BATTELLE Education
TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR NEW STEM TEACHERS Overview ú STEM education is transformative education—it is the way that we help students develop the collaboration, communication and critical thinking skills necessary to meet the challenges of the 21st century. STEM teachers must embrace and adopt innovative teaching practices to effectively prepare students to be successful in tomorrow’s workforce and in their higher education pursuits. Battelle Education’s innovative Teacher Professional Development Program prepares teachers with the knowledge, skills and best practices necessary to guide today’s students to meet tomorrow’s challenges in a STEM environment. Battelle Education has helped launch over 35 schools in Tennessee and Ohio, and we oversee STEMx, a nationwide coalition of STEM organizations devoted to spreading innovative practices throughout the nation. Together with our team of educators and school leaders, we have created a program designed to prepare new STEM teachers to be successful in a STEM environment. Our Approach—we provide training for teachers, designed by teachers. We work closely with STEM teachers and administrators who develop and lead our training programs resulting in authentic, relevant professional development opportunities with an emphasis on practical implementation.
Program Structure—our program is a practical, empirical year-long experience that will help teachers learn and refine effective pedagogical practices that are hallmarks of effective STEM education. In addition, our train-the-trainer format allows teachers who complete the program to train other teachers. Audience—new STEM teachers, especially teams of teachers from newly formed STEM schools, are encouraged to attend. Customization—whether you are a brand new STEM school or converting part of an existing school to STEM, this program is tailored to meet the needs of your teaching team. Each school and teaching team has different strengths and competencies and we tailor each training to best meet the needs of the participants to ensure this professional development opportunity is relevant to each specific audience.
PROGRAM DESIGN PRINCIPLES Battelle Education met with expert teachers from successful STEM schools across the Ohio STEM Learning Network and identified best practices/principles for STEM schools. The following design principles were used to guide the development of this training:
1. Student-centered, values driven culture supports student learning.
4. Effective use of technology enhances student learning.
• They provide rigorous and relevant instruction.
• Technology does more than replace old formats.
• Involves a deep shift in pedagogical approach.
• Technology needs to be useful, not just glamorous.
• Teachers are comfortable with change. 5. Partnerships and collaboration are essential. 2. Teachers are leaders/designers of engaging work.
• Higher education and community partnerships are important.
• Core values are clearly defined, and demonstrated by all.
• Collaboration inside and outside of the school is expected.
• Teachers believe every student is worth it! • It is essential to develop social/emotional learning.
6. School culture supports and encourages teacher self-care.
• We encourage students through difficulties.
• Culture supports a balanced approach to work. • Teachers are highly engaged at school and have a life outside school.
3. Responsive instruction improves student performance. • Use of data to improve instructional approach. • Use of data to measure student learning.
Create disciplinespecific lesson plans that incorporate innovative, STEM-based practices.
Implement mastery learning in your classroom or school.
Create interdisciplinary lesson plans that meet content standards.
PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN HOW TO:
Design problem-based learning opportunities for students.
Use student data to create responsive lessons that improve student achievement.
Identify and create core aspects of school culture.
Teach other STEM teachers all of the content presented during the program.
PROGRAM COMPONENTS SESSION
WHAT IS COVERED
STRUCTURE AND TIME COMMITMENT
Orientation and Launch
How to be a STEM teacher and what makes a great STEM school.
3-4 days intensive team training, on location. Typically held in summer.
Implementation Coaching
How to overcome challenges as you implement new strategies, persist in your learning, and evaluate success.
Combination of monthly coaching calls and on-site support for the teachers from the coaching team.
Adapt and Grow
How to adapt what you have learned and apply it for next year, and how to teach this information to new staff.
1 day session (4-6 hours), on location. Usually held in June.
ORIENTATION AND LAUNCH Our program has three major components, 1. Orientation and Launch, 2. Implementation Coaching, 3. Adapt and Grow (train-the-trainer). (1) Orientation and Launch is the intensive training part of the program. These sessions set the foundation for the teaching staff. This 3-4 day experience is typically offered in the summer. Teachers work collaboratively with each other and the training team (coaches) to identify and implement innovative practices that are the hallmarks of successful STEM schools.
PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN TO: Demonstrate understanding that school culture is the underpinning of innovative teaching. Increase trust, collaboration, and cooperation of team members.
Areas of focus include:
Become familiar with various elements found in STEM instructional design: PBL, inquiry based instruction, and responsive instruction (i.e., LDC and MDC).
• What does it mean to be a successful STEM teacher?
Use mastery grading and create structure for implementation.
• STEM instructional design
Create interdisciplinary lessons/projects that meet content standards.
• How do teachers/teams make the shifts necessary for successful innovative teaching?
PARTICIPANTS WILL CREATE:
• Best practices of STEM schools • Problem based/challenge based learning • Transdisciplinary lesson planning • Design cycle
Core values for the school. Team charter to guide team norms/expectations. Lessons using STEM teaching methods. Lesson plans, formative assessments, corrective activities, and enrichment activities to support mastery learning. Project/design challenge ideas for students. Determine a theme for the Fall semester.
IMPLEMENTATION COACHING Following the intensive training of Orientation and Launch, the program moves into phase two, Implementation Coaching. (2) Implementation Coaching provides ongoing coaching and mentoring during the implementation phase. The goal is to help teams apply their learning, persist through challenges and evaluate success.
Virtual Trainings or Conference calls are held most months. Each team call will be driven by the needs of the team. The following pattern will be established to help teaching teams build and evaluate habits.
Additionally, sessions throughout the school year provide newly trained teachers several opportunities to observe each other and get feedback on their own teaching practices. Continuous support from the coaches helps teachers maintain their focus on innovative teaching methods and sustain them through continued adaptation and improvement.
• Coach calls principal (30 minutes). Discussion informs call with leadership team.
Outcomes for Implementation Coaching • Apply learning with support and feedback from expert coaches • Persist in the process despite challenges • Evaluate implementation effectiveness • Provide feedback to coach and team about additional support needed. Teams will meet monthly with a coach (either virtually or in person) for the first year. Teams will work collaboratively on a daily basis, and will have monthly meetings (via phone or in person) with a coach. The coaching sessions are designed in collaboration with the school principal to address any challenges with implementation or overcome any issues that may arise.
• Coach and leadership team call (60 minutes). • Staff meeting. • Peer observations (prior to next call). • Repeat process. Calls will be held monthly, except for the months below, when a coach will cover the following topics onsite: (1) October—responsive instruction. Look at data from first implementation (materials created in summer). Record lessons learned. Edit for next year. (2) January—design for spring term. (3) April—final evaluation and learning plan for summer/next year.
ADAPT AND GROW Adapt and grow is the third phase of the program that allows teachers to refine there implemention and expand their knowledge. (3) Adapt and Grow provides teachers the opportunity to apply what they have learned and modify it based on their own experience from the previous year to create lesson plans to expand this training to other teachers. In June, the coach will work with the initial implementation team to develop the structure they will use to teach new teachers about STEM implementation. This will allow the implementation group the opportunity to synthesize what they have learned the first year, and provide a formal structure for scaling the program to other staff members. This ensures that the teachers will have a high level of ownership and commitment to the program, while further developing their leadership skills.
NEXT STEPS? Contact Heather Sherman at sherman@battelle.org for more information on how to set up a training for your school.