Education outreach for intermodal transportation - moving minds at the speed of time.

PDFTech Reporthttp://www.ncitec.msstate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012-11FR.pdfNCITEC Project No. 015105-016Intermodal transportationOutreachMississippiMississippi State University. National Center for Intermodal Transportation for Economic CompetitivenessIrvin, LemondMississippi State UniversityMississippi State University. National Center for Intermodal Transportation for Economic CompetitivenessUS Transportation CollectionEducation Outreach for Intermodal Transportation \u2013 Moving minds at the speed of time wasinstrumental in introducing high school students to logistics and intermodal transportation inMississippi. The state lacked a presence in logistics and intermodal transportation forsecondary students. The Mississippi Department of Education identified two school districts,Jackson Public Schools and Desoto County Schools, as pilot sites to begin instruction in thistransportation pathway. A statewide curriculum was developed and implemented forsecondary teachers to teach the concepts of logistics and intermodal transportation. Studentswere introduced to statewide transportation issues, different modes of transportation, federaland state requirements, and many other transportation- and logistics-related strategies.Teacher training and development, the design and production of resource materials, andcurriculum development were primary objectives of the project. Participating teachersdeveloped lesson plans infusing intermodal transportation experiences into the curricula.Opportunities for teachers to utilize industry resources as well as use materials developedthrough the grant were key for the pilot sites to be successful.Teachers are now better prepared to become ambassadors of intermodal transportation in theK-12 education environment and deliver the Mississippi Career and Technical EducationLogistics curricula. Secondary teachers participated in a national logistics conference,acquired resources towards certification, interacted with other logistics professionals fromInstitutions of Higher Learning, and toured intermodal transportation business/industry sitesfor a better understanding of what intermodal transportation and logistics were all about.The RCU designed and produced marketing materials for classroom and recruitment use.These materials will be excellent resources for teachers to use in educating students andparents about intermodal transportation and the logistics field. All training, resources, andknowledge gained in the pilot can now be scaled up to any school in Mississippi to develop asustainable pipeline of workers in this field