Part 6: APPENDIX
DESIGN2LEARN STUDY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Please complete and upload each of the following forms.
Implementation sites will participate in the following professional development activities:
Summer Institutes
NYSCI will host a five-day (30-hour) summer institute, which will take place in August of each year of the study. Educator teams will have the opportunity to:
- Develop a shared understanding of the important features of STEM and the Engineering Design Process
- Build their capacity to plan STEM activities aligned to the NYC Science Scope and Sequence and the Next Generation Science and Engineering Practices
- Build their leadership capacity to support STEM and the Engineering Design Process within their school communities
Fall and Spring Workshops
NYSCI will host two professional development workshops (6-hours each in October/November and March) for the educator team to continue building capacity to facilitate hands-on, interactive STEM lessons aligned to the NYC Science Scope and Sequence, engineering and design thinking.
After-School Science Instruction
Educator teams will facilitate 72 hours of STEM instruction per year (1 hour/day, 2 days/week for 36 weeks) to 25 students during the after-school hours. The school day educator is only required to co-facilitate 1 hour per week.
Collaborative Planning
Educator teams will participate in weekly planning sessions totaling 36 hours per year (1 hour/week for 36 weeks) during which they map out STEM units aligned to the NYC Science Scope & Sequence and school day curricula.
Observation & Coaching School Visits
NYSCI will conduct two observations and coaching sessions (one fall, one spring) with each educator team per year and ExpandED Schools Program Manager will visit once a month for the length of the school year to provide school-based instructional coaching to ensure feedback and continuous quality improvement for educator teams.
Strategic Planning Retreat
School and community leaders and educators will attend a Planning Retreat in June-September (scheduled by school and community team) of each year of the study to identify needs and develop a STEM education school plan with clear objectives and implementation goals.
Non-implementation sites will participate in the following professional development activities:
Media Breaker
ExpandED Schools will offer a 10 hour workshop series exploring MediaBreaker (an online learning and editing tool for the development of 21st century media literacy skills). This three session model is aimed at increasing the capacity of educators to design lesson plans with digital tools (MediaBreaker/Studios) that encourage critical thinking, media literacy, and student collaboration. In addition to the professional development, your site will receive an annual site visit to provide coaching for the Media Breaker program
ExpandED Schools Professional Development
Non-implementation sites also qualify for additional ExpandED Schools trainings for free (a $40/workshop value). The menu of Professional Development offerings is online here. Please note that non-implementation sites are not eligible to attend STEM-related trainings.
DESIGN2LEARN PARTNERS
ExpandED Schools
Founded in 1998 as The After-School Corporation (TASC), the mission of ExpandED Schools is to close the learning gap by increasing access to enriched education experiences. Since its inception, ExpandED Schools has partnered with over 400 community and cultural organizations and provided support to over 560 schools. While we work on the ground to support schools, we also work with partners of all kinds to change public policy and build sustainable public funding to expand learning opportunities across the nation. Our efforts have led to the narrowing of the opportunity gap and increased educational equity for students living in high-poverty communities. ExpandED Schools has particular interest and expertise in STEM education, having worked with dozens of schools and a wide range of organizations engaged in informal STEM learning, most notably through the NYC STEM Education Network, which we co-facilitate.
New York City Department of Education
NYCDOE is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (the New York City public schools) is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,800 separate schools. The department covers all five boroughs of New York City, and has an annual budget of nearly 25 billion dollars. The department is run by the Panel for Educational Policy and New York City Schools Chancellor. The current chancellor is Carmen Fariña.
New York Hall of Science
NYSCI is NYC’s premiere hands-on science and technology center and is consistently rated among the top ten science museums in the world. In addition to being a great destination for families with over 450 interactive exhibits, it is one of the leading providers of education services for students and teachers. NYSCI seeks to bring the excitement and understanding of the sciences to children, families, teachers and others by galvanizing their curiosity and offering them creative, participatory ways to learn. NYSCI has a rich history of offering innovative STEM professional development experiences for educators of all grades. NYSCI offers a Science Coach Program where NYSCI educators visit and co-teach in order to model hands-on STEM lessons, support students in practicing for their mandated science tests and help with growing a culture of science learning in the entire school.
Research Alliance of New York City
The Research Alliance for New York City Schools (The Research Alliance), founded in 2008, is an independent evaluator housed at New York University within the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. The organization strives to advance equity and excellence in education by providing nonpartisan evidence about policies and practices that promote students' development and academic success. The Research Alliance conducts rigorous, applied research in collaboration with policymakers, educators and other stakeholders; maintains a unique archive of longitudinal data on NYC schools and communities to support ongoing research; and communicates the results of their work to multiple audiences in NYC and nationally. Their work focuses on four main areas: high school achievement, attainment and post-secondary preparation; achievement and development in the middle grades; contexts that support effective teaching; and data use for practice and policy.