Abstract:

The Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Social Studies (STEMSS) Project has assessed a systemic plan to utilize professional development (PD), strategies and materials to further educate, support and empower teachers, administrators, staff and parents of English learners (ELs) by providing an all-inclusive learning experience for ELs to develop academic vocabulary in which teachers, parents and the school community are all provided with tools to navigate supporting ELs. To do this, strong partnerships with Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that have large EL populations, have programs to develop language for ELs, and have established parent-school goals to support academic rigor and language acquisition opportunities for their children were developed. The goal: To develop strategies, technology tools and instructional materials for teachers that drive improvement of academic vocabulary for ELs in the classroom. This session will explore the PD developed to support STEMSS education for ELs in the K-12 classroom, work already done, continued work, and the findings in PD for current practicing teachers, parent-family-community engagement, and in teacher preparation. In addition, this session will share the resources for K-12 educators to expand the reach and support EL teachers globally.

Keywords:

English language learners (ELL), STEMSS, STEM, geography, PD, Professional Development, strategies, technology.