Teacher Leaders Are Working Together Online to Improve Schools, Effect Policy, and Re-Envision the Future of STEM Teaching and Learning

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., November 21, 2019 (Newswire.com) - ​TERC's STEM Teacher Leadership Network (https://STEMTLnet.org), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is inviting teacher leaders, aspiring teacher leaders, as well as researchers and administrators interested in effective school leadership, to join, view, and interact with this new virtual learning community and collegial network.

“This interactive professional learning community will focus on how teacher leaders can affect change in STEM education,” said Joni Falk, Principal Investigator of this effort.  “We’ve already heard from many teacher leaders who are excited that this network will enable them to explore new leadership paths and opportunities, connect to leaders across the country, and find relevant resources and upcoming events for their continued professional growth.”

The free membership will provide access to networking tools, resources, and interactive online events throughout the year to explore topics related to STEM teacher leadership. Members will share their leadership paths, challenges, strategies, resources, upcoming opportunities and events with each other.

“NSF is pleased to support a project that is developing an interactive professional learning community for STEM educators,” said Nafeesa Owens, Program Director/Staff Associate within the Education and Human Resources Directorate at NSF. There are excellent STEM teachers across our country who are leading in and out of the classroom each day. This project not only gives them needed resources, but also promises a network where they can grow and learn on their leadership journey together.”

Each month, the site will explore a theme related to teacher leadership. Each theme will have an online, interactive, expert panel, related resources, a blog, and a month-long facilitated discussion. The first theme, beginning in December, will be “Leading Without Leaving the Classroom,” facilitated by Jay Labov (Retired Director of the National Academies Teacher Advisory Council) and Margo Murphy (high school science educator and recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching). The panel will include teacher leaders and researchers who will share their experiences and expertise and engage with the community. Be sure to register for the expert panel which will be held online, Dec. 5, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. EST. You can register to attend at: https://stemed.adobeconnect.com/dectom/event/event_info.html

The STEM Teacher Leadership Network encourages all those interested in teacher leadership to join this network, share resources, and participate in monthly theme events, and ongoing group discussions. The site provides a venue for educators, researchers, principals and administrators to explore how teacher leadership expertise can be leveraged to improve STEM teaching and learning within schools, contribute to new research and development efforts, and influence education policy and its implementation at the district, state, and national level.

STEMTLnet launched as a beta-site in March 2019 and already has over 400 members. The network will grow exponentially with this official launch. Take an active role, join the site, and contribute to the conversation.

Visit https://stemtlnet.org to become a member.

Source: TERC