COURSE TITLE: EED 698- Project/Thesis STEM Leadership Seminar (Spring, 2015)
Implementation of Teacher Professional Development and Analysis.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This unique course guides Endeavor Educators to perform short-term, STEM, episodic
professional development, preferably with NASA assets of their choosing. The goal is to infuse
systemic change, content from STEM area disciplines, and STEM pedagogy to peers in the
building, school district or region. Collaboration and online feedback offers guidance necessary to
achieve outcomes and success.
An objective is that the short-term training includes a specific set of classroom activities for
teachers to use that can be adopted into other classrooms. Ideally, other NASA Endeavor Fellows
and Graduates, optionally, will have access to the materials.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
 Design and implement a professional development project (e.g., training and a "pick-up
unit") with colleagues.
 Disseminate effective pedagogical content knowledge to other educators to promote
STEM education.
 Support other educators in accessing resources available for conducting STEM activities
with students.
 Collect and analyze data to show the impact of the professional development and STEM
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
This course is a blended synchronous/asynchronous class. The live class meeting dates are
indicated and attendance is mandatory for live sessions. During asynchronous times, participants
must contribute to online discussions with their classmates by responding to questions posed by
the instructor.
Assignments must be handed in before midnight on the date specified. Final presentation package
will be evaluated using a rubric, available to in the Online Learning System in the course space.
Asynchronous sessions:
Asynchronous work may be done anytime. Participants must adhere to the guidelines outlined in
this syllabus and the live course introduction. All work is due bv Saturday, November 30, 2013.
Plagiarism Disclaimer:
Anytime someone else's language, ideas, or data is used you must give credit. When completing
assignments for this course and others, be sure to cite your sources appropriately with APA format.
No credit will be given for plagiarized papers or segments. For guidance with correct APA
formatting consult:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ To read about what constitutes plagiarism
consult: http://owLenRlish.purdue.edu/owl/resourcej589/01(
TEXTS, READINGS, INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES:
Several required readings are available to participants within the Endeavor Online Learning
System Resources.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS. INSTRUCTIONS. Mandatory Assignments:
Class and Discussion Board Participation
Participants must attend and actively participate in live sessions and online discussions.
Assignments will be posted in the online learning space and must be completed prior to stated
deadlines below.
Proposal Submission
Submit a 2-page project proposal plan which includes the following:
Proposal Submission (Chapter 1)
Submit a 2-3 page project proposal plan which includes the following:
1. What is the title of your STEM professional development?
2. Why did you select the topic?
3. Who is your proposed audience (minimum 8)?
Which teachers will you serve with your professional development and activities?
What grades, subjects, and how many students do they teach?
4. What general science or mathematics concepts or learning goals are being
addressed which can potentially replace other classroom activities?
5. How and where do you intend to carry out your professional development?
How long will the session be? When will it be held? Will teachers have access to
computers?
6. What, in general, will a pre-survey and post-survey ask?
7. What outcomes or expectation do you hope to see?
8. How will you follow up with the teachers in attendance?
9. What methods of data collection (e.g. surveys, interviews) will you use to analyze
the success of your professional development?
Final Paper (6-pages) and 4-5 Minute PowerPoint Presentation
The final paper must follow the following template. It doesn't have to be longer than 6 pages, plus
the classroom activities or unit.
a.
b.
c.
d.
d.
I.
Title of Project p1
II.
Curriculum Topics, School Name(s), Number of Educators, Grade Level(s) p1
III.
Standards Addressed p 1
IV.
Summary of Project (3-4 sentences: What did I set out to do?) p I1
V.
Pre-questions Survey List p2
VI.
Brief Description of the Actual Professional Development Training p2
VII.
Brief Outline of the Activities in the Unit p3
VIII.
What NASA data did you include? p3
IX.
Follow-up Activities and Post-questions Survey List, (post 30 days) p.3
X.
Outcomes
Survey Results/Comment on the content included in the project p4
Survey Results/Comment on the pedagogy in the project p4
Was your professional development successful? Why or Why Not? p4
How did this project relate to the readings? Cite two examples. PS
Will the teacher do these activities again? and Reflections p6
Appendix: Classroom Activities/Unit with Assessment
Final Paper (6-pages) and 4-5 Minute PowerPoint Presentation
The final paper must follow the following template. It doesn't have to be longer than 6 pages, plus
the classroom activities or unit.
Final Data Collection and Analysis (X. Outcomes above).
After holding your professional development session(s), performing follow-up and collecting
feedback, analyze the effectiveness of your efforts. Your overall goal, as stated above, is to create
a systemic adoption of some kind, for a set of some classroom activities and to increase STEM
pedagogical content knowledge while sharing STEM resources with other educators who will
implement those resources with students.
The short-term training you perform will usually include a set of classroom activities for teachers
to use that can be adopted into other classrooms or educational contexts. These are the activities to
include in the Appendix above.
You may choose to issue pre/post questions related to:
Content survey: effective ways to determine changes in content knowledge as the result of your
professional development.
Pedagogy survey: how and whether activities have been performed or integrated into curriculum,
and how STEM pedagogical practices are assessed or evaluated as the result of your professional
development.
Collaboration and online feedback offers guidance necessary to achieve outcomes and success.
Ideally, other NASA Endeavor Fellows and Graduates, optionally, could potentially have
access to your project materials. This would be a separate initiative on which to work on
with you.
Optional.
Students are welcome to suggest other projects. There must be a data collection and systemic
component. You will need to meet course objectives.
Your assignment could include an electronic portfolio chronicling your professional development
experience. This might include a video recording of a portion of the session that clearly shows you
are meeting the objectives of the course. You may optionally include presentations (e.g.,
PowerPoint) as well. It would be helpful to provide an organized table of contents for your
portfolio showing where you address each objective with artifacts.
You may follow up with teachers who attend your training and also include examples of teacher
and/or student work that includes content, resources, or pedagogical strategies from the classroom
activities. For each artifact please include a brief reflection describing why you selected the
artifact, what it demonstrates, and how it shows that you met the course objective.
Fulton, K. & Briton, T. (2011). STEM Teachers in Professional Learning Committees: From Good
Teachers to Great Teaching.
Norman, K.W., Moore, T.J., & Kern, Anne. (2010). A Graduate Level In-Service
Teacher Education Curriculum Integrating Engineering into Science and
Mathematics Contents.
Lustick, D.S. (2011). Experienced Secondary Science Teachers' Perceptions of Effective
Professional Development while Pursuing National Board Certification.
Desimone, L. M. (2011). A Primer on Effective Professional Development. Phi Delta
Kappan, 92(6), 68.
Reading and Discussion.
Gregson, J.A. & Sturko, P.A., 2007. Teachers as Adult Learners: Re-conceptualizing
Professional Development.
Daugherty, J.L., 2009. Engineering Professional Development Design for Secondary
School Teachers: A Multiple Case Study.
Jenkins, A.A. & Yoshimura, J. Not Another Inservice! Meeting the Special Education
Professional Development Needs of Elementary General Educators.
White, W.B. & Schaible, R. The CLASS Professional Development School Initiative:
Redesigning Teacher Education Through Effective Collaboration.
Berry, B., Daughtrey, A. & Wieder, A. Preparing to Lead an Effective Classroom: The
Role of Teacher Training and Professional Development Programs.