Conference helps educators share STEM strategies
The Reynoldsburg school district welcomed STEM teachers and administrators from throughout Ohio last week as host of the state's Innovative Leadership Institute.
The April 30 gathering at eSTEM Academy was sponsored by Battelle and the Ohio STEM Learning Network.
Courtney Heppner, the district's director of innovation and the central Ohio hub liaison for OSLN, said the event helps provide science, technology, engineering and mathematics educators with a common understanding of the foundational components of STEM schools.
"This type of event also provides an incredible networking opportunity for new STEM leaders, who will find great value in having a network of peers to reach out to as they grow as STEM leaders," she said.
Aimee Kennedy, vice president for education, STEM learning and philanthropy at Battelle, said there are 25 schools in OSLN. Battelle also works with schools in Tennessee and other states to help create innovative schools, she said.
"We've seen firsthand the importance of strong leadership in a school," she said. "We often see that traditional ways of preparing educators to take on a principal/school leader role don't cover many of the essential skills needed to run a great STEM school."
She said some of those skills include developing and implementing a one-to-one technology policy, so that every student has access to a technological device, along with creating design challenges with local businesses. She said STEM schools must also offer students early college opportunities and develop and support teachers as they become STEM educators.
"The Innovative Leaders Institute fills that gap," Kennedy said. "Through the Institute, nationally recognized principals and teacher-leaders provide a hands-on curriculum focused on instruction, culture and people, offering participants strategies they can immediately implement in their schools."
She said the institute focuses on reflecting and sharing progress.
"First, leaders participated in an 'unconference' where instead of having predetermined topics, leaders who wanted to share innovative strategies could do so," she said. "The unconference technique involves quick presentations with equal time for questions in small groups.
"In an hour, leaders could learn about three new strategies they could immediately take back and implement at their school," she said. "Then, leaders toured either eSTEM Academy or Summit Road STEM Elementary."
Kennedy said participants were also given the book Good to Great to Innovate: Recalculating the Route to Career Readiness K-12+, to be used as a book study and focus of Twitter chats, so they could engage and connect through next school year.
Mary Kohl, from Perry Local schools, said the conference deepened her understanding of successful STEM schools.
Read more at Reynoldsburg News