The STEM
Institute

At the STEM Institute, our team provides professional development and training to build a STEM community dedicated to developing and implementing research-based best practices. Our areas of focus include teacher development, student learning, culturally relevant pedagogy, environmental resilience research, and place-based learning. 

Our resources include the following:

Project-Based Learning

Teachers who consistently participate in STEM Institute offerings show improvement in STEM Project-Based Lesson (PBL) implementation, teacher efficacy, and are able to take on the role of a practitioner-researcher.

For example, 42 STEM secondary teachers have successfully completed the action research course, 23 teachers have presented at peer reviewed conferences, and 18 more teachers have submitted proposals that have been accepted to local and national research conferences. On St. Croix during the summer of 2018, mentor teachers led students in placed-based projects focused on local STEM phenomena. Among these students there were greater gains in STEM affinity attitudes and future STEM plans than students whose projects were not led by mentor teachers.  

ISERP teachers who implemented their culturally relevant PBLs in their classrooms also reported increased student engagement during implementation. Thus far, over 4,000 hours of training have been provided to over 115 STEM teachers, with 100% representation from our public middle and high school. There are also teacher participants from our local private, patriarchal, and alternative education schools. These offerings include two weeks or 60 hours of intensive summer training, four additional trainings over the year and support through an action research course.

SPECIAL FOCI:

CSTA 

Computer science integration 

Corporate partnerships  

Computer science literacy for teachers  

Coding before college

RESOURCES FOR SHARING:

Videos

Training Materials 

Linked resources for teachers 

Calendar of events

The PBL Certificate Program

The VI-ISERP Project-Based Learning certificate program allows K-12 teachers in the USVI an opportunity to build their capacity as transformative STEM education professionals through an innovative and actionable professional learning experience that works in tandem with local resilience research conducted through the VI-EPSCoR program.  

  1. Requirements – Completion of PBLSEM 1, PBLSEM 2, of Action Research report and dissemination, and completion of PBL curriculum unit. 

  2. Other expectations - Participation in Fall/Spring workshops, Summer Institute, and culmination event.   

  3. Certificate offered – VI-ISERP Professional Certificate in Project-Based Learning 

  4. Format – Part-time

Overview

This two-year certificate program offers advanced professional development for a small group of teachers that will develop, implement, and assess project-based learning curricula that incorporates authentic resilience-based research opportunities for students. A project‐based learning approach facilitates the public expression of local resilience related themes, while encouraging students to pursue authentic research on locally important topics. The implementation of the collaborative action research projects that address their PBL curricula unit, will develop their ability to use reflective practice in a thoughtful manner towards their professional growth. 

In Year 1, candidates will select a topic for a PBL unit that incorporates R2R environmental resilience research, will deepen their content knowledge in this domain, and they will develop their PBL program along with a plan to conduct collaborative action research on their intervention. They will work with ISERP faculty and with expert mentorship from R2R faculty to provide ongoing feedback and support. In Year 2, teachers will be paired with faculty supervisor as they implement their PBL and write a professional educational research report. The ISERP faculty member will assist them to incorporate undergraduate student mentors as they enact their plan and implement the PBL with K-12 students, incorporating authentic, on-site research experiences. 

Participants will work with VI-EPSCoR professional scientists in the development of PBL curriculum based on real environmental research occurring in the USVI and will organize the experiential learning experiences. The lesson plans will be published in a digital repository by Year 4, and a culminating event held where teachers will present the results of their project and educational research will occur in Year 5. 

Teacher will learn to engage their students in authentic intellectual inquiry situated within the local environmental context, will learn to facilitate student learning through a project-based approach, and will learn to engage with their local community and to develop and foster long term community partnerships.

Candidates

This program is ideal for any elementary, middle, or high school teachers in the USVI that wants to specialize and advance themselves in curriculum development and implementation by learning how to incorporate research-based best-practices in education. This certificate will build your pedagogical knowledge while interjecting you directly into the local environmental research community and promoting community action for you and your students.  


Learning Goals

  1. Design and execute a collaborative action research plan on a project-based learning unit. 

  2. Develop scientific knowledge as it pertains to a local environmental resilience research project.  

  3. Design and execute a project-based learning curriculum unit involving local environmental resilience research. 

  4. Write an action research report and disseminate it to the professional educational teacher research community. 

Project Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the certificate program, successful candidates will: 

  1. Develop knowledge about curricular content, educational theory, and effective practice. 

  2. Develop the ability to use reflective practice in a thoughtful manner towards professional growth. 

  3. Develop the ability to create and participate in a caring, cohesive professional learning community.  

  4. Become more encouraging of community action. 

  5. Create and value functional working relationships with members of the educational and educational research communities. 

  6. Development the ability to create opportunities for learning within the local environmental context. 

Program Outcomes PBLSEM 1 PBLSEM 2 PBL PROJ
Develop knowledge about curricular content, educational theory and effective practice C/A C/A A
Develop the ability to use reflective practice in a thoughtful manner towards professional growth. N C/A C/A
Develop of the ability to create and participate in a caring, cohesive professional learning community. C C A
Become more encouraging of community action. C N A
Create and value functional working relationships with members of the educational and educational research communities. C A
Development the ability to create opportunities for learning within the local environmental context. C/A N C/A
C - covered A - Assessed N - Not Addressed

APPLICATION

Interested applicants can contact Dr. Nadia Monrose-Mills or Dr. Joseph Squillace for further information.