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INNOVATION COLLABORATIVE STEAM EDUCATOR & ADMINISTRATOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Innovation Collaborative is now offering its successful research-based STEAM professional development to teachers, administrators, and schools across the US. This is an opportunity to become an active participant in a dynamic community of learners interested in STEAM best practices. The training is available in-person or online. Created jointly with the Collaborative’s national education institutions, this professional development builds on five years of Collaborative research into the most effective practices for bringing STEAM learning to K-12 students of all populations. Choose from the following professional development opportunities: In-person, including virtual support (for groups, with a max of 15 participants) 1 day (STEAM basics). $1500 plus expenses 2 days (STEAM basics plus classroom applications). $2500 plus expenses Online (for individuals or groups, with a max of 15 participants) Level 1 (STEAM basics): 15 hours. $150/person Level 2 (STEAM applications to classroom): 15 hours. $170/person Levels 1 and 2 combined (basics and application to classrooms): 30 hours. Discounted to $300/person Groups of 3 or more receive an additional 10% discount. Conducted with a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning. Worth knowing: These trainings can be customized to meet the needs of specific schools and districts. Graduates can earn micro-credentials as STEAM educators. For more information or to register, contact Lucinda Presley, Collaborative Executive Director, at lpresley@innovationcollaborative.org .

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The Collaborative’s Innovation Fellows are top STEAM teachers and administrators from across the U.S. These Fellows help lead the Collaborative’s K-12 STEAM initiative. INNOVATION FELLOWS The Collaborative’s Innovation Fellows are top STEAM teachers and administrators from across the U.S. The first Innovation Fellows were identified in the Collaborative’s initial round of K-12 STEAM effective practices research. Additional Fellows are added periodically, based on their excellence in teaching and administration and their abilities to move the K-12 STEAM field forward. Fellows represent the arts, sciences, and administration. Collaborative Fellows who were identified when they were K-12 teachers remain Fellow advisors when they move to positions in higher education. These Fellows help lead the Collaborative’s K-12 STEAM initiative. FELLOWS LEADERSHIP TEAM AMANDA DANIELS Melissa ISD, Dallas, Texas ASHLEY LUPFER Pierre Van Courtlandt Middle School, Croton-on-Hudson, New York KIMBERLY OLSON Centre School, Hampton, New Hampshire INNOVATION FELLOWS MICHELE BROWNING SteamSteps and SMI Advisors Los Angeles, California ALICIA CONERLY, EdD Marion County School District, Columbia, Mississippi ANNE LUDES Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts JULIE OLSON Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, South Dakota KERRY BUCHMAN Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles, California JENNIFER EDELYN Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Vienna, Virginia JULI MARTIN Northside Elementary, Angleton, Texas KATHLEEN SWEET Starmont Elementary, Arlington, Iowa MELISSA COLLINS John P. Freeman Optional School, Memphis, Tennessee CHARLES HAYES Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Tennessee CARLA NEELY Warner Girls Leadership Academy, Cleveland, Ohio KRISTIN TAYLOR California State University, Northridge, California (CSUN)

PROJECTS What does successful STEAM (sciences, technology, engineering, arts, math) learning look like in K-12 classrooms and informal environments like museums? There is little data about what constitutes effective STEAM practice, despite current interest in learning at the intersections of these disciplines. The Innovation Collaborative seeks to rectify this information gap by inviting teachers, schools, and institutions to submit sample lessons; identifying commonalities for success; and disseminating these models of effective practice. To learn more about the K-12 effective practice projects, click here . Information on effective practices in out-of-school time setting will appear here soon.

THOUGHT LEADERS' RESEARCH Our Research Thought Leaders are a group of selected, nationally-known researchers who integrate innovation thinking in sciences, arts, humanities, cognition, and creativity with education. Regular conversations among group members will inform their own work, as well as that of the Innovation Collaborative, including the Effective Practices project. Their efforts will also stimulate further research about learning at the intersections of these disciplines.

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. 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.

HISTORY OF THE INNOVATION COLLABORATIVE The Innovation Collaborative, established in Washington, D.C., in May, 2013, is an outcome of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded SEAD (Science, Engineering, Arts, Design) project. This project grew out of meetings co-organized by the NSF, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. WHY A major project of the SEAD Network was the call for and analysis of white papers related to current research and creative work across the arts and sciences. The Innovation Collaborative seeks to take this research and further explore its applications (and implications) for learning in K-12 classrooms and informal learning environments. HOW Drawing on the combined expertise of leading national arts, sciences, and humanities institutions, researchers, and practitioners, the Innovation Collaborative researches STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math) in formal and informal learning settings. A focus of this research is how these intersections deliver vital creative and innovative thinking skills while teaching important content. The Collaborative also has begun its programming outreach to educators and administrators with its K-12 STEAM Teacher/Administrator Professional Development. By working continually to build shared vocabulary, goals, and strategies, the Collaborative develops rich mutual understanding and cooperation across disciplines and learning settings. WHAT Since its inception in May, 2013, the Innovation Collaborative has accomplished many goals. Among these are: Conducted three rounds of strategic planning Developed ongoing, successful and productive collaborations among a number of diverse institutions and disciplines that support Collaborative goals Developed an active Research Thought Leader group made up of nationally known researchers representing the arts and sciences, as well as neuroscience and creativity Completed its multi-year National Endowment for the Arts-funded national research project. This project identified K-12 effective practices for teacher/administrator professional development and classroom implementation that support promote creative and innovative thinking at the intersections of the sciences, arts, and humanities Completed a two-year National Science Foundation-funded project, in partnership with Texas Southern University . This project, comprised of 70 leading STEAM Out-of-School Time researchers and practitioners across the U.S., studied where STEAM is in relation to serving all populations in Out-of-School Time and where it could head next. Has procured significant funding that is helping grow its infrastructure. Has successfully conducted annual STEAM Summits where educators, administrators, and supporters across learning settings learn and interact in relation to relevant STEAM topics. Is launching its national research-based K-12 Teacher/Administrator Professional Development.

THE RESEARCH This Innovation Collaborative, in partnership with Texas Southern University, has completed a two-year National Science Foundation-funded study of where STEAM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) is in Out-of-School Time nationally in relation to serving all students and where it would be beneficial to head next. Participants 70 leading STEAM Out-of-School Time researchers and practitioners from a variety of institutions and geographical locations across the U. S. participated. Participants also joined the project from Canada and Germany. They Looked At The wide variety of Out-of-School Time learning experiences Youth aged early childhood through high school The various intersections of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) with the arts in a variety of learning settings In-person experiences that were a result of specific programming. Topics Investigated Participant surveys at the outset of the project determined the 7 leading topics. These were investigated in topic-based cohorts. The cohorts were: Belonging and Identity Enhancing Professional Learning Capacity for Informal Educators Integrating the Arts with STEM to Promote Learning and Thinking Intersections of Formal and Informal Learning STEAM Creative/Innovative Thinking STEAM for All Understanding the Importance of Well-Being and STEAM What Do You Mean by Interdisciplinary Learning? In this project, interdisciplinary learning is the process of integrating disciplines and concepts in a variety of ways. Actions could include concepts’ interacting, blending, linking, synthesizing, or transforming. Examples of interdisciplinary learning could be: In an art museum, using the iterative engineering design process to create kinetic sculptures In a science museum, integrating a study of plants with explorations of landscape architecture and irrigation engineering that could be combined with an illustrated creative writing exercise. How Will This Research Benefit Me as a Practitioner? This project’s Final Report will provide the important findings, recommended next steps, and further resources to explore from each of these cohorts

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WHY IS RESEARCH-BASED STEAM IMPORTANT? The Workforce and Innovative Thinking Nationally recognized researchers, educators, businesses, and governmental studies state that the United States’ future in the global economy could be significantly impacted by how well today’s students learn to think innovatively. STEAM Rapidly Expanding The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) movement is expanding exponentially in a variety of venues. It has been demonstrated that STEAM can help promote these important creative and innovative thinking skills. SEAD Research Documented the Need The Innovation Collaborative is an outcome of the National Science Foundation-funded SEAD (Science, Engineering, Arts, Design) network and initiatives, which were co-organized by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. An analysis of the 55 SEAD white papers submitted by university science and arts practitioners internationally showed that there is a significant need for research and advocacy in the wide variety of arts/STEM learning applications. Lack of Data on Effective Practices However, research also has demonstrated that there is a great lack of significant data documenting the impact of STEAM in a variety of learning settings. Anecdotal Evidence Shows Success Anecdotal evidence shows the success of these strategies in promoting important thinking skills, but research is needed to document what practitioners are seeing. How Important Are the Results? The practices that are effective in delivering creative and innovation thinking skills in today’s students and adults are vital in developing a workforce that can innovate. WHAT HAS THE COLLABORATIVE DONE TO ADDRESS THIS NEED? K-12 Effective Practices The Collaborative conducted research for 6 years to determine the most effective practices that delivered these important creative and innovative thinking skills in concert with mandated content learning in STEAM teacher/administrator professional development and classroom implementation. This research is the first effort by a coalition of national institutions. Based on input from the research and from experts in all disciplines, a comprehensive set of criteria has been identified, and statistically validated rubrics have been developed. These findings are now driving the Collaborative’s national STEAM Teacher/Administrator Professional Development. Out-of-School Time Effective Practices The Collaborative, in partnership with Texas Southern University , studied STEAM in Out-of-School Time nationally in a two-year project funded by the National Science Foundation. 70 leading STEAM researchers and practitioners from across the U.S. and also from Canada and Germany determined where the Out-of-School Time field is and where it needs to head next. This will be presented in the project’s Final Report. Who Are the Advisors? One of the strengths of the Innovation Collaborative is its cadre of nationally and internationally recognized researchers who serve as very active advisors for all our work. Known as Research Thought Leaders, they help provide the foundation for our research and all the work that we do. There are additional advisory teams of experts and practitioners from all disciplines helping strengthen the research and practice in K-12 and Out-of-School Time Learning.

RESEARCH THOUGHT LEADERS CONVENING The Innovation Collaborative’s Research Thought Leaders provide the Collaborative depth in education scholarship and leadership. While the Thought Leaders meet virtually with the Collaborative both individually and collectively, they also convened in person with Collaborative members in Washington, DC on November 30-December 1, 2016. This convening was made possible by a generous National Endowment for the Arts Art Works grant, by the National Writing Project, which facilitated the grant, and by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, which provided the facilities and staff for the meeting. The Collaborative is making ongoing and extensive use of all that it learned in this convening. The Thought Leaders are continuing their input as the Collaborative’s plans move forward. Successes of this convening include: Developing a cohort of leading researchers from a variety of disciplines who can converse, plan, and share enthusiasm about interdisciplinary learning Revising the Collaborative’s rubric to even more deeply reflect the importance of the intersections of the arts, STEM, and humanities to promote creative and innovative thinking, in addition to cross-disciplinary learning Revising the Collaborative’s goals, strategies, and research methodologies to significantly strengthen its work.