Professional Learning
When beginning our quest to become a STEAM school, it was important for us to provide teachers with a strong foundation in STEAM Education. All teachers at Mableton have been trained in the STEAM practices and making classroom instruction rigorous and relevant to students.
The professional learning is purposefully planned in three distinct modules. The first module builds an understanding of STEAM, and its impact on our students. Furthermore, Day 1 begins to define the environment we want to create as well as the pedagogy we want to employ. Teachers engage in design challenges such as building a new house for Clifford the Big Red Dog and floating rafts that withstand raging river currents.
Day 2 focuses the participants on “experiencing” STEAM through the eyes of a student. As teachers, Science and Mathematics are two content areas we teach daily, whereas Technology and Engineering are not addressed as frequently. During this day of training, participants will not only experience the “Engineering Design Process,” but they will have the opportunity to see classrooms in action, play with building toys, and access technology resources.
The emphasis of Day 3 training is on classroom instruction and environment. Teachers will have an opportunity to use STEAM Notebooks, review STEAM lessons, and complete a design challenge of their own. Teachers will learn how to make changes in the environment, equipment, technology, resources and lessons to “grow a STEAM classroom”. Finally, participants will learn the process of becoming a Georgia Certified STEAM school.
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With all three days of training, we are trying to plant the seeds of change. We are trying to impact teacher practices and planning, moving from complacency to action. As the first slide in day 1 states, STEAM is a philosophy….not an acronym. The training is not about teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics; it is about changing a mindset.
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