A sixth-grade teacher plans to employ new classroom strategies learned over the summer to drive his students to higher achievements at John Yeates Middle School.

Tim Kubinak was one of only 50 educators nationwide to attend the Siemens STEM Institute, from July 29 to Aug. 3.

“It was the kind of professional development that people pay big money for,” Kubinak said. “Fortunately, I had the opportunity to do it for free.”

The fellowship was held at the headquarters of Discovery Communications — the parent company of Discovery Channel, Science and Animal Planet — just outside Washington, D.C.

Participants worked with “leading scientists, thought-leaders, personalities and innovators” in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math, a press release states.

Guest speakers included Reed Timmer, Discovery Education’s chief meteorologist, and Roosevelt Johnson, deputy associate administrator for education at NASA.

The fellowship included field trips to the White House and the National Museum of Natural History, introducing fellows to STEM in action in the real world and providing networking opportunities.

Kubinak said his favorite speaker was Lodge McCammon, curriculum and contemporary media specialist at North Carolina State University’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation.

McCammon spoke about drawing on the technological smarts of today’s teens by “flipping the classroom,” Kubinak said.

“I want to exploit their intelligence,” he said. “It’s a waste of time for me to present things every day the same way. If I’m doing my job right, then that’s how it should be.”

The fellowship was not for the faint-hearted, Kubinak said, with days running from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and those who elected to do so staying even later. “We worked outside of our hours when necessary,” he said.

“We want to be around each other, because we want to improve ourselves and share our skills and experience for the benefit of everyone.”

Kubinak is also participating in a separate NASA program, dubbed Long-term Engagement in Authentic Research, and will present his findings on carbon dioxide in December.

The Siemens STEM Institute aims to create ambassadors who return to their schools and communities and become “key influencers,” the release states.

“The Siemens STEM Institute specifically sought applicants who want to become STEM leaders and help change the way STEM subjects are taught in American classrooms,” it states.

“If I do exactly the same things I did, my kids will do reasonably well,” Kubinak said. If he employs what he learned over the summer, “my kids will all ace the test.”