A career exploration | Lunch and Learn presented by Shimira Williams at the 2014 Biennial Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children conference on October 17 & 18, 2014.

1. Presented By:
Shimira Williams
© TEKStart, LLC

2. Shimira Williams
Integration Specialist
shimira@tekstart.org
TekStart, LLC
www.tekstart.org
Objective:
• Define Lunch & Learn 2.0
• Demonstrate a Lunch & Learn 2.0 activity
Agenda:
• Introductions | Explore your passion!
• A framework for Lunch & Learn 2.0
• Plan a Lunch & learn 2.0
• Wrap-Up | Questions and Answers
Shimira Williams is an innovator, educator,
tenacious Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) advocate and an
economic stimulator of technology education. A
Pittsburgh, PA native and entrepreneur, she
aspires to be a catalyst in eliminating the digital
divide, especially in urban communities. Her
mission is to build digital citizens through living,
working and playing all things STEM!
She also operates TekStart, a STEM-based after-school
and summer program that literally kick
starts technology education to grow the
innovation economy. A notable program is
Lunch & Learn, a career exploration lunch series
for students to meet people that work in
S.T.E.M. driven careers. The Digital Literacy
Project has identified this program as an
example of exemplary use of technology with
children. Additionally, the lesson plan for Lunch
& Learn will be included in The Remake Learning
Digital Cookbook for Recipes for Remarkable
Learning, a resources for educators via an online
platform.
ask@tekstart.org

3. Introduction yourself
• Tell us your name
• What is/will be your Job Title
when your career and
passion come together.
ask@tekstart.org

4. What is Lunch & Learn?
A career exploration lunch series for students to meet people that work in
S.T.E.M. driven careers. The students will plan the lunch menu and help
prepare the lunch. They also develop the interview questions, set up and
run the audio equipment to capture the entire event for evaluation and
sharing .
Learning Goals:
We hope this experience will be a fun, hands-on experience that will allow
students to explore careers they may not otherwise have knowledge of.
Our goal is to expose them to a variety of careers early so the student has
a sense of the educational requirements necessary to achieve their
dreams.
We anticipate the preparation and execution of the activity will arm
students with the skills needed to create a successful event that will
provide students with critical problem solving, team building and project
management skills needed to compete in today’s workforce.
ask@tekstart.org

5. How does Lunch & Learn work?
Educator
locates
volunteer
Children
draft
interview
questions
Children do
research on
volunteer
Confirm
luncheon
logistics
ask@tekstart.org

6. The Lunch & Learn video
Lunch &
Learn video
Educator
reviews
Educator
publishes
final video
Educator
share via
appropriate
networks
ask@tekstart.org

7. Access to volunteers?
• Ask children’s families first; they may work in the field or know of
someone.
• Educators tap your own personal network of family members,
friends, and colleagues.
• Reach out to organizations or initiatives that promote advocacy for
the field or career.
• Contact the local professional organizations
• Contact the local university departments for assistance
• Reach out to businesses that would hire people working in the field.
ask@tekstart.org

8. Let’s try planning a Lunch and
Learn!
• Select a career for the group.
• Find an agency, professional organization, or business to find a
volunteer.
• Plan a menu and identify a location
• Designate roles
• Identify 3 learning standards that can be aligned to this activity or a
role.
ask@tekstart.org

9. Stay
connected!
Questions and Answers
Shimira Williams
Integration Specialist
TekStart | Productivity, LLC
E: shimira@tekstart.org
W: www.tekstart.org
Subscribe to our blog!
news.tekstart.org
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
www.youtube.com/Tekstart4STEM
Follow @ tekstart on
Pinterest, Twitter & Paper.li
ask@tekstart.org