Community-Engaged Engineering Students (CEES)
For James Scholar Honors students and Engineering RSO leaders
About CEES
The CEES initiative provides students in The Grainger College of Engineering the opportunity to work together with students from the College of Education and K-12 educators to translate complex technical concepts into accessible and inspiring lessons for K-12 students. Students will:
- Develop leadership, communication, and instructional skills while making meaningful contributions to the local Illinois community.
- Provide early exposure to STEAMM education, fostering curiosity and the child’s ability to see themselves as future engineers.
- Engage with the entrepreneurial mindset (EM) – a framework that encourages curiosity, building of connections, and creating value for others.
- Network with others across the College and University with common interests in Community-Engaged STEAMM Education.
Get Involved!
RSO Community-Engaged Leaders
Join the STEAMM Outreach and Public Engagement Network—Student Edition
- Workshops in best practices for activity development, partnership building, and facilitation in K-12 environments
- Access to College of Education collaborators for feedback and coaching
- Centralized resource for identifying community partners
James Scholar Honor Students
Meet your James Scholar requirements with a Community Engagement Honors Course Learning Agreement (HCLA)
- Complete an HCLA before the 30th day of classes
- Attend 3 Community-Engaged STEAMM Ed workshops
- Work with a Teaching Catalyst to develop a lesson/activity
- Implement the lesson with local K-12 students
Engineering Course Faculty
Easily integrate this HCLA option into your courses by encouraging James Scholar Honor students to turn content from your course into an engaging lesson or activity to share with local K-12 students.
- Deepens their grasp of course content.
- Systematic approach that minimizes your workload with workshops and expert coaching provided by the Service-Learning community of practice
- Streamlined faculty role of validating the technical accuracy of the lesson’s content
Hiring Teaching Catalysts!
Seeking College of Education students seeking K-12 certifications who are interested in extra practice honing lesson planning and classroom instruction skills while supporting community-engaged STEM education initiatives. Collaborate with graduate research assistants at the Siebel Center for Design to learn about the objectives and tasks of this CEES initiative, and work with undergraduate engineering students to develop lesson modules that will be implemented in K-12 classrooms and out-of-school-time settings like afterschool programs, family STEM nights, and Saturday enrichment programs.
Workshop Series
Register for and attend 3 workshops [Register on Illini GivePulse] :
- Creating Safe and Welcoming Environments for STEAMM Learning (Hybrid, Thursday, October 9, 2025, 5:30-6:15 PM, Room 2240 Digital Computer Laboratory or Zoom)
- Best Practices in Lesson Planning (Hybrid, Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 5–6 PM, Sunrise Studio Room 1046 at the Siebel Center for Design or Zoom)
- Lesson Planning with Entrepreneurial Mindset and Human-Centered Design in Mind (Hybrid, Thursday, October 30, 2025, 5–6:30 PM, Sunrise Studio Room 1046 at the Siebel Center for Design or Zoom)
Acknowledgments: This Service-Learning Community of Practice initiative is funded through the Kern Family Foundation and the Academy for Excellence in Engineering Education (AE3) in the Grainger College of Engineering.