2017 Awardees
| Program | Organization | Program Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Carroll County High School STEM Lab for Agriculture In 2014, Carroll County made an investment to construct the nation’s first Agricultural STEM lab at Carroll County High School in Hillsville, VA. Carroll County Public Schools also invested in a STEM lab manager to maintain the equipment and to facilitate labs. The STEM lab was built to complement the school’s research farm and the agricultural program at the high school. Carroll County is largely an agricultural community which provides the application for studying science, technology, engineering and math. Students are able to gain experiences that will strengthen their knowledge in all of these areas and advance student job opportunities upon graduation, pursuing a 2 year or 4 year degree or continuing into graduate school. These experiences are making students more competitive for whichever pathway they decide to pursue. The STEM Lab has allowed Carroll County to strengthen course offerings and STEM applications in agriculture and it has become so successful that it also now serves the entire population of students in Carroll County and community members, as well. | Caroll County | Ms. Rachelle Rasco |
| STEMulating Minds Summer Enrichment The STEMulating Minds Summer Enrichment is a program designed to enhance student’s science, technology, engineering, and math skills through the use of interactive and engaging STEM exploratory activities. The three-week summer enrichment program was created for rising 9th graders accepted into the Heritage High School Governor’s STEM Academy. The purpose of the program is to promote student achievement and interest in STEM career fields to prepare students for global competitiveness within the STEM industry. The goals of the summer enrichment program are for students to:
| Heritage High School Governor's STEM Academy - Newport News Public Schools | Ms. Chinnell Callwood |
| Building Capacity for Improving Mathematics Instruction Dinwiddie County Public Schools central office staff created a professional development program designed to build capacity among mathematics teachers at the secondary level to improve the quality of mathematics instruction. The program consisted of professional development sessions, collegial conversations, professional learning community activities, curriculum development sessions, and lesson study. Professional development focused on Principals to Action, sessions created by the VDOE Mathematics teams on process standards (5 sessions), worthwhile tasks, mathematics discourse, Concrete to Representational to Abstract learning sequence, assessment methods, and visible learning. Collegial conversations were schedule once month to discuss issues, concerns, or problems related to teaching and learning. | Dinwiddie County | Dr. Kari Weston |
| MSiC Algebra Initiative In order to address performance and interest gaps in mathematics, the MathScience Innovation Center (MSiC) developed an Algebra Initiative which began with a one-day pilot course for teachers in 2013. This pilot course was well received and led to the development of a two-week, graduate level Algebra Fellows Institute, which has been implemented since the summer of 2014. During the Institute, teachers attend three follow-up sessions in the fall of the year. | MathScience Innovation Center | Dr. Hollee Freeman |
| Makerspaces in Schools The Makerspaces in Schools project began almost five years ago, in response to the appearance of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The emergence of new technology such as 3D printing and inexpensive, easy to learn/use microcontrollers such as the Arduino board, has added a whole array of new tools for students to use in the design process. One of the primary goals of the project was to provide opportunities for our teacher education students to gain extensive practice in developing and implementing full-integration STEM activities and lessons in an educational makerspace setting, working with elementary and middle-school age students. It has operated continuously since then, each year involving more schools and public educational institutions. And, critically, the makerspaces developed in the various schools and institutions have become self-sustaining. | University of Mary Washington | Dr. George Meadows |
Programs That Work: STEMulating Minds Summer Academy - Heritage High School
