What do designing robots, solar cars, aircrafts, wind turbines, creating with Legos, performing experiments on earth materials and diagnosing diseases have in common? Answer: They have the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) focus of the educational curriculum/training available for FREE implementation by LEAs or after-school organizations!
Iowa has selected 12 STEM programs to coordinate with and to enhance your current curriculum. These programs are designed to increase students’ interest and achievement in STEM fields through a focus on students use of problem solving and creative, collaborative and critical thinking skills.
For this program, the applying organization can be an entire district, a single school, a grade-band, an individual classroom, a PTA, 4H or Girl Scout group or an after-school program. In order to implement one (or more) of these programs, schools/organizations apply to the Regional Hub. Click here for the Regional Hub Map. Regional Managers for the Heartland AEA area are the following:
Jay Staker, North Central Regional STEM Manager
jstaker@iastate.edu
(515) 294-8417
Beth Kulow, Southwest STEM Regional Manager
Kulow@bvu.edu
(641) 782-1520
Kari Webb, Northwest STEM Regional Manager
kwebb@ilcc.cc.ia.us
(712) 3620-8341
If the LEA/organization is awarded program implementation, all aspects of the program (including professional development and curricular materials) will be provided FREE to you and your school/organization. All funding will be coordinated between your Regional STEM manager and the program provider.
A brief description (including the website) of each program can be found at http://www.iowastem.gov/.
Benefits of the programs:
- There are different programs available for elementary, middle and high school students
- Many of the programs can be implemented during the school day and some are best suited for before or after-school programs
- The programs all provide either stipends for teachers/coaches or curriculum materials or both
- Many of the programs also provide a level of training related to the provided materials
It is an exciting time for math and science in Iowa. The application is relatively simple and can be found online at http://www.iowastem.gov/educators-stem-scale-application#overlay-context=node.
The application deadline is September 14, 2012. Those educators selected to receive programming will be notified by October 1, 2012 and can implement the programming immediately this fall.
Year Two, Day One Iowa Core Curriculum training is scheduled for October 5 and repeated on October 8. The sessions in Des Moines are closed but space is still available at the four other locations. Teams are reminded to bring their self-study materials for Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 5 to the training and any other materials needed for work during team planning time. One focus of the October training will be alignment, and participants will have an opportunity to preview the self-study for Outcome 4. Some curriculum terms will be briefly reviewed as a part of the alignment segment of the day. Curriculum can be divided into three categories: intended, enacted and assessed curricula.
Intended curriculum: the content target for the enacted curriculum, often captured in content standards or other similar documents.
Enacted curriculum: the content actually delivered during instruction in the classroom and other learning settings.
Assessed curriculum: the content that is assessed to determine achievement (Porter, 2004).
The following is the answer to a frequently asked question related to alignment.
Question: Are we aligning the Iowa Core Curriculum to our local standards and benchmarks? If not, why not?
Answer: The Iowa Core Curriculum is not about rewriting district standards and benchmarks. Rather, it focuses on providing a curriculum that includes the essential concepts and skills for all students. However, an even more important question is, do the local standards and benchmarks really represent what is going on in the classroom (enacted curriculum)? The goal is to align the content, instruction and assessment delivered to students with the Iowa Core Curriculum. (Taken from the Department of Education’s Iowa Core Curriculum Network Team work)
Questions about the Iowa Core Curriculum may be directed to Linda S. Biermann Hoobin, Teaching and Learning Consultant, who can be reached at lhoobin@aea11.k12.ia.us or 515-270-0405 extension 14327.
During Leadership Training last school year, district/school teams received the Iowa Core Curriculum self-studies for outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 5. Outcome 4 will be available at the upcoming October Leadership Training Sessions. Outcome 6 will be available at a later date.At Leadership Training, teams learned a process to complete the self-studies that allows for input from all involved. Each team determined their current status on each action for each of the outcomes. That information was transferred to a consensus rating form that will assist teams when it is time to write an implementation plan. A copy of each consensus rating form, when completed, should be sent to Linda Biermann Hoobin at the Johnston Office of Heartland or can be sent electronically to Linda at lhoobin@aea11.1k2.ia.us.Currently available self-studies can be found on the Heartland Iowa Core Curriculum Web page located under the heading “Iowa Core Curriculum Resources by Topic”, then self-study and implementation planning.There is still time to register for Iowa Core Curriculum Leadership Training Year Two, Day One. The October 5th session at Zion Lutheran Church is closed, but all others have space available. Find registration information on the Heartland Iowa Core Curriculum Web page.Questions can be directed to Linda Biermann Hoobin, Teaching and Learning Consultant for the Iowa Core Curriculum at (515) 270-0405 ext. 14327 or at the email mentioned above.
What do designing robots, solar cars, aircrafts, wind turbines, creating with Legos, performing experiments on earth materials and diagnosing diseases have in common? Answer: They have the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) focus of the educational curriculum/training available for FREE implementation by LEAs or after-school organizations!