Principles of STEM Leadership

Dates: January 17 - May 2, 2021 (*No class on Easter)
Day and Time: Sundays from 2-5 pm (ET)

This course is designed for current leaders, potential future leaders, and teachers looking to dive deeper into the Modeling pedagogy and virtual teaching.

The instructors for this course are Dr. Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz (CA) and George Nelson (IL).

To secure your seat, full payment or school PO, must be received by December 31^st, 2020.

Costs: $650 for current AMTA members
Optional graduate-level credits: 3 credits from University of Pacific are available for $79/hr ($237 total)
Optional PD certificate: AMTA can issue a certificate if requested for $5
 

Course Description

Principles of STEM Professional Development Leadership is intended to educate experienced STEM teachers in designing and leading professional development grounded in the Modeling Method of Instruction. This course will deepen students’ understanding of the Modeling philosophy and pedagogy as well as the features of curricula that support the Modeling philosophy, and will also develop skill with tools for leading adults while providing logistical tips and assistance for organizing, promoting, and running workshops, and managing ongoing support for workshop participants. This course will place special emphasis on developing competencies for leading distance learning professional development (PD).
 

Meet our Instructors

This course will be taught by Dr. Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz. Colleen is a veteran physics teacher who built a highly successful physics first program in her high school prior to learning Modeling Instruction at a 1998 Modeling Workshop at UC Davis. She worked with a team that developed Modeling Physics second semester materials in 1999 and later moved to Arizona to pursue her masters and PhD at Arizona State University under the direction of David Hestenes. As a faculty member at ASU she secured NSF funding to build a Masters of Natural Science degree program grounded in Modeling Instruction for middle school science and mathematics teachers, where she mentored over 60 teachers. In 2011 she became AMTA's first Executive Officer, guiding the organization through five years of impressive growth and development. She is currently AMTA's first Senior Fellow and continues to lead our research efforts.

George Nelson began his teaching career in 2009 where he taught 8th grade science for four years in Arizona, before relocating back to his hometown in Crystal Lake, IL. He still continues teaching 8th grade science to this day. George became acquainted with Modeling Instruction in the 3rd cohort of the MNS program at Arizona State University under the leadership of Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz. He also attended the Chemistry I and Mechanics Workshops in the summer of 2014. Since first being exposed to Modeling Instruction, it has had a profound impact on his classroom. George said, “Seeing students doing and talking science every day in my classroom as a community makes my career gratifying and rewarding.” George currently serves on the AMTA board as the President-Elect.