It's not every day teachers like Theresa Loyd are on the other side of the desk - learning.

Tuesday, the University of Texas Women in Engineering program taught a workshop at Texas State Technical College to help teachers learn new ways to teach and keep young students interested in science, technology, engineering and math.

"What we're really advocating, and what we know works, is hands-on activities. It's connecting science, technology and engineering to things they see in the everyday world," Women in Engineering spokesperson Tricia Berry said."We have a lot of students out there who aren't even aware of what the possibilities are with science, technology, engineering and math. I think we have a lot of educators who want to get these kids excited but don't know how."

The experiments and strategies Berry shared during the workshop mainly came from a PBS television program called 'Scigirls.' It’s a program meant to get more girls into STEM related fields.

Berry says at the University of Texas Austin, less than a quarter of engineering students are female.

"The numbers are starting to creep up a little bit. It had been stagnant for a while and we're seeing really that girls are really excited about what the possibilities are with the engineering degree," Berry said.

Loyd hopes to inspire her students and daughters and be able to open up those possibilities for them.

"Hopefully what I have learned is how to incorporate the fact that it's not just fun for the moment, but that it's relevant for their future. They can actually make a great income out of it, and it's not a male field," she said.