The STEM
Institute

At the STEM Institute, our team provides professional development and training to build a STEM community dedicated to developing and implementing research-based best practices. Our areas of focus include teacher development, student learning, culturally relevant pedagogy, environmental resilience research, and place-based learning. 

Our resources include the following:

  • The Project-Based Learning Certificate Program is an ongoing professional development program for teachers interested in implementing project-based learning in their classrooms. Project-based learning engages students in meaningful and relevant real-world projects and promotes student-centered active learning.

  • The VI-ISERP Summer STEM Institute was established in 2015 and provides virtual and in-person workshops on PBL training, socioemotional learning and wellness, arts integration, technology integration, culturally relevant pedagogy, place-based learning, and best practices for teaching and learning in STEM education as well as opportunities for teachers to reflect on their practice.

  • To promote social and emotional wellness, the STEM Institute created Teacher Talk Fridays, a support group open to all teachers in the territory. During Teacher Talk Fridays, teachers can discuss current topics of interest with their peers and have a sounding board for issues they are facing.

    The sessions begin with an ice breaker and/or a game, followed by a discussion of a topic, and ends with free talk, where teachers ask their peers for advice concerning an issue they may be facing. About 12-20 teachers attend, with new teachers joining each week.

    These sessions are breaking boundaries and allow for teachers to meet new teachers between the two districts and among teachers from parochial, private, and public schools. This has the potential to cultivate additional opportunities for collaboration when our professional development activities return in person. 

  • The Project-Based Learning Certificate Program is an ongoing professional development program for teachers interested in implementing project-based learning in their classrooms. Project-based learning engages students in meaningful and relevant real-world projects and promotes student-centered active learning.

Project-Based Learning

Teachers who consistently participate in STEM Institute offerings show improvement in STEM Project-Based Lesson (PBL) implementation, teacher efficacy, and are able to take on the role of a practitioner-researcher.

For example, 42 STEM secondary teachers have successfully completed the action research course, 23 teachers have presented at peer reviewed conferences, and 18 more teachers have submitted proposals that have been accepted to local and national research conferences. On St. Croix during the summer of 2018, mentor teachers led students in placed-based projects focused on local STEM phenomena. Among these students there were greater gains in STEM affinity attitudes and future STEM plans than students whose projects were not led by mentor teachers.  

ISERP teachers who implemented their culturally relevant PBLs in their classrooms also reported increased student engagement during implementation. Thus far, over 4,000 hours of training have been provided to over 115 STEM teachers, with 100% representation from our public middle and high school. There are also teacher participants from our local private, patriarchal, and alternative education schools. These offerings include two weeks or 60 hours of intensive summer training, four additional trainings over the year and support through an action research course.

SPECIAL FOCI:

CSTA 

Computer science integration 

Corporate partnerships  

Computer science literacy for teachers  

Coding before college

RESOURCES FOR SHARING:

Videos

Training Materials 

Linked resources for teachers 

Calendar of events

The PBL Certificate Program

The VI-ISERP Project-Based Learning certificate program allows K-12 teachers in the USVI an opportunity to build their capacity as transformative STEM education professionals through an innovative and actionable professional learning experience that works in tandem with local resilience research conducted through the VI-EPSCoR program.  

  1. Requirements – Completion of PBLSEM 1, PBLSEM 2, of Action Research report and dissemination, and completion of PBL curriculum unit. 

  2. Other expectations - Participation in Fall/Spring workshops, Summer Institute, and culmination event.   

  3. Certificate offered – VI-ISERP Professional Certificate in Project-Based Learning 

  4. Format – Part-time

Overview

This two-year certificate program offers advanced professional development for a small group of teachers that will develop, implement, and assess project-based learning curricula that incorporates authentic resilience-based research opportunities for students. A project‐based learning approach facilitates the public expression of local resilience related themes, while encouraging students to pursue authentic research on locally important topics. The implementation of the collaborative action research projects that address their PBL curricula unit, will develop their ability to use reflective practice in a thoughtful manner towards their professional growth. 

In Year 1, candidates will select a topic for a PBL unit that incorporates R2R environmental resilience research, will deepen their content knowledge in this domain, and they will develop their PBL program along with a plan to conduct collaborative action research on their intervention. They will work with ISERP faculty and with expert mentorship from R2R faculty to provide ongoing feedback and support. In Year 2, teachers will be paired with faculty supervisor as they implement their PBL and write a professional educational research report. The ISERP faculty member will assist them to incorporate undergraduate student mentors as they enact their plan and implement the PBL with K-12 students, incorporating authentic, on-site research experiences. 

Participants will work with VI-EPSCoR professional scientists in the development of PBL curriculum based on real environmental research occurring in the USVI and will organize the experiential learning experiences. The lesson plans will be published in a digital repository by Year 4, and a culminating event held where teachers will present the results of their project and educational research will occur in Year 5. 

Teacher will learn to engage their students in authentic intellectual inquiry situated within the local environmental context, will learn to facilitate student learning through a project-based approach, and will learn to engage with their local community and to develop and foster long term community partnerships.

Candidates

This program is ideal for any elementary, middle, or high school teachers in the USVI that wants to specialize and advance themselves in curriculum development and implementation by learning how to incorporate research-based best-practices in education. This certificate will build your pedagogical knowledge while interjecting you directly into the local environmental research community and promoting community action for you and your students.  

Learning Goals

  1. Design and execute a collaborative action research plan on a project-based learning unit. 

  2. Develop scientific knowledge as it pertains to a local environmental resilience research project.  

  3. Design and execute a project-based learning curriculum unit involving local environmental resilience research. 

  4. Write an action research report and disseminate it to the professional educational teacher research community. 

Project Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the certificate program, successful candidates will: 

  1. Develop knowledge about curricular content, educational theory, and effective practice. 

  2. Develop the ability to use reflective practice in a thoughtful manner towards professional growth. 

  3. Develop the ability to create and participate in a caring, cohesive professional learning community.  

  4. Become more encouraging of community action. 

  5. Create and value functional working relationships with members of the educational and educational research communities. 

  6. Development the ability to create opportunities for learning within the local environmental context. 

  • Fall Year 1 – PBLSEM 1

    Spring Year 1 – PBLSEM 2

    Fall Year 2 – PBL PROJ

    Spring Year 2 – PBL PROJ

    Summer Year 2 – Dissemination

  • Course Prefix & Number – PBLSEM1/PBLSEM2

    Course Title – PBL Professional Certificate Seminar 1

    Pre-Requisites – Admission to the PBL Certificate Program

    Contact Hours (per week) – 1 hour per week from

    Offered – September – May

    Grading Method – Pass/Fail

  • Fall Year 1 – PBLSEM 1

    Spring Year 1 – PBLSEM 2

    Fall Year 2 – PBL PROJ

    Spring Year 2 – PBL PROJ

    Summer Year 2 – Dissemination

  • PBL Curriculum Unit (PBLSEM 1) and Action Research Proposal (PBLSEM 2)

  • This course develops the competencies in the PBL certificate candidates needed for completion of the program objectives and provides a structured environment for collaboration. Participants will meet weekly in seminars led by either the VI-ISERP faculty or the Master Teacher, who will guide them on their progression through the development of collaborative action research plans and their curriculum design.

  • 5-10 participants yearly

  • The courses are evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis and have required documents for submission.

  • Stringer, E.T. (2014). Action research (4th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN-10: 1452205086; ISBN-13: 978-1452205083

    Larmer, John, & Mergendoller, John (2015). Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous Classroom Instruction. Buck Institute for Education. ASCD

Program Outcomes PBLSEM 1 PBLSEM 2 PBL PROJ
Develop knowledge about curricular content, educational theory and effective practice C/A C/A A
Develop the ability to use reflective practice in a thoughtful manner towards professional growth. N C/A C/A
Develop of the ability to create and participate in a caring, cohesive professional learning community. C C A
Become more encouraging of community action. C N A
Create and value functional working relationships with members of the educational and educational research communities. C A
Development the ability to create opportunities for learning within the local environmental context. C/A N C/A
C - covered A - Assessed N - Not Addressed

APPLICATION

Interested applicants can contact Dr. Nadia Monrose-Mills or Dr. Joseph Squillace for further information.