Developing STEM Academies Through the STEM Academy Measurement Tool

Authors: Tracy Irish, Susan Blunck, Anne Spence

The research on PLCs serve as the foundation for creating the STEM Academy Measurement Tool and Rubric to be utilized in assisting schools in developing into STEM Academies, and to give school personnel a framework for self-analysis of their status or growth as a STEM Academy. PLCs are seen as promising change agents for teacher effectiveness and student achievement (Stoll et al, 2006). PLCs are driven by shared and supportive leadership (Hord, 1997) with the overall goal of success for all students. These major concepts of a PLC are aligned to the STEM Academy Measurement Tool and Rubric's (STEM MT) embedded promising practices, specifically, distributed leadership and culturally relevant pedagogy. The focus on STEM education also brings into account additional promising practices such as: inquiry-based teaching, technology-enhanced instruction, data-driven instruction, and reflective teaching.

There is evidence to support the school reform effort of PLCs. As Stoll et al. (2006) state, "There appears to be broad international consensus that it (a PLC) suggests a group of people sharing and critically interrogating their practice in an ongoing, reflective, collaborative, inclusive, learning-oriented, growth-promoting way; operating as a collective enterprise" (p. 223). They continue by concluding with "Developing professional learning communities (PLCs) appears to hold considerable promise for capacity building for sustainable improvement" (p. 221). The cultural change in a professional learning community requires "a shift from isolation to a culture of conversation; from a focus on teaching students to a focus on reciprocal teaching and learning by all members of the school community; and from leadership by a few individuals to leadership that is embedded in and shared by all members of the school community" (Roberts and Pruitt, 2003, p. 48).

The STEM Academy Measurement Tool and Rubric supports schools K-12 in developing into a STEM-focused PLC which will enhance teacher professional development and improve student achievement through this systemic school reform effort. Specifically, this tool informed the K-12 schools of the practical definitions of the promising practices and was used as a self-evaluation tool for school reform efforts within the STEM goals of the Project.