3.1 Professional   Learning: Content   Knowledge

South Effingham Middle School is committed to enhancing our leadership and teaching skills both for our personal growth and the benefit of our students. We actively participate in ongoing professional development, with a strong focus on STEA2M disciplines. Our educators engage in weekly professional development sessions during PLC meetings. According to survey feedback, our teachers have found the most valuable professional development to be sessions where our talented colleagues share their outstanding lessons that integrate the 4Cs, promote interdisciplinary/discipline integration, and emphasize the design process. We also provide after-school professional development options for teachers seeking specialized training in specific areas.

Over the last six years, SEMS has provided Professional Development with the following partners and topics: Partnering with Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech, Better Fresh Farms, Hydroponics, COR Composting, Ebenezer Creek, Warnell Center, Tifton (Gilda)-5 years ago, Georgia Southern EdCamp, Georgia Pacific Day, Honey Ridge Orientation and PD, Discovery Education Instructional Strategies (S.O.S.), Shake up learning (Alice Keeler), Ossabaw Island, School Visits, Teacher-led PDs (showing 4Cs and STEA2M activities), STEA2M Coordinator Engineering Design Process, STEA2M, Curriculum Mapping, Writing, and Math.  We have also had access to independent content-specific learning opportunities, Sally Creel (Sally Creel - Cobb County STEM Coordinator) and Allison Morgan (GADOE - STEM/STEAM Program Specialist), Webinars, various Professional Learning events, RESA, and Signature Line.

In the fall of 2016, Effingham County Board of Education came into possession of Honey Ridge Agricenter, a 324-acre operational farm situated in Guyton, Georgia. Over time, Honey Ridge has transformed into a central hub for Agricultural Education within the county. Since its acquisition, this farm has played a significant role in educating students, teachers, and community members about the importance of agriculture in providing necessities like food, shelter, and clothing. With the transition of Honey Ridge into Board of Education ownership, its advisor, Todd Wall, spearheaded professional development opportunities for the staff. These initiatives resulted in improved efficiency when it came to incorporating Honey Ridge's agricultural resources into daily classroom instruction. CJ Pinson, the SEMS agriculture teacher, actively participates in Honey Ridge Agricenter Learning extension and various student projects as part of our National FFA Organization chapter. Mr. Pinson also regularly imparts knowledge to staff members to enhance classroom lessons related to agriculture. The continuous professional development at Honey Ridge is overseen by Brandi Bonorato, who serves as the STEA2M Coach at South Effingham Middle School.

In August 2020, South Effingham Middle School initiated a collaboration with Discovery Education that spanned various academic subjects. The instructional consultants from Discovery Education have guided our educators through a series of training sessions, equipping them with the skills to effectively navigate and access the plethora of resources offered on the website. Subsequently, teachers have successfully integrated the strategies acquired during this Professional Development into their interdisciplinary lessons. These lessons' efficacy is regularly assessed through our Data Teams process, which takes place at the outset of each week during Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Teachers receive support to fine-tune the curriculum and optimize the utilization of Discovery Education tools, such as the SOS Strategies, ensuring they align with educational goals. Additionally, teachers continue to receive training on the latest resources made available by Discovery Education.

In the autumn of 2020, South Effingham Middle School embarked on an initiative to integrate STEA2M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Agriculture, and Mathematics) education into their curriculum during Professional Learning Communities (PLC) sessions. Under the guidance of the former STEA2M Coach, teachers were introduced to innovative STEA2M strategies designed to enrich Honey Ridge education, STEA2M Extension Fridays, and everyday classroom teaching.

One of these strategies involved the consistent incorporation of the 4Cs—Critical Thinking, Communication, Creativity, and Collaboration—across all academic disciplines. South Effingham Middle School emphasized the importance of students becoming proficient in the STEA2M language to enhance their educational experience. To facilitate this, teachers dedicated a portion of their weekly PLC time to learning and implementing new STEA2M strategies. These strategies were then shared among teachers within the PLCs through demonstrations and brief instructional sessions. South Effingham Middle School places great value on teachers as invaluable resources in the realm of professional learning, and the PLC time has proven to be an excellent opportunity for mutual knowledge sharing.

On January 4, 2022, South Effingham Middle School conducted a Professional Development opportunity led by Georgia Southern University focusing on interdisciplinary units.  Administration and teachers identified their comfort level with content integration, and were divided into different groups to answer the following questions:

• What is content integration?

• How have you used content integration in your classroom?

• In what ways would you like to use content integration in the future?

• What questions do you have about content integration?

Groups joined together to collaborate and discuss the topics.  Teachers analyzed a general lesson from the GADOE website and were challenged to determine a way to integrate multiple content areas. After sharing their examples, teachers worked collaboratively to create an integrated lesson that they could incorporate in the third or fourth nine weeks. 

South Effingham Middle School teachers also participated in professional development and collaboration opportunities specific to project-based learning activities. In 2022, two classes of seventh-grade students began participating in the Stock Market Game in collaboration with the Georgia Council for Economic Education, the SIFMA Foundation, and Dr. Jason Beck from Georgia Southern University's Economics Department. Teachers who were leading this activity for the school attended training with Dr. Beck on the game that included extensive lessons on how the stock market works and how to teach it to students. In August 2023, all seventh-grade students participated in the Stock Market Game as a cornerstone of the seventh-grade project-based learning interdisciplinary unit, and all seventh-grade Social Studies teachers, who had not previously attended, participated in another stock market training led by Dr. Beck. To ensure all seventh-grade teachers, in all content areas, would be able to incorporate the stock market activities into their content areas, Dr. Beck led an additional training for all seventh-grade teachers in September 2023. Additionally, all sixth and seventh-grade Social Studies teachers were trained by Junior Achievement of Georgia on teaching personal finance management in their classes, which served as a foundation for the economic aspect of the project-based learning interdisciplinary unit. 

South Effingham Middle School teachers have been trained in best practices when working with ESOL students, using Discovery Education in the classroom, and had PBL training. Teachers have also been trained in using journals to document their STEA2M work and how to regularly incorporate this into classroom instruction. 

Many teachers at South Effingham Middle School have taken other courses, especially through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission to take classes, add certifications, or attain higher degrees. In the last three years, over half of our teachers worked on increasing their knowledge through approved PSC endorsements, with a focus on math, science, gifted education, STEM, STEAM, or ESOL. More than fifty percent of our teachers currently hold a post-graduate degree, such as Masters, Specialist, or Doctorate programs, with another fifteen percent currently working towards a higher degree of certification. 

As our community and school grow, South Effingham Middle School is committed to hiring and training new teachers who are committed to the STEAM design process.  To do this, STEAM is a part of onboarding at SEMS with checkpoints along the way with teacher mentors, teams, grade-level teams, and administration.

Moving forward, South Effingham County Middle School is community involvement to connect STEM-specific training to teachers and students. We hope to continue to bring community shareholders on campus to educate and train students/staff. Our current job market needs problem solvers, which is the goal of this ongoing STEA2M program. Ultimately, we want the professional development that teachers receive to develop students for their future careers that may not even exist yet.