STEM Teacher Institute

The Teacher Institute at STEM is comprised of the STEM Residency Program and the STEM Institute Seminars. It provides our teachers with opportunities to continue their professional development and education.

Questions?

For more information about the STEM Residency Program, contact D. R. Snow, Ph.D., Program Director, at dave.snow@stemk12.org.

The STEM Advantage

Candidates who successfully complete the Residency Program will not only be exceptionally prepared to enter the field, but they will also be provided with professional recommendations and other forms of job-placement support. They will be given an opportunity to hone their interviewing skills and they will have experienced many of the fringe benefits of being a member of the STEM community.

STEM Residency Program

After completing an application:

Candidates for STEM’s Residency Program are selected on a rolling basis. Those who begin in August will join in on some of the staff training just prior to the start of the STEM school year. Candidates are expected to participate in school day activities to the extent that their university programs will allow. During the Fall semester, candidates will have the opportunity to come to know the students, faculty, and culture of STEM, and it is during this time that the candidates will have an opportunity to grow and demonstrate their professional qualities.

At the end of the Fall semester:

Year-long candidates and the staff at STEM will determine whether a Spring semester placement is in the best interest of the candidate. Our hope is always that candidates will enter a year-long residency placement with us that will not be interrupted, but this is not always in the best interest of the candidate and the school.

STEM’s Commitment:

STEM will work with each candidate to meet and likely exceed the requirements set forth by the candidate’s home institution. To ensure that these requirements are met, we encourage candidates to have a thorough understanding of them. In addition to these requirements, STEM will provide unusually high levels of support and training aimed at producing teachers who are poised to be exceptional teachers as soon as they are given their first classroom.

STEM Institute Seminars

This is currently on hold due to COVID.

STEM Institute Seminars are weekly meetings that take place after school on most Tuesdays from 3:15 – 4:30 p.m. These seminars are attended by all candidates and some practicing teachers as well. Each of these sessions is carefully designed to supplement classroom experiences in an overall effort to understand and improve teaching.

Topics will include STEM K-12 education, social-emotional learning, problem-based learning, special education, gifted/talented education, and in-person and virtual student motivation and engagement. The STEM faculty leading these sessions are uniquely qualified to act in this role, and we expect that participants will find the experiences to be invaluable.