6911 Views (as of 05/2023)
  1. Sue Allen
  2. https://mmsa.org/2016/09/sue-allen-ph-d/
  3. Senior Research Scientist
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
  1. Perrin Chick
  2. https://mmsa.org/projects/acres/
  3. STEM Education Specialist
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
  1. Hannah Lakin
  2. https://mmsa.org/projects/acres/
  3. STEM Education Specialist
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
  1. Becky Tapley
  2. https://mmsa.org/2020/08/becky-tapley/
  3. STEM Education Specialist
  4. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  5. Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
  1. Sierra Toomey
  2. Digital Media Assistant
  3. Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
  4. Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
Facilitators’
Choice
Presenters’
Choice

ACRES (Afterschool Coaching for Educators in STEM)

NSF Awards: 1713134

2021 (see original presentation & discussion)

Grades K-6, Grades 6-8, Informal / multi-age

Since well before COVID-19, this project has been providing afterschool and library educators with high-quality STEM professional learning opportunities, through a model (called ACRES) that combines Instructional Coaching with Professional Learning Communities.

In ACRES, out-of-school educators come together in small cohorts with the goal of improving their practice through acquisition of research-based STEM facilitation skills. Examples of these target skills are: asking purposeful questions, making activities relevant to youth, supporting inquiry practices, and giving youth voice in shaping their own learning. The pandemic allowed us to add a new module to support afterschool educators in "virtualizing your activities and programs." Evaluation showed that the module exceeded the expectations of the educators and provided both technical and pedagogical support.

To date, evaluation has shown that participants become more confident in using a target skill, more able to notice and apply the skill, and better able to give constructive feedback to a real or hypothetical peer. Also they remember the skill 6-24 months after taking ACRES, and can give examples of how it has changed their work with youth, including how the youth responded to the change.

The original ACRES model targeted out-of-school educators in rural settings in particular, but the project is expanding to include educators from a variety of settings.

This video has had approximately 1,103 visits by 824 visitors from 402 unique locations. It has been played 597 times as of 05/2023.
Click to See Activity Worldwide
Map reflects activity with this presentation from the 2021 STEM For All Video Showcase website, as well as the STEM For All Multiplex website.
Based on periodically updated Google Analytics data. This is intended to show usage trends but may not capture all activity from every visitor.
show more
Discussion from the 2021 STEM For All Video Showcase (46 posts)
  • Icon for: Sue Allen

    Sue Allen

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Research Scientist
    May 10, 2021 | 06:43 p.m.

    Welcome to the ACRES project video!

    Our project is nearing its end so we are finalizing revisions to our coaching materials, guided by a very helpful 'equity-audit.' 

    Our impact data has been strong, so we're hoping to scale the program in the near future.

    We’d love to talk about some of the challenges of assessing facilitation skills of out-of-school educators, and also the impacts on youth. What do others do in these kinds of settings?  

     
    3
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Sasha Palmquist
    Cristo Leon
    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Cristo Leon

    Cristo Leon

    Director of research, College of Science and Liberal Arts
    May 12, 2021 | 01:41 p.m.

    Dear Sue,

    We are working with our high school partners on Hands-on STEM, are there any materials, resources, or videos you can share with us?

  • Icon for: Perrin Chick

    Perrin Chick

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 13, 2021 | 12:59 p.m.

    Greetings Cristo

    We will be offering free workshops this spring and summer if you or your educators are interested in accessing our materials and resources.

    We could also talk more at length about our coaches training your high school partners.

    Feel free to reach out to me at pchick@mmsa to talk about what is available for free this spring and summer and what packages are available next fall.

    Perrin

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Holly Morin
  • Icon for: Dionne Champion

    Dionne Champion

    Facilitator
    Research Assistant Professor
    May 11, 2021 | 08:55 a.m.

    Great video! This seems like a very cool way to support after school educators who may not have the necessary STEM education or experience to provide quality programming and activities.  This is much needed work. I am wondering a couple of things.

    Assessment is always tricky in out-of-school environments. Are you learning anything about how youth are experiencing the programs after your facilitator trainings? And, as you think about scaling and expanding your program, how are you thinking about supporting facilitators in different types of cultural settings?

     

     
    3
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Holly Morin
    Sasha Palmquist
    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Sue Allen

    Sue Allen

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Research Scientist
    May 11, 2021 | 10:01 a.m.

    Thanks Dionne,

    Great questions. We've tried to capture some youth impacts but have struggled with the kinds of things you know characterize these out-of-school programs: variations in the kinds of activities the groups do and who even attends (so hard to get pre-post comparisons), resistance by educators to have their programs observed or evaluated (especially prior to the PD), etc. We'll keep trying but meanwhile we do know that educators who apply for the National Afterschool Association's micro-credentials in STEM facilitation have much higher award rates if they've taken our ACRES courses, and these micro-credentials are based on the Dimensions of Success observation protocol that included youth impacts as part of its validation process. 

    For scaling up, our plan is to support new coaches from a range of organizations as they don't just "implement" but adapt our model to fit the assets & needs of their own communities (e.g., customizing recruitment materials, language & terminology, discourse norms for giving peer-feedback, local examples of STEM careers, etc.) To help organizations with that adaptation work we'll provide support from our equity consultant and also our evaluator who specializes in culturally responsive evaluation. We hope to learn a lot from what the teams do as they iterate the model to work for them.

     
    3
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Holly Morin
    Sasha Palmquist
    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Nancy Songer

    Nancy Songer

    Higher Ed Administrator
    May 11, 2021 | 10:08 a.m.

    Hi Sue! It's great to see your work here, and I really enjoyed your video. Thanks for taking on such an important topic, particularly during this crazy pandemic time. How do my local afterschool educators join or benefit from your wisdom? Cheers, Nancy

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Perrin Chick

    Perrin Chick

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 11, 2021 | 10:23 a.m.

    Greetings Nancy

    I serve as the Project Manager of ACRES. We would love to have your educators participate in ACRES. We are running cohorts this summer. If you pass along this link, your educators can learn more about our upcoming cohorts https://mmsa.org/projects/acres/join-a-cohort/

    Feel free to email me directly too at pchick@mmsa.org and we can talk more about which of our modules would be a good fit for them.

    Looking forward to checking out your video next.

    Perrin

     

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Marcia Linn

    Marcia Linn

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 11, 2021 | 05:08 p.m.

    Hi Sue! It's great to "see" you here. Your video is thought provoking. I wonder if there is a way that we can collaborate to make science more welcoming to a wider range of learners? Enjoy, Marcia

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Sue Allen

    Sue Allen

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Research Scientist
    May 12, 2021 | 05:09 p.m.

    Thanks Marcia, actually I think your project on connecting climate change to racial justice could translate really well into the afterschool space! Many youth development organizations are looking for creative ways to be anti-racist in their programs, and looking at data is a great way to focus the conversation. 

     
    2
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Holly Morin
    Sasha Palmquist
  • Icon for: Jennifer Watters-Delahunt

    Jennifer Watters-Delahunt

    K-12 Teacher
    May 11, 2021 | 07:23 p.m.

    I love this! I teach remotely and would benefit so much from this program and so would my students! Are the tools students need for the hands on learning activities easily accessible for low income households and high needs districts? Great job! 

  • Icon for: Perrin Chick

    Perrin Chick

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 11, 2021 | 07:44 p.m.

    Jennifer we are offering free workshops this spring to help educators and free coaching cohorts this summer. Be sure to check out our offerings at https://mmsa.org/projects/acres/join-a-cohort/.

    When giving our educators tips and tricks related to remote engagement, we also talk about equity and resources. Our activity suggestions often only use materials easily found at home. We never say people need to have certain items, but instead, encourage them to find something that is similar.

    One of my favorite engineering activities is to have participants find 5 items that are smaller than the size of their hand and not breakable. We then try to have them build towers from those materials. It is a great way to get to know each other even though we are virtual, allows them to practice the skill of asking purposeful questions, and learn more about the engineering process. 

    One time I had someone bring a hair tye, a piece of paper, a shoe, a plastic cup, and a toothbrush. We had much fun seeing how many different ways we could put those items together into different towers and more importantly the educators were able to practice asking questions that really encouraged everyone to clarify their thinking and to understand the redesign process.

    Hope that one suggestion illustrates how virtual learning can be hands-on and accessible. 

    Perrin

     
    2
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Holly Morin
    Sasha Palmquist
  • Icon for: Remy Dou

    Remy Dou

    Facilitator
    Assistant Professor
    May 11, 2021 | 07:44 p.m.

    Comment: I'm greatly moved by the efforts presented in this video and the overall outcomes of your evaluations. In my opinion, not enough attention goes toward supporting and equipping the self-giving population of after-school and out-of-school educators, but your work stands out in contrast to that in helping to not only bring attention to the value of professional development for educators in these spaces, but also in meeting their needs both as a whole and as individuals within particular contexts. 

    Questions: Given the evolution of your efforts, I find myself wondering about the various approaches taken to recruit educators, especially given that many find themselves, in some ways, geographically and socially isolated. Often PD recruitment efforts in formal K-12 settings target the educators rather than districts, but I wonder if you've encountered existing infrastructure that have allowed you and others to reach large groups individuals. What are some of your partnership success stories that have allowed you to recruit broader and more diverse groups of after-school and out-of-school educators? What lessons have you learned that would support large scale, successful partnerships in the future?

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Sasha Palmquist
  • Icon for: Perrin Chick

    Perrin Chick

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 12, 2021 | 09:28 a.m.

    Greetings Remy

    Recruitment is hard certainly. We designed the ACRES project to connect with educators who were geographically and socially isolated; we set out originally to reach rural OST educators. Over the years, our audience expanded and our recruitment efforts changed a bit. It certainly helped to share testimonials from past participants we recruited new audiences.

    We were fortunate to have connected with and nurtured some great partners over the five years and they have helped us recruit. We worked with the National Afterschool Association, Development Without Limits, the Afterschool networks associated with The Mott Network and various states, and The STEM Next Foundation. We have leveraged connections with 4H and libraries too. In several cases co-branding, our marketing materials, with these partners helped us recruit.

    As we look to scaling up, it is really knowing the needs of our partners that has positioned us well to continue this work and build upon past recruitment efforts. Our external evaluator did some analysis of our recruitment efforts and related to our partnerships halfway through our grant. I am happy to share some of those insights with you off-line if that is helpful. 

    Perrin

     
    3
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Holly Morin
    Remy Dou
    Sasha Palmquist
  • Icon for: Sue Allen

    Sue Allen

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Research Scientist
    May 12, 2021 | 09:51 a.m.

    Thanks Remy for your comment and excellent question. 

    We've learned that the afterschool and library worlds are incredibly diverse in their organizational structures and where they fit into the larger learning ecosystem, which makes it hard to do a one-size-fits-all strategy. We recruit at all levels opportunistically: individuals, youth development organizations, city networks, state and national networks. Also we've learned do lots of small "taster" workshops because people need to experience this to get a sense of it. We go as "presenters" or "exhibitors" to many practitioner conferences (in-person or virtual) where we try to connect to folks who are already interested in supporting professional learning with their staff.

    Also we've learned that personal recommendations are critical in this field - we have most success when we have buy-in from both the senior administrators and the educators. After all, the educators need to be willing to be vulnerable for the sake of their own learning, and the administrators need to see enough value in it to pay their staff time to participate. (though many do volunteer, it's a lot to ask of these folks).

    Our reach has been hugely amplified by support from STEM Next, one of our major funders. They advocate for us with the other projects and networks they support. For example, they have directed our way many Mott state afterschool networks who have signed up to participate in their "Million Girls Moonshot" engineering initiative and need PD to support their staff - it's perfect synergy because we can coach them in exactly the skills and mindset they want to learn, and the funder sees even greater impact.

     
    2
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Remy Dou
    Sasha Palmquist
  • Icon for: Sabrina De Los Santos

    Sabrina De Los Santos

    Facilitator
    Research and Development Associate
    May 11, 2021 | 11:14 p.m.

    Wonderful video and project! I am so glad to see this work out in the field. I love the creative ways you are assessing the facilitation skills using animations to provide feedback. I am wondering what other communications you have with educators that could serve as assessments. The methods you are using give me some great ideas for our projects. We have been using WhatsApp to send surveys with videos and images that can be quickly answered with a phone and can provide us formative feedback after PD or after engaging with project materials. 

     
    2
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Holly Morin
    Sasha Palmquist
  • Icon for: Hannah Lakin

    Hannah Lakin

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 12, 2021 | 08:22 a.m.

    Thanks, Sabrina! Using WhatsApp as an assessment medium sounds really cutting edge. We've been using Flipgrid for the past couple of years as a central location for educators to share the videos they record of their practice and respond to each other asynchronously. As we started to have success with that, we realized the potential for participants to reflect and share feedback about the ACRES sessions in short video form. Now at the end of ACRES sessions, educators will turn off Zoom and immediately leave a minute-long video or audio clip on Flipgrid sharing their takeaways and feedback while it's fresh, and without needing to type something up. We also love that Flipgrid will quickly generate a transcript for our researchers!

     
    2
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Holly Morin
    Sabrina De Los Santos
  • Icon for: Jan Mokros

    Jan Mokros

    Researcher
    May 12, 2021 | 08:38 a.m.

    Hannah, Flipgrid sounds like a terrific way of capturing feedback quickly without much burden for the educators.  And at the same time, you get the most salient or memorable feedback in real time.  I hope a lot of evaluators learn about this technique---it's a great methodological contribution to the field!

     
    2
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Holly Morin
    Sabrina De Los Santos
  • Icon for: Sabrina De Los Santos

    Sabrina De Los Santos

    Facilitator
    Research and Development Associate
    May 13, 2021 | 08:33 p.m.

    Hi Hannah, Thank you for sharing your methods of capturing feedback with Flipgrid. I agree with Jan-- this provides one less thing for educators to follow-up with and ensures you get the most memorable feedback on time! Do you find the Flipgrid transcripts pretty accurate? I'm curious because we have been using software like Amazon Transcribe and it would be nice to work with more programs/apps that have integrated automated transcription. Thank you! 

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Holly Morin
  • Icon for: Hannah Lakin

    Hannah Lakin

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 14, 2021 | 08:50 a.m.

    Certainly! I've never used Amazon Transcribe, so I'm not sure I can compare the accuracy, but Flipgrid's transcriptions are decent. I would say they are a close second to Otter, another one we've used.

  • Icon for: Holly Morin

    Holly Morin

    Informal Educator
    May 18, 2021 | 09:24 a.m.

    I love this dialogue! I agree with Perrin about the innovation of using the WhatsApp platform as a means to gather feedback, and then the use of FlipGrid as well. I will definitely pass this along to the facilitators the host post-PD workshops as part of our Deep Dives virtual PD miniseries (I am assuming they are aware of FlipGrid, but the use of WhatsApp is definitely new to me at least!).

  • Icon for: Eric Hamilton

    Eric Hamilton

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 12, 2021 | 01:35 a.m.

    This is very thoughtful and interesting.  What sort of feedback do you have, if any, from school teachers who then work with the students who benefit, second-order, from ACRES?  Nice project :)

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Sabrina De Los Santos
  • Icon for: Sue Allen

    Sue Allen

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Research Scientist
    May 12, 2021 | 09:29 a.m.

    Thanks Eric. Great question about downstream impacts... I wish we knew! Maybe we dig into that into the next phase...

    One thing we do know is that there's quite a bit of cross-pollination from the educator side: quite a few of the afterschool educators also have roles in classrooms (as teachers, aides, ed techs, etc.) and they often report finding the facilitation skills just as useful in the formal setting. In fact the amount of spontaneous transfer amazed us - over 90% of our long-term follow-up interviewees said that they were using the facilitation skill in other settings - teaching social studies or reading, running a ceramics studio, doing activities with their own kids, etc.

    We published a piece in Connected Science Learning on how the approach seems helpful in schools. Here's the link: 

    https://www.nsta.org/connected-science-learning-january-february-2021/virtual-coaching-plcs-and-out-school

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Sasha Palmquist
  • Icon for: Jan Mokros

    Jan Mokros

    Researcher
    May 12, 2021 | 08:36 a.m.

    Hi Sue, Perrin, et al.

    I'm really looking forward to seeing the scale-up of ACRES! Imagine Science, the group that is helping implement our project, is doing a lot of work with STEM professional development.  A possible collaboration?

  • Icon for: Sue Allen

    Sue Allen

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Research Scientist
    May 12, 2021 | 09:12 a.m.

    Thanks Jan! We'd love to talk with them. I'll follow up with you offline.

  • Icon for: Liz Georgakopoulos

    Liz Georgakopoulos

    Informal Educator
    May 12, 2021 | 01:30 p.m.

    This sounds like an amazing program.  Great work!

  • Icon for: Becky Tapley

    Becky Tapley

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 12, 2021 | 02:07 p.m.

    Thanks, Liz! As an ACRES coach, it is an honor to work alongside informal educators as they explore these STEM facilitation skills and then put them into practice with their youth. The depth of reflection and willingness to be vulnerable by sharing their practice is remarkable. 

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Sasha Palmquist
  • Icon for: Leigh Peake

    Leigh Peake

    Informal Educator
    May 13, 2021 | 02:14 p.m.

    Always great to hear about the progress you all have made with ACRES. You've solved so many gnarly problems along the journey and it just keeps getting better. Facilitation is such a nuanced skill -- it's remarkable to me that you found a way to support its development virtually. As Becky says, a tribute to the team and the way you've supported vulnerability and risk taking. Congrats!

  • Icon for: Perrin Chick

    Perrin Chick

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 14, 2021 | 08:32 a.m.

    Leigh it's been so rewarding to work with educators all across the country, especially during COVID. Their stories and our conversations shared during our ACRES cohorts illustrate how creative, resourceful, and resilient the field is and all of the coaches feel so fortunate to do the work we do. Everyone truly enjoys the sessions because they are live and very interactive despite being virtual and because we put connecting first. We often say we are not looking for perfect practice, nor perfect educators (so let your cats walk across the screen and it is ok for your kids to interrupt you), but instead we are looking for real ways to connect and reflect so we can all learn and feel a little less alone and overwhelmed. 

    Perrin

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Leigh Peake
  • Icon for: Robin Cotter

    Robin Cotter

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 13, 2021 | 04:10 p.m.

    Congratulations on creating this amazing professional development community and making it accessible to a wider population!

  • Icon for: Daniel Serrano

    Daniel Serrano

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 13, 2021 | 10:57 p.m.

    This program seems amazing. Apologies if you already answered this, but I was wondering about the reach you've had for your educator participants in terms of geography. Are they all/mostly from the Main area, or have you reached across the country. And in that line: How did you advertise the program?

  • Icon for: Perrin Chick

    Perrin Chick

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 14, 2021 | 08:24 a.m.

    Greetings Daniel 

    Thanks for your questions. I am so proud of our efforts to reach across the whole country. You can check out our map of impact here https://mmsa.org/projects/acres/. To summarize we have reached participants in 39 states. Our recruitment efforts are supported by our fabulous partners, like the Missouri Afterschool Network, the Illinois Afterschool Network,  The Alaska Afterschool Network, The Mott Foundation, The STEM NEXT foundation, and the National Afterschool Association......We advertise our offerings through listservs, sending out flyers to our contacts, social media posts, and by reaching out to past participants and asking them to help spread the word.  Perrin

  • Icon for: Daniel Serrano

    Daniel Serrano

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 17, 2021 | 02:17 p.m.

    Thanks for the insight, Perrin!

  • Icon for: Ning Wang

    Ning Wang

    Graduate Student
    May 14, 2021 | 07:58 a.m.

    Great teachers and program! Thanks

  • Icon for: Raffaella Borasi

    Raffaella Borasi

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 16, 2021 | 06:29 p.m.

    Great example of what you can achieve with professional development remotely - and another example for me of how the pandemic can be a catalyst for innovations.  My group has done a lot of work with online professional development - and even coaching - but we it is interesting to see how this can work with other groups as well.

  • Icon for: Sue Allen

    Sue Allen

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Research Scientist
    May 17, 2021 | 10:11 a.m.

    Thanks Raffaella. Seeing some of your videos is very heartening - we've converged on some very similar strategies in supporting teachers as they learn informally from each other and a coach. 

  • Icon for: Adrianne Coffey

    Adrianne Coffey

    May 17, 2021 | 12:40 p.m.

    Acres was a great cohort group. I learned to sharpen my teaching skills and how to ask questions that gave the students time to think and answer.

  • Icon for: Perrin Chick

    Perrin Chick

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 17, 2021 | 01:40 p.m.

    Adrianne, we always appreciate feedback from our participants. It would be great if you shared with others here on the showcase how you as an Alaskan OST educator cam to connect with ACRES. Recruitment success stories are really powerful.

    Perrin

  • Dawne MarieCornelius

    K-12 Teacher
    May 17, 2021 | 04:14 p.m.

    Good afternoon,

    I found this video to be informative. It is a useful way to get teachers onboard with finding resources to enhance learning in STEM.  Teachers would meet on a "Virtual Tea", and collect new ideas to use in their classroom.  

  • Tiffany Nelson

    May 17, 2021 | 04:20 p.m.

    As an ACRES participant, I wholeheartedly support the initiative and highly recommend it to and for all educators, regardless of prior knowledge and engagement skill. It's by far one of the most fulfilling projects I've participated in as both an active culturally responsive S.T.E.M OST educator and an advocate who is invested in 21st Century Literacy Development instruction and access for all children. 

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Becky Tapley
  • Icon for: Perrin Chick

    Perrin Chick

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 17, 2021 | 08:32 p.m.

    Tiffany, I think you were one of our first ACRES participants and we feel so fortunate that you keep coming back as we add more skills. Is there a module (STEM facilitation skill) you enjoyed the most?

     

    Perrin

  • Tiffany Nelson

    May 18, 2021 | 12:15 p.m.

    You all are fantastic, grateful to be welcomed again and again. Asking Purposeful Questions is my all-time favorite. 

  • Icon for: Barbara Rogoff

    Barbara Rogoff

    Researcher
    May 18, 2021 | 02:18 a.m.

    Hi Sue Allen!  Great to see your work!  I think it connects nicely with our video on the ways that learning with a purpose that benefits a larger group can be a strength for learning, especially for children from communities that are underserved in schools.  I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on how the educators in your program are energized by purpose for what you are helping them learn.  It seems like that might be central to what you are doing in your program.

  • Icon for: Sue Allen

    Sue Allen

    Lead Presenter
    Senior Research Scientist
    May 18, 2021 | 10:25 a.m.

    Hi Barbara, and thank you for your insight. Yes I think purpose is folded into our program at several scales. On the smaller scale, a foundational skill we coach is how to ask youth "purposeful questions" during STEM activities, and we learned that many educators had never even considered that they could have an intentional purpose for their activities, or that this could be a driver behind their interactions with youth. On the larger scale, many educators were quite moved by the simple (but infrequent) opportunity to come together to share with each other the challenges & solutions they faced, as defined by them, especially when the pandemic hit. I'm always inspired by afterschool educators' deep intentions to supporting and empowering youth, so I think mostly our role is just to offer some ways to act on those intentions using some practical pedagogical strategies they may not have considered.

  • Icon for: Holly Morin

    Holly Morin

    Informal Educator
    May 18, 2021 | 09:28 a.m.

    Perrin and Sue! Always fantastic to see ACRES' continued success! The pandemic provided an interesting comparison, from which you could compare learning benchmarks of teachers virtually engaged prior to and during COVID. So great to see the learning gains were simliar across both groups. And how fantastic this program was already in place and could meet the needs of whole new cohort of teachers as they unexpectedly had to take a deep dive into virtual learning.  Well done as always!

     
    1
    Discussion is closed. Upvoting is no longer available

    Perrin Chick
  • Icon for: Stephanie Martin

    Stephanie Martin

    Director of Mathematics Education Outreach
    May 18, 2021 | 02:50 p.m.

    What a fantastic project! So much is learned from informal learning spaces, and we have included this is our previous Noyce master teacher projects in the summer months. This project has found a way to meet the need to provide professional learning to the afterschool educators, as an area that is often overlooked.  It's great to see how you have been able to include so many regions. 

  • Icon for: Becky Tapley

    Becky Tapley

    Co-Presenter
    STEM Education Specialist
    May 18, 2021 | 03:06 p.m.

    Hi Stephanie! Thank you for that feedback! It's always exciting to gather an ACRES cohort together from diverse regions. Afterschool educators quickly offer trust to colleagues they meet in cohorts and incredible connections are made. 

  • Further posting is closed as the event has ended.