We have had two Communities of Practice Meetings so far this year and are looking forward to our upcoming meetings in 2018! In our first meeting, we focused our discussion on the needs of the programs to guide our discussions throughout the year. The group competed in a BreakoutEDU activity, where they had to work together to solve puzzle clues to open their own box! This activity can be incorporated across all content areas, and encourages the utilization of 21st Century Skills like collaboration and critical thinking; think of it as an Escape Room for your classroom. Through the discussions around their own needs and areas of focus this year, this group determined that they wanted to focus on supporting their frontline staff in providing more quality STEM learning experiences for their students; with a heavier focus on resources and professional development. The second conversation focused on the “What and Why of STEM,” where we not only discussed the importance of STEM and the integration of the content areas but also co-created resources to help each other support their staff. Our meeting in January, we will review the resource and discuss ways the resources can help our programs, including but not limited to the importance of coaching.
There has been a great turn out and thoughtful conversations happening within our meetings and are thrilled to continue this discussion!
