This project seeks to increase and enhance students' and teachers' awareness of and engagement in sustainability and STEM by developing a post-baccalaureate program for teachers which addresses the need for equitable, meaningful STEM learning experiences that relate to real-world sustainability issues while also emphasizing the importance of scientific literacy and communication.
Research Methodology
Teachers involved in this program will engage in accelerated post-baccalaureate courses and seminars and real-time field experiences within their own classrooms. They will also pursue self-identified pathways of professional development, as well as collaborate with other area teachers and University students.
Research Goals
This program seeks to create a pathway for teachers to shift their teaching to more authentically and meaningfully engage all students in scientific literacy while simultaneously illustrating how STEM disciplines collaborate to address global sustainability issues. Teachers will discover the challenges that STEM professionals have in disseminating new findings to citizens, as well as the propensity of this information to become misunderstood or misused depending on biases, and impart this learning and literacy skills to their current students.
Research Outcomes
Teachers which complete their STEM Endorsement Certificate will gain the skills to meaningfully engage students in STEM, sustainability, and scientific literacy by teaching them practices such as evaluating information, using evidence to support their claims, and constructively driving scientific discourse. Teachers and their students will move from being aware of to being actively engaged in sustainability through the projects that they implement in the classroom. Research
Research Focus Areas