The ADAPTATIONS blog advances research toward and replication of what works
in the education of STEM teachers for high-need school districts through sharing of evidence-based innovations
to encourage adaption and move forward collective evolution of effective preparation.
Please see the criteria for submitting an ARISE blog.
STEM Professional Development That Works
Our question: How can policymakers support standards-based reform? Standards-based reforms in science and mathematics often require significant teacher learning, particularly of subject matter content and new instructional practices. Thus, since the first calls for standards-based reforms, circa 1990, reformers have explored several avenues for supporting teachers’ growth. New curriculum materials, such as those produced to... Read More
How Can Elementary Teachers Improve Their Ability to Run Productive Science Discussions?
The Challenge of Teaching Science Teaching science is challenging, not in the least because many of the ideas that we ask our students to believe are not obvious. After all, why should we believe the ground on which we stand is spherical rather than flat? Why should we believe that day and night are caused... Read More
Opportunity to Learn Mathematics: Time, Task, & Talk
Blog reprinted with permission from NCTM’s President’s Messages, copyright 2019, by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. All rights reserved. The question of how teachers of mathematics should structure opportunities to learn (OTL) is sometimes a difficult one to answer. In my own work, I often use OTL as a framework to explore the... Read More
Preparing Our Next Generation of Science Teachers: What Should a Science Teacher Know and Be Able to Do?
With the advent of the Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council [NRC], 2012), it was suggested that the instruction of science education in K-12 classrooms make a radical change; more specifically, there was a shift from focusing on Scientific Inquiry to learning about science from the perspective of three-dimensions. Three-dimensional thinking about science... Read More
Preparing New Teachers: How Collaboration Across Professional Associations Can Advance Technology Infusion
Despite heavy investment in STEM (e.g., STEM for ALL), most PK-20 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics instruction remains heavily siloed. To date, educators have not agreed on a clear definition of STEM. Is it curriculum or a teaching technique/pedagogy? Can a science lesson be called STEM, even if the other domains are not fully represented?... Read More
STEM Teacher Preparation as a Process of Purposeful Disruption and Rebuilding
“…new designs for teacher professional learning cannot simply be innovative; they must be disruptive” – Ann Rosebery, Co-Director, Chèche Konnen Center, 2016 Students in underserved schools, particularly minoritized students, are often denied opportunities to participate and excel in STEM fields. Sadly, such students’ academic abilities and life experiences tend to be seen as seen as... Read MoreAdditional Posts
Bulldozing the STEM Silos in Omaha While Engaging P-12 Teachers and Building Campus STEM Excellence | March 25, 2019
Return on Investment:
How do we know if we are preparing teachers who are ready for today’s classrooms?
| January 25, 2019
Reflecting On Our Roots – Part Seventeen: Teachers for the 21st Century | September 13, 2018
