In addition to teacher supports within NSF-funded project SABES , during our No Cost Extension Year, we have designed and implemented a 45 hr course for school principals to support implementation of NGSS. We are currently looking for organizations to conduct research on the outcomes of this course to study its impact on schools.
Science, PD Models, Addressing NGSS
Baltimore City Pub Schls, Johns Hopkins Univ
Math and Science Partnership (MSP), STEM + Computing Partnerships (STEM+C)
Related Content for Foundations of Science Leadership for K-8 Administrators
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?
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Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ekaterina Denisova
Lead Presenter SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
May 14, 2018 | 12:30 p.m.
Student field trips are embedded in our K-5 SABES curriculum. We have one local community based STEM field trip per grade in our science curriculum. If you are referring to field-trip for principals: built in into the course are three visits to elementary schools who are consistently teach science and offer exemplary lessons.
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Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ruth McDonald
May 14, 2018 | 12:43 p.m.
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.
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Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ekaterina Denisova
Lead Presenter SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. We are currently looking for educational researchers interested in studying the effect of this course on student achievement; changes in teacher practices, and on school leadership and operations practices.
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Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Co-Presenter Principal
May 20, 2018 | 12:27 p.m.
In addition to what Dr. Denisova mentioned, Principals that have taken the class are part of group that receive updates regularly pertaining to PD opportunities for their schools.
Jonathan Margolin
Facilitator Principal Researcher
May 14, 2018 | 10:23 p.m.
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?
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Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ekaterina Denisova
Lead Presenter SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
May 14, 2018 | 10:29 p.m.
Thank you for this question. We are already observing changes in some schools: many principals, by the end of our course, reached out to our science vendor to plan the ordering of the science materials kits for K-5. Others have invited members of the central office science team to offer a site-based PD sessions for their teachers. Many have re-arranged daily schedules to require a minimum of 45 minutes of science every day in K-5. Some have identified Science Lead teachers for K-5 and messaged to their staff the importance of attending summer science PD offerings that we have. We also have about 7 principals who, as a results of our class, have added science to their School Action Plan for next year and will require one of the yearly formal observations to be done in Science. This is a very ambitious goal, and it speaks to their confidence in evaluating science instruction.
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Rachel Shefner
Marilu Lopez Fretts
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Co-Presenter Principal
May 20, 2018 | 12:29 p.m.
Jonathan,
Additionally, the goal is to equip principals with the tools to ensure high quality science instruction starting with implementation of a Science Curriculum followed by teacher development and extended learning opportunities.
-Miguel
Margo Murphy
Facilitator
May 16, 2018 | 04:19 a.m.
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?
1
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Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ekaterina Denisova
Lead Presenter SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
May 17, 2018 | 10:01 p.m.
The registration was first come first serve, and the class filled fairly quickly (3 weeks)- especially during the second semester due to the word of mouth. The course was open to any k-8 leaders
Sally Crissman
Facilitator Senior Science Educator
May 16, 2018 | 08:45 a.m.
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
Ekaterina Denisova
Lead Presenter SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
May 17, 2018 | 09:59 p.m.
Were we successful teaching two full classes (25 each) during two consecutive semesters. A few things that we did to recruit the administrators were: 1. we worked with the state dept of education to get the course approved for 3 re-certification credits. 2. we worked with our school district to get the course approved for 3 Leadership Units, which are the building blocks of our district's leadership carrier pathways (12 LUs will result in a 1step increase in admins' salaries). 3. one of the facilitators of the course was an elementary school principal, who had a very good reputation amongst other school leaders and many of them registered for the course as they were curious what their colleague was doing (which was very much 'out of the box'). The next question is how did we retain everyone who came to the first class? Probably because they saw value of the information that they were learning, saw its direct application to their schools, and got empowered by us and by each other to do the right things for their students.
1
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Chih-Che Tai
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Co-Presenter Principal
May 20, 2018 | 12:32 p.m.
Sally,
There aren't many opportunities for principals to collaborate. If given the opportunity to collaborate in an area of need that will improve their school and students outcomes, they will sign up!
-Miguel
Sally Crissman
Facilitator Senior Science Educator
May 18, 2018 | 08:58 a.m.
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
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Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Sally Crissman
Facilitator Senior Science Educator
May 18, 2018 | 09:07 a.m.
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
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Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ekaterina Denisova
Lead Presenter SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
May 18, 2018 | 12:35 p.m.
Yes, Sally, we are looking to partner with a research group to do a study on our course effect on schools and kids. Thank you!
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
Rachel Shefner
Higher Ed Faculty
May 21, 2018 | 06:24 p.m.
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?
Betsy Stefany
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?
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ekaterina Denisova
SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
Student field trips are embedded in our K-5 SABES curriculum. We have one local community based STEM field trip per grade in our science curriculum. If you are referring to field-trip for principals: built in into the course are three visits to elementary schools who are consistently teach science and offer exemplary lessons.
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ruth McDonald
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.
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ekaterina Denisova
SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
Here is the link to the course syllabus: https://engineering.jhu.edu/sabes/wp-content/up...
We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. We are currently looking for educational researchers interested in studying the effect of this course on student achievement; changes in teacher practices, and on school leadership and operations practices.
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Principal
In addition to what Dr. Denisova mentioned, Principals that have taken the class are part of group that receive updates regularly pertaining to PD opportunities for their schools.
Jonathan Margolin
Principal Researcher
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?
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ekaterina Denisova
SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
Thank you for this question. We are already observing changes in some schools: many principals, by the end of our course, reached out to our science vendor to plan the ordering of the science materials kits for K-5. Others have invited members of the central office science team to offer a site-based PD sessions for their teachers. Many have re-arranged daily schedules to require a minimum of 45 minutes of science every day in K-5. Some have identified Science Lead teachers for K-5 and messaged to their staff the importance of attending summer science PD offerings that we have. We also have about 7 principals who, as a results of our class, have added science to their School Action Plan for next year and will require one of the yearly formal observations to be done in Science. This is a very ambitious goal, and it speaks to their confidence in evaluating science instruction.
Rachel Shefner
Marilu Lopez Fretts
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Principal
Jonathan,
Additionally, the goal is to equip principals with the tools to ensure high quality science instruction starting with implementation of a Science Curriculum followed by teacher development and extended learning opportunities.
-Miguel
Margo Murphy
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?
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ekaterina Denisova
SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
The registration was first come first serve, and the class filled fairly quickly (3 weeks)- especially during the second semester due to the word of mouth. The course was open to any k-8 leaders
Sally Crissman
Senior Science Educator
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
Ekaterina Denisova
SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
Were we successful teaching two full classes (25 each) during two consecutive semesters. A few things that we did to recruit the administrators were: 1. we worked with the state dept of education to get the course approved for 3 re-certification credits. 2. we worked with our school district to get the course approved for 3 Leadership Units, which are the building blocks of our district's leadership carrier pathways (12 LUs will result in a 1step increase in admins' salaries). 3. one of the facilitators of the course was an elementary school principal, who had a very good reputation amongst other school leaders and many of them registered for the course as they were curious what their colleague was doing (which was very much 'out of the box'). The next question is how did we retain everyone who came to the first class? Probably because they saw value of the information that they were learning, saw its direct application to their schools, and got empowered by us and by each other to do the right things for their students.
Chih-Che Tai
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Principal
Sally,
There aren't many opportunities for principals to collaborate. If given the opportunity to collaborate in an area of need that will improve their school and students outcomes, they will sign up!
-Miguel
Sally Crissman
Senior Science Educator
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
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Sally Crissman
Senior Science Educator
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
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Ekaterina Denisova
SABES Principal Investigator- City Schools
Yes, Sally, we are looking to partner with a research group to do a study on our course effect on schools and kids. Thank you!
Miguel Cervantes del Toro
Principal
Thank you!
Karen Mutch-Jones
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
Rachel Shefner
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?
Further posting is closed as the event has ended.