The purpose of this project is the design and development of a K-12 classroom observation protocol for integrated STEM instruction (STEM-OP). Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the STEM-OP will be a valid and reliable instrument for use in a variety of educational contexts. The STEM-OP and associated training materials will be available for use by education stakeholders, (e.g., K-12 teachers and district administrators), through a publicly available online platform.

The goal of this planning grant, which is based on the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). is to explicitly focus on broadening participation in the K-12 STEM teaching workforce, with the theory of action that diversifying the K-12 STEM teaching workforce would in the long term help more students see STEM as accessible to them and then be more likely to choose a STEM degree or career. This grant is also funded by NSF INCLUDES.

Co-PI(s): Helen Bond and Marilyn M Irving, Howard University; Hyunju Lee and Amy L D'Amico, Smithsonian Institution

This Early-Stage Design and Development project is developing NGSS-friendly middle school curriculum units on Heredity and Evolution that build skills in constructing explanations and understanding of cause and effect and include embedded formative and summative assessment measures. We will conduct an in-depth study to elucidate how 3D learning contributes to students' conceptual understanding of heredity and evolution, and the supports middle school teachers need to enact 3D curricula and support their students.

The goal of the project is to support mathematics coaches to (a) facilitate productive planning and debriefing conversations with teachers; (b) notice salient coaching practices and their impact on teachers' thinking; and (c) use evidence of teacher learning to make decisions about their own coaching practices. We engage coaches in a three-part professional development model that includes (a) an online course on content-focused coaching, (b) one-on-one video-based coaching cycles, and (c) an online video club.

The goal of the project is to support mathematics coaches to (a) facilitate productive planning and debriefing conversations with teachers; (b) notice salient coaching practices and their impact on teachers' thinking; and (c) use evidence of teacher learning to make decisions about their own coaching practices. We engage coaches in a three-part professional development model that includes (a) an online course on content-focused coaching, (b) one-on-one video-based coaching cycles, and (c) an online video club.

For the last three years, we have been creating an app called CHALK (Coaching to Help Activate Learning for Kids) that guides instructional coaches to collect observation data in PreK classrooms, view instant results, engage in data-driven coaching conversations, co-create an action plan with the teacher, and track progress over time through continued observations and goal-setting.  CHALK focuses on specific classroom practices that are predictive of students' gains (Christopher & Farran, 2020).

While new standards call for elementary students to learn engineering, many teachers do not receive any training in engineering and feel underprepared to teach it. Ed+gineering partners preservice teachers with engineering undergraduate students at three points during their respective preparation programs to develop and teach engineering lessons to elementary students. These three collaborations help engineering students develop interdisciplinary collaboration skills while helping preservice teachers develop the competence and confidence to integrate engineering.

To lower the barriers in STEM disciplines for students, using evidence-based research, we designed and conducted a professional development program that built middle school teachers' capacity to use hands-on robotics and engineering design as the curriculum focus. Through summer workshops, teachers learned to: build and program LEGO robots; create and implement standards-aligned robotics-based STEM lessons; and develop, practice, and examine optimal pedagogical approaches for STEM learning using robotics.