Teacher Education

STEM Education Center

Kathy Chen, Executive Director, Mechanical Engineering Faculty Affiliate
Mia Dubosarsky, Director of Teacher Professional Development
Donna Taylor, Associate Director of Teacher Professional Development
Jillian DiBonaventura, Director of Teacher Preparation, Instructor
Noemi Robertson, Director of Community Partnerships & Educational Equity, Instructor
Thomas Noviello, Physics Dept. Instructor, STEM Education Center Affiliate

 

Mission Statement

The STEM Education Center is committed to working with current and future educators to guide relevant, integrated, and inclusive STEM learning experiences with their students and communities. Their vision is for a planet in which communities of learners and teachers share knowledge and practice skills to solve problems and care for one another in a thriving ecosystem.

Informed by current education research and by the lived experiences of educators, learners, and community members, we collaborate with others to foster high-quality STEM learning experiences with a lens of equity and inclusion. We believe that everyone has the capacity to do STEM and our work embrace the values of Respect, Relationships, Reciprocity, and Responsibility.

https://www.wpi.edu/academics/stem-education-center

 

Program Objectives

The objectives of our programs are to support and develop PreK-12 STEM educators in high-quality curriculum development, culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy, research backed and evidence-based instructional practices, assessment, alignment to State standards and frameworks, and an ecosystems approach to educating whole people and communities.

 

Program Outcomes
  • Students are able to develop and implement high-quality STEM lessons
  • Students demonstrate best practices in teaching and learning
  • Undergraduate Teacher Preparation students earn an initial teaching license in the state of Massachusetts at the secondary level in math, science, biology, chemistry, physics, technology/engineering, or digital literacy/computer science
  • In-service teachers earn Professional Development Points (PDPs) or graduate credit to deepen their capacities in STEM education

 

Licensure

Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program Website

Classes

EDU 2200 : Early Fieldwork in STEM Teaching and Community Engagement

Department
Category
Category I (offered at least 1x per Year)
Units 1/6

This course provides an opportunity for students to learn about the local community and engage with community-based organizations (CBOs) that support PreK-12 students and their families in the context of STEM education.   

EDU 2300 : Out-of-School Time K-12 STEM education in the local Community 

Department
Category
Category I (offered at least 1x per Year)
Units 1/6

This course provides an opportunity for students to gain practice in developing and facilitating hands-on, culturally relevant STEM learning activities in an informal setting for K-12 students within an out-of-school time program at a local school or community-based organization. Advancing equity and justice through STEM teaching is highlighted.   

EDU 3200 : Sheltered English Immersion Endorsement Course for Teachers

Department
Category
Category I (offered at least 1x per Year)
Units 1/3

This course is to prepare undergraduates looking to become future Commonwealth teachers with the knowledge and skills to effectively shelter their content instruction, so that the growing population of English language learners (ELLs) can access curriculum, achieve academic success, and contribute their multilingual and multicultural resources as participants and future leaders in the 21st century global economy.

Students who took ID 3200 for credit are not eligible to take EDU 3200 for credit. 

EDU 4000 : Topics in Teacher Preparation: Practicum Seminar

Department
Category
Category I (offered at least 1x per Year)
Units 1/6

This course provides teacher candidates with guidance, support, and best practices to successfully complete the Massachusetts state requirements for initial licensure in a STEM field of their choice. The seminar accompanies the student-teaching experience in a local school and may not be repeated. It is an essential element in the process of completing the seven (7) essential core competencies of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP) portfolio.

Students who took ID 4000 for credit are not eligible to take EDU 4000 for credit. 

EDU 4100 : Teaching Methods in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Department
Category
Category I (offered at least 1x per Year)
Units 1/3

This course provides students with skills and instructional strategies necessary for success in teaching Science (biology, chemistry, physics), Technology (computer science), Engineering, and Mathematics in middle and high school classrooms. Students are introduced to the seven elements of the Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP), which is the evaluative tool used to obtain teaching licensure within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Course topics include: a brief history of education; curriculum and course guidelines (Massachusetts Education Reform and regulations 603 CMR 7.00, state curricular frameworks, national standards); legal issues; developing unit and lesson plans; and evidence-based teaching methods. Students learn about the elements of an engaging and inclusive lesson, create and design series of lessons to form a unit plan using backward design, how to manage a classroom, group work, and how to develop a classroom management plan, and how to assess student understanding using formative and summative techniques. A portion of the course requires students to complete field work in a local classroom to prepare for the student teaching practicum.  

Students who took ID 3100 for credit are not eligible to take EDU 4100 for credit. 

EDU 4200 : Senior Seminar

Category
Category I (offered at least 1x per Year)
Units 0/1

As an essential component of the Teacher Preparation Program, this seminar addresses current issues that impact the field of education to encourage discourse and deepen understanding of K-12 school culture and classroom environments experienced during the student-teaching practicum. Other topics include career coaching, resume and cover letter development, navigating a job search, and interview preparation skills for K-12 educators.