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Standard 6: Educators and leaders participate in an ongoing system of STEM-specific professional learning.
Standard 6: Educators and leaders participate in an ongoing system of STEM-specific professional learning.
The world of STEAM is constantly changing. New advancements are being made everyday in STEAM fields. Likewise, new programs and technologies are being created to engage and educate our students. Childersburg Elementary teachers know that training and professional development are valued by our school. Our teachers are continuously participating in ongoing professional development in the area of STEAM.
Steam By Design is a system-wide day of STEAM professional development. CES teachers spend the entire day rotating through STEAM mini-courses of their choice. Teachers are required to attend a certain number of sessions during the day. They are then expected to return to school and not only implement their new found knowledge in the classroom, but also share it with their co-workers. Some teachers from CES lead sessions at STEAM By Design and share their knowledge of incorporating STEAM into different content areas. This system-wide learning experience upholds the expectations of offering a well-rounded, high-quality STEAM curriculum to our students.
Teachers and staff collaborate continuously throughout the year to plan STEAM activities, lessons, and PBLs. We utilize time during the summer to collaborate as a school to plan Problem Based Learning (PBL) units. Being together as a school allows us to have cohesion among grade levels with STEAM activities and cross-curricular PBLs. We use Alabama State Standards and Digital Literacy and Computer Science Standards while planning to make sure our projects and activities align with the standards that students must learn. This also helps us remain focused on our goals for student learning. Teachers develop STEAM activities and lessons that go with various Reading, Math, and Science lessons they teach. These activities help build knowledge and connect learning for students. They also develop STEAM activities and lessons for students throughout PBLs that deepen student learning of content.
Each year, the school encourages teachers to take risks and utilize new tools. Our Dynamic Learning Project Coach sends a survey to teachers to determine their technology skill needs. On the survey, a teacher can request professional development on a particular technology tool or other components of STEAM. The DLP Coach will then provide training and support based on the needs of the teacher.
That same spirit of encouragement continues in our Teacher Badges initiative. School leaders motivate teachers to earn badges by completing certain technology tasks such as learning and using a new technology tool in the classroom or becoming certified in a particular tool. For example, teachers can earn badges for actions such as posting on Twitter about a class activity, setting up and using Class Dojo, creating a hyperdoc for student learning, leading a professional development session, using Nearpod to create a student-paced lesson, having students code something in Scratch, or participating in Hour of Code. After a teacher earns a badge, it is put on display in the lunchroom. As a result of teachers taking risks, students start taking risks using technology in new ways to enhance their STEAM learning. Students also encourage their teachers to earn badges as they see badges going up under teachers’ pictures.
Strengths
We have incredible, dedicated teachers that not only attend mandatory professional development, but elect to participate in voluntary professional development as well. Our administration has high expectations for the CES faculty and expects our teachers to lead professional development sessions also. We also survey the STEAM professional development needs of our teachers.
Sustainability
Through the many professional development sessions completed, we have seen the knowledge and confidence of our teachers grow. They are better prepared and more confident in applying STEAM concepts in the classroom. We have also seen many teachers step up to become teacher leaders and help others.
Opportunities for Improvement
After professional development opportunities, we feel that it is important to acquire the feedback of our educators. A post-session survey would help serve to assess knowledge acquired as well as help determine needed improvements.
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