If you visit any rivers or streams in Missouri, you may run across the energetic and playful North American river otter. Otters live in riparian zones. These are areas where water, like lakes and rivers, meet up with land. Otters are picky about the environment in which they live. They like unpolluted streams and waters […]
As the Institute for School Partnership’s innovative mySci curriculum program nears the 15 year mark, the ISP has started developing and supporting distinct leadership pathways for its mySci educators. Currently, districts and schools who partner with mySci are offered an ample array of professional learning opportunities. They vary from foundational learning opportunities to deeper learning […]
By Suzanne Vanderhoef For far too many local kids, school supplies aren’t just notebooks and pencils. For them, a warm coat, a pair of socks, or even a toothbrush might be the difference that allows them to go to school ready to learn. That’s where The Little Bit Foundation comes in. Founded in 2001, the […]
There was cake, balloons and a rousing singalong of Happy Birthday. The man himself – Charles Darwin – stood off in a corner ready to pose for selfies. A birthday hat sitting atop his head. OK, it wasn’t the real Darwin, but a life-size cutout. However, the celebratory feel was real as 60 educators and […]
STEM is all around us, from the complex to the simple. Take your smartphone, for example. This device wouldn’t be possible without the brainpower of engineers. Additionally, improved treatments and cures for diseases are possible because of scientists and medical professionals who have a deep understanding of the human body, but you can find STEM […]
It was with apprehension that Kelly Abraham sat down in July for her first day of STEMpact’s two-week STEM Teacher Quality (STEM TQ) Institute at Washington University in St. Louis. Of the 150 K-8 teachers taking part, she was the only fine arts teacher, and not really sure how much of it would be applicable. […]
It’s often the case that teachers go to seminars and workshops and get really excited, but then life takes over and that energy fizzles out. That’s exactly what Lisa Graham, a K-4 special education teacher at Coverdell Elementary School in the City of St. Charles School District, and Jessica Lawrence, who teaches fourth-grade at Harris […]
STEMpact’s Leadership Series is a series of workshops for school and district administrators, principals, coordinators, coaches, teachers, and leaders. Directed toward individuals and/or teams interested in bringing a stronger STEM mindset and intention to school and classroom practices. The leadership series focuses on: STEM best practices for classrooms and schools, resources and opportunities, strategies and successes […]
It’s the moment of reckoning exclaims an excited Kathleen Dwyer as she hands two Chinese youths the makings for s’mores. Turning the treat over in their fingers, the boys eye the dessert with some suspicion. “Ready?” asks Dwyer, a chemistry teacher at Maplewood–Richmond Heights High School. “Try it. It’s beautiful,” she says. Slowly the boys bring […]
To help fill a pipeline of future scientists and engineers, many teachers in the St. Louis area are “stemitizing” — integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts into all school subjects. One such effort, STEMpact’s Teacher Quality program, trains 150 kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers on how to incorporate the concepts into their curriculum in hopes […]