Collaboration: The Key to Develop STEM Education

Dylan Kirklin, Director of the STEM Center for Teaching and Learning at Southern Utah University

After graduating from Southern Utah University in 2017, Dylan went on to teach Kindergarten, 4th Grade and 6th Grade Science. In 2022, Southern Utah University hired him as the Director of the STEM Center for Teaching and Learning. During this time, the program grew from over 5,000 community members served to nearly 15,000 served in 2023.

Dylan Kirklin is currently the Director of the STEM Center for Teaching and Learning at Southern Utah University. He is an alumnus of this university, where he pursued his master’s degree in School Administration. While graduating with a major in Elementary Education and an ESL Endorsement, he took on a Kindergarten internship and spent the last five years teaching KG students. He received the Pestalozzi Award from SUU and the Teacher of Tomorrow Award from the Utah Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Dylan also gained work experience educating students from the fourth and sixth standards. Eventually, he was hired as the Director of SUU's STEM Center for Teaching and Learning.

Please share your journey over the years in the industry and your current roles and responsibilities.

I started my teaching career as a kindergarten teacher and eventually scaled up to fourth and sixth grade. In the meantime, I pursued my master’s degree in School Administration from Southern Utah University, where I am currently working. After teaching sixth-grade science, I was promoted to the STEM director position.

What are some of the major challenges that STEM program directors face today?

As the Director of STEM Center for Teaching and Learning, I have encountered two major drawbacks: funding and space. We have always run out of proper physical space and financial resources, which has become a hindrance to our operations. Although we have dedicated and potential staff, these challenges are persistent, which is somehow stopping the organization from thriving.

Are funding and resources the same challenge when it comes to implementing STEM education?

Despite the limitations, we are putting extra effort into making things better. For instance, we have a loan library where items are offered to teachers and community members free of cost. Since we are limited in physical space, we need to be very decisive and specific while keeping books in this library. Therefore, funding and resource constraints have a huge impact on the implementation of the STEM program.

“We aspire to build partnerships with various STEM centers to enlarge our physical footprint and overcome financial constraints by unlocking multiple opportunities in STEM education.”

What do you think are some of the opportunities for implementing STEM medication?

One of the biggest opportunities that we own is a capable community that is strongly devoted to STEM activities. They are very cooperative and accustomed to whatever we own and whichever programs we create, regardless of the types of activities at both the school and university levels. Moreover, we have received a strong response in southern Utah regarding anything related to the STEM programs. This helps us to gain several invitations to events and host them on our campus. Our community is keenly interested in taking part in these activities.

Is there a project initiative or a STEM program you have participated in at your organization?

I have developed two primary initiatives in the organization. The first one is the Southern Utah STEM Awards, which I created last year. It’s an award ceremony meant for every K-12 teacher to honor them for their hard work and dedication to STEM education. This year, over 400 teachers in southern Utah are nominated for these awards.

The second program that I have worked on this year is a traveling errand space exhibit. This program is inclusive for every community member, not only K 12. My decision to develop a traveling exhibit was to showcase artifacts related to NASA. I purchased items from auctions and received donations from people in Utah and across the country. These artifacts are aimed to display in a traveling museum that can be taken to local libraries, allowing community members to engage with space-related exhibits.

How do you envision the future of the STEM program?

In the coming years, we anticipate building a central hub of STEM outreach in southern Utah with access to numerous cities. Although there are a lot of STEM resources in the country, rural areas like southern Utah are deprived of a central location like a museum or science center for STEM outreach. So, we expect to collaborate with natural history museums and other STEM centers in southern Utah to create a substantial space where people can visit a community place as a travel destination.

What would be your advice or suggestion to your peer fellows and aspiring professionals in this field?

Collaboration is the key to the future of STEM outreach and education. So, I believe we should start working together within the STEM space, recognizing our shared goals and passion for advancing the future of STEM.

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