About Us

While working as an Instructional Designer at Emporia State University, the science teaching background (7 years of 7th-12th grade general science, chemistry, physics, and engineering) of Joseph Kern, AAERO Ltd's Executive Director, was leveraged to provide support for faculty projects involving K-12 STEM education outreach.  These included three 18-month Kansas Board of Regents "Improving Teacher Quality" grant projects that focused on bringing problem-based engineering equipment and pedagogy, with long-term support and mentoring, to groups of under-served teachers throughout Kansas.  A great example of what happened with this outreach can be seen at Garden City HS, where teachers were given a jump-start in robotics and in just a few years went from a few interested teachers to having one of the best robotics programs in the state.

Kern's active leadership role in these projects developed his skills in grant-writing, project development, forming multi-institute partnerships, and professional training, as well as venturing into new educational technology areas such as robotics, drones, and programming.  This work culminated in developing the Ag-ACS (Agricultural Applications of Computer Science) project, which received funding from the National Science Foundation's STEM +C program.  

While working on Ag-ACS, Kern returned to teaching with a new focus on Career and Technical Education.  He earned his Technology teaching certification and developed a 4-course, 8th-12th grade Engineering Design pathway with hands-on classes that developed engineering and "making" skills, adding computer-aided drafting and 3D printing to the curriculum.

After another relocation to return to his home area of central Kansas, Kern wanted a way to continue helping the teachers and the greater educational community through research and outreach.  This led him to develop AAERO Ltd. as a non-profit educational support organization whose goal is to improve the effectiveness and impact of learning experiences for students of all ages.

Click to view Kern's full resume.