The STEM Education Alliance is having an exciting year working with 13 public schools in Virginia Beach. In conjunction with the MCASP and Operation PRIDE teams from Virginia Beach, the College of William and Mary’s STEM Education Alliance is helping teachers find ways to bring STEM instruction into their classrooms. An initial workshop was conducted by the STEM Education Alliance at each of the schools to share the Five Strands of STEM Instruction with the teachers. As the year progresses, the STEM Education Alliance will be implementing professional development plans to meet the individual needs of each of the participating schools.
STEM is typically thought of in terms of content (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), but the STEM Education Alliance hopes to show that good STEM instruction is more than just teaching STEM content. The Five Strands of STEM Instruction, as developed by the STEM Education Alliance, includes strategies that all teachers can benefit from using: cooperative learning, thematic instruction, co-teaching, explicit instruction, and inquiry-based teaching.
The STEM Education Alliance is looking forward to a great year working with many remarkable K-12 teachers in Virginia Beach.
