Indicator 1.9: STEM teachers and leaders participate in a continuous program of STEM specific professional learning.

At Munford High School teachers and leaders participate in ongoing Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings where best practices are shared. Every year we have an area of STEM learning that we focus on throughout the school year. Educators have monthly PLC meetings that revolve around sharing our STEM learning experiences in our own classrooms. This provides teachers with an ongoing program of STEM specific professional learning that allows teachers to reflect and improve their STEM implementation.

Each year Talladega County Schools chooses new and experienced teachers to be a part of our system-wide STEM co-hort. Members of the system-wide STEM co-hort meet with various STEM-related organizations and are trained on the latest technologies to use in the classrooms. Throughout this year-long professional development, teachers are trained on how to use technology in their classrooms and are given time to plan how they are going to implement the tools into their STEM curriculum. After teachers have become proficient at using the technology, educators are allowed to share, reflect and improve their STEM lessons.

Talladega County Schools hosts a professional development day centered around STEM learning. STEAM By Design allows all teachers the opportunity to be trained in many STEAM related resources. During this professional development day, teachers are encouraged to choose several STEAM sessions that they could possibly implement in their own content areas. Each session is presented by fellow educators in a workshop setting that provided STEM related examples and resources for teachers to immediately implement.

When teachers collaborate, the interests, backgrounds, and strengths of each teacher can contribute to a project. When teachers work in a team, they delegate tasks according to the personality and expertise of each team member. This type of teamwork contributes to a greater sense of trust and accountability, and it allows teachers to feel confident about contributing their most dynamic skills toward school improvement.

Teachers meet regularly within content areas to share best practices and ideas for implementing STEM lessons in their classrooms. Teachers share evidence of student work to demonstrate STEM skills learned by the students. During "Den Talks" teachers are encouraged to share their questions and concerns about STEM implementation within their classrooms. Because teachers are meeting in their content areas, they are provided with multiple examples of STEM lessons that could work in their own classroom. Also during this time, teachers are encouraged to share ideas with one another about how to improve or refine their STEM lessons in order to create a better STEM learning experience for students.

All teachers participate in the yearly, system-wide STEAM By Design professional development workshop. During this day of professional development, teachers are able to choose which STEAM related mini-course is relevant to their content area. Teachers are required to attend multiple sessions in order to get a well-rounded STEAM experience. After the sessions, teachers bring the STEAM information back to their respective schools and begin using it in their classrooms to foster STEM lessons and learning experiences for students.

Our school was selected as one of 100 across the U.S. to be part of the Dynamic Learning Project!

The Dynamic Learning Project (DLP) provides personalized support to help teachers use technology in their classroom in transformative ways. Supported by Google and leading education organization Digital Promise, the DLP is the first-of-its-kind program to help prepare teachers and students for an increasingly digital world.

How does DLP benefit students?

• Exposure to innovative teaching methods. When teachers have access to one-on-one training, they have more support to design tech-based learning experiences for their students.
• Increased academic achievement and engagement. According to the Stanford Graduate School of Education, technology can be a powerful tool to improve student learning when implemented properly.
• Preparation for skills of the future. Our DLP coach will help ensure that our students will be prepared for college and career readiness through learning skills like computational thinking, digital literacy and virtual collaboration.
• Access to education technology experts. As a part of this program, our school will receive extensive training from Google and other education leaders on how to best incorporate technology in classrooms.

The DLP's primary goal is to enhance teachers' impactful use of technology through challenge-based coaching. The DLP coach works with 8-10 teachers during an 8-week cycle. The teacher selects a challenge and together the coach and teacher selects and implements strategies to overcome the challenge during that timeframe. Differentiation, classroom management, planning and preparation, assessment, and general tech skills are a few common challenges that are chosen. Additionally, all teachers participate in a badging system that recognizes impactful use of technology within their classroom. The program encourages teachers to try a new tech tool and tweet about the effective, and sometimes non-effective, use of the tool. The badging system has increased the use of technology at Munford High and has provided opportunities for collaboration among teachers.