The Department of Defense’s National Defense Education Program has a number of different services and programs available to teachers and students. The website offers online videos, a search engine for local labs, news, teacher resources, and more. It is divided up into portals for scientists/engineers, teachers, and students respectively.

Scientists and Engineers

NDEP employs tens of thousands of scientists and engineers, who are playing an increasingly important  role within the program’s portfolio of research and education programs. Each of the scientists and engineers are subject matter experts in their technical field and have years of relevant work experience to draw upon. The program taps into this national technical resource by making these scientists and engineers available to serve their communities as technical mentors and to showcase the exciting and important research conducted in defense labs. The goal is for this positive interaction to inspire the next generation of students to consider science and engineering options when making decisions about their future careers.

The Scientists and Engineers portal provides  a sign-up to become a mentor and a way to submit personal science and engineering mentoring stories.

Teachers and Students

NDEP funds a classroom-based education initiative for middle school teachers called STEM Learning Modules. This initiative has been designed to team defense scientists and engineers with teachers to deliver inquiry-based learning and concept exploration experiences to students in a classroom environment.

The Teachers and Students portals provide classroom resources, links to governmental educational and outreach programs, and information on competitions. There is also a forum for teachers and community members to discuss educational programs and issues.

Filed under: Web Resources

Tags: Competitions for Students, Department of Defense, Mentoring, NDEP, Outreach, Outreach for Schools, Programs for Students