K-12 EFFECTIVE PRACTICES

THE RESEARCH
The Innovation Collaborative completed a four-year National Endowment for the Arts-funded national research project. It determined the most effective practices that promote important workforce-related creative and innovative thinking skills at the intersections of the Sciences, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math (STEAM) and mandated content in K-12 teacher/administrator professional development and classroom implementation.
These and subsequent studies are developed through collaborations with university researchers, content leaders, teachers, administrators, and the Innovation Collaborative’s Research Thought Leaders. This research is helping provide a strong research-based foundation for the growing STEAM movement.
STEAM TEACHER/ADMINISTRATOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
An important outgrowth of this research is the Collaborative’s STEAM Teacher/Administrator Professional Development. In this training, educators and administrators learn what STEAM is, the important thinking skills it elicits, how to integrate state standards, ways to deepen STEAM experiences, and how to create their own lessons.