Teacher Training By Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski

Finished up the first of five days of STEM teacher training in Dugger, Indiana today. Eleven K-6 teachers were introduced to the foundation of STEM including the Engineering Design Process, reflective journaling, inquiry-based science, critical thinking, and more. We started off exploring patterns and shapes in nature and man-made objects then onto math and architecture. We finished off the day with beginning to build 3-D structures with readily available materials. As always it’s  a pleasure to meet motivated and dedicated teachers who are willing to think outside of the box. Looking forward to the next four days.

Had a great second session of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) consulting at Beaches Episcopal School. I will be their STEM Specialist for the 2013-2014 school-year. The first of four STEM professional staff development training sessions took place on June 4th. During the day-long training teachers were introduced to STEM philosophy and investigations, as well as reflective journaling in the STEM classroom. It’s great when a school or district provides professional staff development early in the summer, as opposed to waiting until August. By August most teachers have already planned out their entire school year. Professional staff development during the early part of the summer, and throughout the year provides a strong foundation for implementation of new curricula, teaching pedagogy etc. I’m looking forward to sharing my knowledge and expertise of STEM with the staff, administrators, and parents of Beaches Episcopal School throughout the upcoming school year. Check out the STEM investigations teachers conducted during the training.