"Kemin Industries has taken in Teacher Externs since the program's launch in 2009 for two reasons. First, teachers make real and significant contributions to our operations in the lab, out in the field, and on our teams. And second, even more importantly, we know that teachers take back to school innovative teaching ideas that improve learning experiences that in turn produce career-ready graduates for Kemin and other employers across Iowa." -Chris Nelson, CEO and President, Kemin Industries
The Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program is a nationally acclaimed teacher professional development experience linking what goes on in school with real-life applications in jobs that await Iowa kids, while bringing workplace-host partners a great return on investment.
The overall goal of the Teacher Externship experience is to transfer knowledge and skills from the host site back to the students of Iowa. In order to connect the classroom to the careers found in our state, embedding the teacher as part of the workplace team and engaging them in projects and problem solving throughout the experience is essential. The key is to have something in place that will allow the teacher to use their professional skills while thinking critically and creatively, and gaining first hand experience of the importance of collaboration and communication in the workplace.
In addition to the “project/problem” model, externship hosts can utilize the teachers’ skill set to help design, carry out, or evaluate employee professional development or educational programming at the worksite. The host may also allow teacher externs to do short, focused periods of job shadowing. These job shadows can be initiated by the host site or the teacher to fully comprehend the operation of host site.
Express your interest by completing the Workplace Host Interest Form. Starting the conversation early allows Iowa STEM to better recruit a good match for your opportunity. Your responses to the form help us set the wheels in motion to either start finding you a teacher match or to reach out to you with more information.
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Interactive Map of 2025 STEM Teacher Externships Workplace Hosts