For Michigan educators:
The Battelle Teacher Academy
The Battelle Teacher Academy page for Michigan STEM educators is hosted by the Ohio STEM Learning Network. Both efforts are managed by Battelle, a non-profit science and engineering institute dedicated to advancing high-quality STEM education nationwide. The program is presented in partnership with the State of Michigan’s MiSTEM Network.
Grow STEM in your classroom
Bring the best in STEM learning to your classroom with the Battelle Teacher Academy. This program takes educators deep into STEM best practices.
Over a year-long cohort experience, participants hone their confidence and ability to:
- Build a strong STEM culture and identity inside the classroom
- Embed design thinking in everyday instruction
- Leverage authentic problem-based learning units to enhance student engagement
- Strengthen community partnerships to connect learning to local needs
Who is this program for?
Core topics
- Understanding your classroom’s STEM culture and identity
- Fostering a culture of collaboration, communication, accountability, and inquiry in your classroom
- Incorporating design thinking into classroom instruction
- Overcoming barriers to design thinking curriculum
- Ensuring problem-based learning creates authentic experiences
- Enhancing problem- , project-, and place-based learning systems in your classroom (Learn more about 3-P Learning in Michigan in this paper from the MiSTEM Network)
- Managing community partners for maximum classroom impact
Summer externship
The Battelle Teacher Academy includes an industry externship. Teachers complete a one to two-day externship with a local business or manufacturer within their community.
During this experience, teachers immerse themselves inside a business to observe, and learn. Participants gather information about the inner workings of STEM in the real-world.
Through the externship, teachers answer key questions including:Â
- How could inner workings of this industry apply to classroom experiences?
- What authentic problems faced by this industry work for student-driven design challenges?Â
- What careers are available locally to students?
Partner industries are selected based on location and proximity to the schools participating in the program. Every effort is made to find a host industry within the community in which the cohort member teaches.
In total, a $1,200 stipend will help offset the cost of time/travel for participants who complete an externship and all of the program’s requirements.Â
Supported by the U.S. Navy
The Teacher Academy is supported, in part, by the U.S. Navy under a grant to expand the Maritime Industrial Base in the United States.
The Maritime Industrial Base includes millions of workers across 16,000 suppliers. This network of manufacturers and engineers is essential to the design, construction, maintenance and modernization of the U.S. Navy’s submarine and surface ship fleets.
There are hundreds of Maritime Industrial Base Suppliers in Ohio. Key trades include: Welding, CNC Machining, Pipefitting, Non-Destructive Testing, Additive Manufacturing, Plumbing, Electrical, Machining, and Metrology.Â
Learn more at https://buildsubmarines.com/.Â
Program details
Deadline is May 2, 2025
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Teach at a school in the State of Michigan
- Provide direct full-time instruction to students in grades K-12 (Note: This program is open to all content areas including electives)
- Upon acceptance, ensure delivery of a commitment form signed by the school’s principal supporting the applicant’s participation in the Battelle Teacher Academy
Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to apply to this program with a partner teacher from the same school or district.
Commitments
Thanks to the generous support of the Submarine Industrial Base of the U.S. Navy, the $2,000 program fee for the 2025-2026 Teacher Academy is waived.
Program expectations include:
- Attend all program meetings, both virtual and in-person. (See schedule)
- Complete all program tasks and activities.
- Implement strategies learned with their classes during the 2025-2026 school year.
- Complete a W-9 form upon acceptance for payment of the stipend.
Schedule
- June 16th – June 18, 2025: In-person workshop in Ann Arbor (full-day)
- Before workshop: Virtual Asynchronous (half day) Manufacturing 101 Course
- June – August 2025: One to two-day business externship experience
- August, September, October, January: After-school virtual booster calls (2 hours)
- November 2025 and February 2026: Virtual workshop (full-day)
- April 2026: Final in-person meeting in Ann Arbor (full-day)