips to help you teach your best!

If you’re teaching the Engineering is Elementary curriculum for the first time, maybe you’re wondering how to assess student learning. Engineering assessments ARE a bit different from the ones you use for math or ELA. For your convenience, there’s a whole suite of ready-to-use, research-tested assessment tools available for the EiE curriculum. These tools include:

• Lesson-Specific Rubrics
• Lesson-Specific Assessments
• General Assessments

We want you to have access to great EiE PD wherever you teach. That’s why we’re building a national network of professional development providers. This month, we’re pleased to welcome our newest professional development collaborator: the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Q: I just learned I’ll be teaching the Engineering is Elementary curriculum this year. But I don’t know anything about engineering! Help—how do I get smart in a hurry?

A: First, know that you’re not alone. Most elementary teachers have never taken a college course in engineering. Second, remember that you don’t have to master advanced engineering concepts like “axiomatic design” or “dual modular redundancy,” just familiar concepts like “systems” and “processes.” Here are four fast ways to learn more about classroom engineering.

A few years ago, Baltimore educators and researchers launched an innovative STEM program for elementary students. One goal was to get parents engaged in their students’ STEM learning; another was to connect STEM learning to real-world issues in the local community. This focus on local connections is how Engineering Adventures, the out-of-school-time curriculum developed by Engineering is Elementary, came to be part of the “STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools” project—SABES for short.