The staff at Irwin understands the importance of all stakeholders working together in order to build a culture of learning that encourages students to flourish. It is imperative that the physical space is designed to foster a learning environment that promotes critical thinking, student discourse, and collaboration. The student furniture at Irwin allows for flexible seating and grouping based on the needs of the lesson. The variety of materials and supplies are plentiful to support instruction and learning for all students.

Irwin school partners closely with parents by inviting them into the learning community for STEM events. To extend the classroom opportunities, parents are able to experience STEM activities with their children during STEM Family Nights. It is important to the teachers at Irwin that parents experience and share in the learning first hand in order for them to see what makes their school so special.

The administrator at Irwin created a schedule that provides teachers multiple opportunities to collaborate each day with their colleagues in order to provide students with rich learning experiences. Teachers utilize a cross-curricular approach to incorporate multiple subject areas into the planning process. The administrative team members are active participants in supporting teachers in the planning process.

1.8 Instructional Support

The foundation of Irwin Professional Learning is to provide a variety of methods, resources, and tools to support STEM instruction. Through the methods outlined below, 100% of Irwin teachers receive job-embedded instructional support related to STEM instruction.

Summary of Instructional Support:

1. Lesson Study- Teachers collaborate to design lessons and utilize the district’s continuous cycle of improvement model.

2. Coaching-Irwin’s instructional coach partners with grade-level teams weekly to assist teachers with STEM instruction.

3. Modeling- The STEM Resource Teacher and Discovery Education Consultant provide ongoing modeling for classroom teachers

4. Mentoring- Grade-level partners, resource teachers, and related arts instructors serve as mentors for new teachers to adapt to the STEM culture.

Additionally, over a three-year period, Irwin teachers participated in over 90 hours of professional learning with Discovery Education. Below you can find an outline of the modules and training in detail.