Very fine approach!  Often the teachers are caught up with the stress on math and ELA due to the administrators having the same insecurities with science not to mention STEM. Interesting to hear the administrators address the difficulty of attraction to science due to peer reactions.  How are you connecting them to the opportunities in Baltimore beyond their formal school structure?    Are you offering "field trips" for those currently involved with the project?

This is very timely as our Oregon Coast STEM Hub is looking to develop our own Administrator NGSS/STEM training. We have a robust educator PD program, however, elementary teachers face constant struggle of their principals dictating their schedules, with a focus on ELA and Math that doesn't allow adequate time for science. We are interested in more information about the admin course of study and the possibility of implementing it on the Oregon Coast.

These principals certainly were enthusiastic about the program! What are you hoping will change as a result of their participation? In other words, what will they be able to do to support INGSS-aligned instruction after completing the course?  

I was interested to read your response to Jonathan's question because school leaders are such an important part of supporting of transforming to 3-D learning and teacher growth through the shift.  

I am curious how the group(s) was/were selected?  I see how much work our building administrators do and wonder how they would find the time to participate in a regular cohort.  Were there any challenges around finding participants and getting them to make the full commitment?

How energizing to see those enthusiastic principals! Experiences such as you provide are so valuable-as you and discussants point out, principal support is essential. I once led a session with ~100 principals and school leaders and asked how many had a solid science background. Two (or maybe it was 3) hands went up! And, what counts in a science experience has shifted (from content to "3-D" science teaching and learning. From the delight on the faces of your participants as well as comments, you've provided a positive experience for these school leaders. 

Like Margo, I am curious to learn how were you able to find administrators who were able to commit time for this work? 

Sally

Thanks, Ekaterina, very helpful to learn of your strategies (units related to career pathways, a respected peer facilitator). In my experience, the most important "carrot" (as in carrots and sticks) for teachers is the belief or understanding that their students will benefit. As your project attests, so it is for principals.  

Sally

You said you are looking for someone to do research on outcomes of this work. I'll make sure to share this request with my colleagues. Sally

Hi Ekaterina,

I am a colleague of Sally Crissman at TERC--I co-direct a Center that focuses on STEM research and evaluation.  Your video was inspiring!  I was impressed by the enthusiasm of the principals and their intentions to support teachers to increase and improve science classroom experiences.  As you consider outcomes research, you might begin by identifying the longer term impact you hope to achieve (e.g., what might you expect to happen for teachers and for students at the end of a full year of the "program").  And then, think about the outcomes pathway that would get you to that point--what short term outcomes would you expect in the early months of the project and then, how would these expand or deepen over time as you move to the long-term impact goals?  

Once you identify outcomes expectations, it will be easier for you to work with a researcher who can help with creating research questions as well as a design, instrumentation, and analytic approaches that are aligned with your project goals and interests. 

Happy to talk more if that would be helpful.  

Karen

I really resonated with this video! In our work in Chicago we find that principal support is so important. Our video was in last year's showcase, but it can still be accessed here ( http://stemforall2017.videohall.com/presentations/954 ) if you are interested. I was so glad to see science instructional minutes called out as a critical piece in the video, and that one of the impacts was increased instructional time in K-5. We have found that another critical lever available to principals is time to collaborate. This is especially important if you are trying to develop teacher leaders at different grade levels--they need time to share and reflect on their learning. Have you also seen collaboration time increase in the schools where principals are in this program? I am also intrigued as to how you got the principals to attend so many hours of PD. I understand the incentives, but how were the hours distributed across the year?