Leading Back to School Professional Development

Leadership.  It’s the #MSUrbanSTEM way!  We are happy to see so many of our fellows leading the way in professional development as the 2016/2017 school year kicks off!

At a recent Back to School meeting, Les Seitman and Tracy Iammartino presented a short overview of the #MSUrbanSTEM program.  Their principal asked them to share how our cohort of teacher-leaders plan to enhance the quality of instruction in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) disciplines.  The audience was very intrigued.  “Lots of nodding heads during the presentation and the staff seemed very interested in what we are all about!” they shared.

Meanwhile, Melinet Ellison was also leading the way at her home school base, D.S. Wentworth Elementary.  She hosted two professional development sessions.  One session was geared towards elementary teachers and the other for middle school teachers.  She explained how the gradual release teaching strategy and TRU Math (Teaching for Robust Understanding in Mathematics) can easily connect.  She specifically addressed how the five TRU math dimensions – mathematics, cognitive demand, access to mathematical content, agency, and use of assessment -can all be addressed by using the gradual release teaching strategy. “The audience enjoyed the presentation and wished the session was longer.  I really enjoyed presenting! I can’t wait till the next opportunity I am allotted…Empowering teachers, directly empowers students,” she shared.

Randi Wanyard and a few co-workers led a break out session at Carver Military Academy.  The focus of the session was to introduce the elements of TPACK to the crowd.  Woohooo!  Punya would be proud.  They also created memes, then used kahoot.it to summarize and review the presented material.   She admits that introducing TPACK was an eye opener for some of her participants, especially if their disciplines were not STEM related.  However, she felt that some teachers were challenged to implement various STEM lessons into their instructional practice.

Way to go team! Leadership.  It’s the #MSUrbanSTEM way~