Exploring Opportunities for STEM Teacher Leadership

Exploring Opportunities for STEM Teacher Leadership
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 109
Release: 2014-11-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309314593

Many national initiatives in K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education have emphasized the connections between teachers and improved student learning. Much of the discussion surrounding these initiatives has focused on the preparation, professional development, evaluation, compensation, and career advancement of teachers. Yet one critical set of voices has been largely missing from this discussion - that of classroom teachers themselves. To explore the potential for STEM teacher leaders to improve student learning through involvement in education policy and decision making, the National Research Council held a convocation in June 2014 entitled "One Year After Science's Grand Challenges in Education: Professional Leadership of STEM Teachers through Education Policy and Decision Making". This event was structured around a special issue of Science magazine that discussed 20 grand challenges in science education. The authors of three major articles in that issue - along with Dr. Bruce Alberts, Science's editor-in-chief at the time - spoke at the convocation, updating their earlier observations and applying them directly to the issue of STEM teacher leadership. The convocation focused on empowering teachers to play greater leadership roles in education policy and decision making in STEM education at the national, state, and local levels. Exploring Opportunities for STEM Teacher Leadership is a record of the presentations and discussion of that event. This report will be of interest to STEM teachers, education professionals, and state and local policy makers.

Science Teachers' Learning

Science Teachers' Learning
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2016-01-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309380189

Currently, many states are adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or are revising their own state standards in ways that reflect the NGSS. For students and schools, the implementation of any science standards rests with teachers. For those teachers, an evolving understanding about how best to teach science represents a significant transition in the way science is currently taught in most classrooms and it will require most science teachers to change how they teach. That change will require learning opportunities for teachers that reinforce and expand their knowledge of the major ideas and concepts in science, their familiarity with a range of instructional strategies, and the skills to implement those strategies in the classroom. Providing these kinds of learning opportunities in turn will require profound changes to current approaches to supporting teachers' learning across their careers, from their initial training to continuing professional development. A teacher's capability to improve students' scientific understanding is heavily influenced by the school and district in which they work, the community in which the school is located, and the larger professional communities to which they belong. Science Teachers' Learning provides guidance for schools and districts on how best to support teachers' learning and how to implement successful programs for professional development. This report makes actionable recommendations for science teachers' learning that take a broad view of what is known about science education, how and when teachers learn, and education policies that directly and indirectly shape what teachers are able to learn and teach. The challenge of developing the expertise teachers need to implement the NGSS presents an opportunity to rethink professional learning for science teachers. Science Teachers' Learning will be a valuable resource for classrooms, departments, schools, districts, and professional organizations as they move to new ways to teach science.

STEM by Design

STEM by Design
Author: Anne Jolly
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2016-06-10
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317395786

How do you create effective STEM classrooms that energize students, help them grow into creative thinkers and collaborators, and prepare them for their futures? This practical book from expert Anne Jolly has all the answers and tools you need to get started or enhance your current program. Based on the author’s popular MiddleWeb blog of the same name, STEM by Design reveals the secrets to successful lessons in which students use science, math, and technology to solve real-world engineering design problems. You’ll learn how to: Select and adapt quality existing STEM lessons that present authentic problems, allow for creative approaches, and engage students in meaningful teamwork; Create your own student-centered STEM lessons based on the Engineering Design Process; Assess students’ understanding of basic STEM concepts, their problem-solving abilities, and their level of engagement with the material; Teach STEM in after-school programs to further build on concepts covered in class; Empower girls to aspire to careers in STEM and break down the barriers of gender bias; Tap into STEM's project-based learning style to attract and engage all students. Throughout this user-friendly book, you’ll find design tools such as checklists, activities, and assessments to aid you in developing or adapting STEM lessons. These tools, as well as additional teacher resources, are also available as free downloads from the book’s website, http://www.stem-by-design.com.

STEM Teachers and Teaching in the Digital Era

STEM Teachers and Teaching in the Digital Era
Author: Yifat Ben-David Kolikant
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2020-02-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030293963

This book brings together researchers from Israel and Canada to discuss the challenges today's teachers and teacher‐educators face in their practice. There is a growing expectation that the 21st century STEM teachers re‐examine their teaching philosophies and adjust their practices to reflect the increasing role of digital technologies. This expectation presents a significant challenge to teachers, who are often asked to implement novel technology‐rich pedagogies they did not have a chance to experience as students or become comfortable with. To exacerbate this challenge, the 21st century teachers function not only in a frequently‐changing educational reality manifested by continuous reforms, but are also bombarded by often contradictory and competing demands from the legislators, administrators, parents, and students. How do we break the vicious circle of reforms and support STEM teachers in making a real change in student learning? This book is unique for at least three reasons. First, it showcases research situated in Israel and Canada that examines the challenges today's teachers and teacher‐educators face in their practice. While the governments of both countries emphasize STEM education, their approaches are different and thus provide for interesting comparisons. Second, in addition to including research-based chapters, prominent scholars discuss the contributions in each of the book sections, problematizing the issues from a global perspective. Third, technology has a potential to empower teachers in this era of change, and this book provides the unique insights from each country, while allowing for comparisons, discussing solutions, and asking new questions. This book will be of interest to all involved in STEM teacher education programs or graduate programs in education, as well as to educational administrators interested in implementing technology in their schools.

Preparing STEM Teachers

Preparing STEM Teachers
Author: Joanne E. Goodell
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2020-09-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1648021689

STEM project-based instruction is a pedagogical approach that is gaining popularity across the USA. However, there are very few teacher education programs that focus specifically on preparing graduates to teach in project-based environments. This book is focused on the UTeach program, a STEM teacher education model that is being implemented across the USA in 46 universities. Originally focused only on mathematics and science, many UTeach programs are now offering engineering and computer science licensure programs as well. This book provides a forum to disseminate how different institutions have implemented the UTeach model in their local context. Topics discussed will include sustainability features of the model, and how program assessment, innovative instructional programming, classroom research and effectiveness research have contributed to its success. The objectives of the book are: • To help educators gain insight into a teacher education organizational model focused on STEM and how and why it was developed • To present the theoretical underpinnings of a STEM education model, i.e. deep learning, conceptual understanding • To present innovative instructional programming in teacher education, i.e. projectbased instruction, functions and modeling, research methods • To present research and practice in classroom and field implementation and future research recommendations • To disseminate program assessments and improvement efforts

Teacherpreneurs

Teacherpreneurs
Author: Barnett Berry
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2013-08-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 111845619X

We need a bold new brand of teacher leadership that will create opportunities for teachers to practice, share, and grow their knowledge and expertise. This book is about "teacherpreneurs"—highly accomplished classroom teachers who blur the lines of distinction between those who teach in schools and those who lead them. These teacherpreneurs embody the concept that teachers can teach as well as lead the transformation of teaching and learning. It’s about empowering expert teachers who can buoy the image of teaching and enforce standards among their ranks while all along making sure that their colleagues as well as education policymakers and the public know what works best for students. The book follows a small group of teacherpreneurs in their first year. We join their journey toward becoming teacher leaders whose work is not defined by administrative fiat, but by their knowledge of students and drive to influence policies that allow them and their colleagues to teach more effectively. The authors trace the teacherpreneurs' steps—and their own—in the effort to determine what it means to define and execute the concept of "teacherpreneurism" in the face of tough demands and resistant organizational structures.

Preparing Teachers to Teach the STEM Disciplines in America’s Urban Schools

Preparing Teachers to Teach the STEM Disciplines in America’s Urban Schools
Author: Cheryl J. Craig
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2021-04-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1839094583

Bridging a gap in the literature by offering a comprehensive look at how STEM teacher education programs evolve over time, this book explores teachHOUSTON, a designer teacher education program that was created to respond to the lack of adequately prepared STEM teachers in Houston and the emerging urban school districts that surround it.

Re-Imagining Transformative Leadership in Teacher Education

Re-Imagining Transformative Leadership in Teacher Education
Author: Ann E. Lopez
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2021-05-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1648024556

This is the third and final book in the series Transformative Pedagogies in Teacher Education. Like the first two books in the series it is geared towards practitioners in the field of teacher education. This third book focuses on transformative leadership in teacher education. In other words, the kind of leadership and practices that will be important and necessary to bring about the kind of changes that both teachers and students seek to improve educational outcomes for all students, but in particular Black, Indigenous and racialized students who have been traditionally underserved by the education system. Teacher leadership plays an important role in transformative educational change that challenges all forms of oppression and white supremacy. This book features chapters by a collection of scholars, teacher educators, researchers, teacher advocates and practitioners drawing on their research and experiences to explore critical issues in teacher education. The book will be useful to teacher educators working with teacher candidates in different contexts, experienced teachers and school leaders. Given demographic shifts and the need for educators to respond to growing diversity in schools, educators will find valuable strategies in Transformative Pedagogies in Teacher Education: Re-Imagining Transformative Leadership in Teacher Education they can employ in their own practice. In addition to valuable strategies, authors explore different approaches and perspectives critical in these changing and challenging times. Critical notions of education are posited from different perspectives and contexts. This book will be useful for teacher education programs, principal preparation programs, in-service teachers, school boards and districts engaging in ongoing professional development of teachers and school leaders.

Leadership in Integrative STEM Education

Leadership in Integrative STEM Education
Author: Rachel Louise Geesa
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2021-11-30
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1475857373

In the face of complex local and global problems, there is a critical need to prepare PK-12 students to be innovative, resilient problem-solvers and well-equipped STEM-literate citizens. With focus upon integrated content, college and career readiness, authentic problems, and action-oriented pedagogies, integrative STEM education provides a promising approach to address this challenge. Integrative STEM programming with its fusion of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology content and practices may manifest in a variety of ways: Teachers co-plan an engineering design experience within a social studies class. A community business partner offers a job-shadowing experience. Students engage in an after-school program at a makerspace. Educators collaboratively re-envision and interweave STEM across the curriculum. And more... Current and future educational leaders striving to improve STEM programming will find this book to be a useful resource. Its introduction offers an orientation to the fundamental goals, principles, and practices of integrative STEM education. While later chapters delve into the facets of STEM programming and the competencies of STEM leadership which form the foundation of a coherent program. These evidence-based strategies, examples, and resources may provide inspiration to leaders as they initiate and enhance an equitable integrative STEM culture within their school.