The Teaching Innovation Studio is part of a $700,000 Department of Education Magnet* Grant. Our role on the grant is to support the pedagogical practices of teachers as they implement innovative STEAM curriculum at their cites. Teacher teams at each of the four schools will engage in Lesson and Learning Study cycles- working to produce powerful student thinking and learning. A STEAM education provides opportunities for students in grades K through 12 to engage in daily experiences that improve their knowledge of science, math, engineering and art that drives innovation. The philosophy behind STEAM is that subjects cannot and should not be taught in isolation, just as they do not exist in isolation in the workforce. *Magnet programs attract students by offering unique opportunities for in-depth studies in specific areas of study while meeting rigorous California state curriculum standards.
Grant Project Description
Grant title: Advancing STEAM Education - Magnet Grant
This project will create STEAM magnet whole-school programs in four high-poverty elementary schools in Program Improvement to address the minority group isolation of Hispanic children at three schools and African-American children at the fourth.
The four participating magnet schools and their final enrollment are:
For this project, SDUSD will significantly revise one existing magnet school (Valencia Park) and implement three new magnet schools to create an elementary STEAM foundation to feed STEM-articulation patterns in the district. This network of STEAM schools parallels strategies priorities established by SDUSD and critical feedback from the local communities surrounding the schools.
SDUSD has established the following objectives for Advancing STEAM Education: 1.Advancing STEAM Education will promote voluntary desegregation in its public schools by reducing minority group isolation in four elementary STEAM sites with substantial portions of minority students.
2.Advancing STEAM Education will increase academic achievement among all students in participating STEAM schools.
3.Advancing STEAM Education will advance systemic reforms at each MSAP site, improving the quality of STEAM-based instruction and integration strategies in each classroom.
4.Advancing STEAM Education will increase parental and community engagement and satisfaction regarding the four STEAM schools.
This project will attract underrepresented groups into STEM pathways through inquiry based collaborative learning tasks. Each school will tailor the project to their communities and population while providing a rigorous, STEAM-infused standards-based curriculum. Students will explore STEAM through a diversity of curricula and materials, including embedded technology, online professional supports such as JASON, cultural events, cross-disciplinary studies, and career awareness. District support will include marketing, recruitment, site-based support, oversight to ensure effective implementation and success, and evaluation processes to provide interim, annual, and final program assessments.
A critical component of the project is the professional development structure to strengthen teacher STEAM content-knowledge, curriculum development skills, and instructional skills. This structure includes site-level coaching and support, University-based professional development and STEAM coursework, and a STEAM community-based network. Ultimately, Advancing STEAM Education strives to create an exciting STEAM learning environment at each site that will engage students, their parents, and the community, as well as critical partnerships, in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.
Updates from School Sites
Valencia Park STEAM Elementary prepares library for spaces that will promote STEAM activities. Read all about the event by clicking here.
Currently, Jennifer Edstrom is working with a second grade lesson study team at Valencia Park STEAM Elementary school. While Joi Spencer has begun classroom visits with second and third grade lesson study team teams at Washington STEAM Elementary.