January 2012 Newsletter
What’s Happening: FCR-STEM Conference a great success
More than 250 educators from across Florida convened in Destin, Florida, in December for the chance to increase their teaching skills and knowledge in the STEM fields. At the three-day FCR-STEM Conference, K-12 teachers and administrators chose from dozens of workshops covering every area of STEM and featuring experts from across the country. Read more.
Educator Resource: The Florida STEM Strategic Plan
Coordinated by FCR-STEM, the Florida STEM Strategic Plan was developed last year to improve K-12 and postsecondary STEM education in Florida. Created with input from a 70-member task force of education, business, workforce and philanthropic leaders, the report recommends ways to improve K-12 and postsecondary STEM education in Florida and better prepare our youth for the 21st century workforce. The 63–page report identifies three broad goals for the state:
- Increase the percentage of students successful at each level
- Increase the quality and quantity of STEM educators
- Create a statewide, sustainable STEM leadership organization
The focus now is to implement the plan through legislative action as well as initiatives in public schools, universities and the business community. We encourage you to read the plan and decide how you can best contribute.
Read more about the plan or read the plan (PDF file).
Getting involved: Professional opportunities for teachers
Secondary science teachers in several Florida school districts have the opportunity to take part in high-quality professional development this spring and summer as part of FCR-STEM’s BIOSCOPES project.
The program, called Curriculum Track, will provide 80 hours of professional development for teachers in earth space science, life science, or physical science. Participants will learn content knowledge specific to the NGSSS, and use that knowledge to produce high-quality, rigorous lessons that reflect the standards. Participants will work in teams with BIOSCOPES district coordinators, lead practicing classroom teachers, and faculty from Florida State University and several other universities and community colleges. The program will include a few days of face-to-face professional development, several Curriculum Track cycles culminating in the production of two learning progression maps, two complete lesson plans, and continued work over the summer. Teachers from Bay, Duval, Escambia, Orange and Volusia school districts, as well as from the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium, are eligible to be involved.
For more information and to learn how to participate, visit www.bioscopes.org.
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FCR-STEM, or The Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, is a multidisciplinary research center created by the Florida Legislature in 2007. Our mission is to help the State of Florida improve teaching and learning in K-12 science, technology, engineering and math and prepare students for higher education and STEM careers in the 21st century. Located at The Florida State University, FCR-STEM is jointly administered by the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Education and the Learning Systems Institute.