Founded in 1991 as a program of the Georgia Institute of Technology's CEISMC, GIFT provides paid summer STEM internships in industry workplaces and university laboratories for K-12 science, mathematics, and technology teachers. Teachers spend 4 to 7 weeks experiencing first hand how industrial scientists and researchers approach problems, design experiments, interpret data, communicate findings, and develop and implement workplace solutions. GIFT offers teachers "real world" applications of the subjects they teach, allowing them to increase content knowledge and gain practical examples of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics applications for enriched instruction and teaching practices based on evidence-based experiences. Since its founding, GIFT has placed teachers in more than 2000 positions statewide. For more information about the GIFT Program click here
Macon County High School Educator Gains Real-World Experience to Bring Back to Her Classroom and Receives the 2020 Paul A. Duke GIFT Action Plan Award from Georgia Tech
Under the Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Intern Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) program, Macon County High School educator, Twinkle Mark, participated in an internship in Industrial Systems at South Georgia Technical College. She gained skills and experiences to inspire her students to pursue post-secondary careers in the STEM fields. Mark also received the third-place 2020 Paul A. Duke GIFT Action Plan Award from Georgia Tech.
Real-world experience for STEM teachers? It’s happening in Georgia
10/15/2019
Linkedin post by: Ranjani Balasubramaniam
Teachers play a key role in preparing kids for STEM careers. But teaching science, technology, engineering and math courses is only part of the effort it takes to get kids interested in and prepared for these careers.
Teaching students what STEM careers are really all about, what it takes to compete for positions and how to succeed in these jobs requires a completely different level of understanding.
Teachers in Georgia are learning firsthand about the world of STEM work through a unique program. The Georgia Intern Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) program places teachers in jobs for four to seven weeks over the summer to gain real work experience in STEM positions.
Science teacher Carrie Beth Rykowski is One of the 2018 Recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching!
CEISMC GIFT fellow has research paper published in the international journal Nature:
"Georgia’s top teacher taught alongside effective and struggling colleagues and learned from both"
Read the article by the Atlanta Journal and Constitution writer Maureen Downey here.
