Listen and learn: Edtalk 
Recorded Session
The purpose of this session would be to share our story with others who are also in a situation where they are:
1. Looking to increase student agency
2. Looking to align STEAM experiences to Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities within and across an entire school system
3. Looking to positively impact enrollment through increased and purposeful engagement in STEAM experiences
4. Show how ISTE standards can be integrated into a system and monitored using the PLC process as a result of alignment
6. Consistent plan for and execute a system of digital citizenship education (including a focus on ethical use of AI)
Through this experience and as a result of their participations, participants can expect to walk away with:
1. A better understanding of how they can align STEAM to CTE pathways and create a systemwide understanding of the "why" for having STEAM and how it can prepare students for Career and Technical Education opportunities in high school
2. Actionable next steps to intentionally incorporate ISTE standards into the STEAM learning environment through scope and sequence template that reflects this work
3. A roadmap to begin to develop Professional Learning Community that uses student data to inform next steps for learning as they relate to ISTE standards
In many districts where STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) is offered as part of the "specials" rotation in elementary schools (PE, art, Music, etc) or as an elective in middle school, there is often a lack of clarity as to the purpose of the STEAM experience in those settings. Of course, STEAM offers the opportunity to learn and explore a variety of fields, but students often fail to directly relate that purpose the opportunities that are available to them in high school through Career and Technical Education. With careful planning and collaboration, this challenge can be addressed with great results. One of the primary objectives of this session will be to share our story with regard to how we have planned for and executed on the development of this process and system.
Moreover, the process of aligning STEAM experiences to CTE opportunities in high school can be further substantiated through the integration of ISTE standards in the structure of a Professional Learning Community (PLC). Unfortunately, though, STEAM teachers often do not get the opportunity to engage in a PLC like most classroom teachers do. Therefore, another of the primary objectives of this session will be to share how we have planned for and built effective documents and structures to help us establish and operate a STEAM PLC aligned to CTE pathway experiences and ISTE standards.
In order to understand an outline of the presentation, I have structured it into chunks of content. Please see below:
I. Introductions
II. Reimagining the STEAM Experience (10 minutes)
- Define student agency and Its importance
- Discuss enrollment challenges in small, urban districts
- Present the reimagined STEAM experience in our district, including a timeline of events, as a result of careful planning over a number of years
- Engaging the audience activity
III. Standards Alignment (15 minutes)
- Explain the importance of standards alignment and its context in STEAM
- Discuss alignment with ISTE Standards for Students
- Highlight the role of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in this process
- Explain the Process of Designing Authentic Learning Activities
- Highlight Digital Tools and Resources for Active Learning
- Discuss Frequent Collaboration to Ensure Standard Alignment
- Engaging the Audience: Share examples of successful authentic learning activities and ask the audience to share their own experiences.
IV. Creating System-wide Alignment (15 minutes)
- Describe the process of aligning PK-8 STEAM and high school CTE pathways
- Share specific strategies and tools used (Google Workspace resources, Jamboard, etc)
- Discuss the role of education leaders in establishing the vision
- Discuss the role of the STEAM/CTE teachers in executing the vision
V. Purpose and Takeaways, Q&A (20 minutes)
- Reiterate the session's purpose
- Summarize key takeaways for participants
- Provide a preview of actionable next steps
- Open the Floor to Questions from the Audience
- Encourage Peer-to-Peer Interaction for Knowledge Sharing
(In no particular order)
Leverage, by Tom Many: https://www.amazon.com/Leverage-Promote-Lasting-Improvement-Schools/dp/1452259577
The Innovator's Mindset, by George Couros: https://georgecouros.ca/blog/the-innovators-mindset-book
Common Sense Media Digital Citizenship curriculum: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship
ISTE Standards for Students: https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-students
District-created process for Data Driven Collaboration (DDC): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lvUdnBAH6SNKXfOyT2MWxlHwas_O1zMiEMPpVaVRzRQ/edit?usp=sharing
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