Teacher Academy

Home > How We Help > Professional Development > Teacher Academy

Grow STEM in your classroom

Bring the best in STEM learning to your classroom with the Ohio STEM Learning Network (OSLN) Teacher Academy. This program takes educators deep into STEM best practices. Over a year-long cohort experience, participants hone their confidence and ability to:

Build a strong STEM culture and identity inside the classroom
Embed design thinking in everyday instruction
Leverage authentic problem-based learning units to enhance student engagement
Strengthen community partnerships to connect learning to local needs

Who is this program for?

This program is open to current full-time teachers in Ohio in any subject area (including electives). Whether you are new to the STEM learning spark or looking to expand on STEM elements already implemented in your classroom, the OSLN Teacher Academy can help you do more.

Core topics

Understanding your classroom’s STEM culture and identity
Fostering a culture of collaboration, communication, accountability, and inquiry in your classroom
Incorporating design thinking into classroom instruction
Overcoming barriers to design thinking curriculum
Ensuring problem-based learning creates authentic experiences
Facilitating place-based learning
Managing community partners for maximum classroom impact

Summer externship

The OSLN Teacher Academy includes an industry externship. Teachers complete a one to two-day externship with a local business or manufacturer within their community.

During this experience, teachers immerse themselves inside a business to observe, and learn. Participants gather information about the inner workings of STEM in the real-world.

Through the externship, teachers answer key questions including:

How could inner workings of this industry apply to classroom experiences?
What authentic problems faced by this industry work for student-driven design challenges?
What careers are available locally to students?

Partner industries are selected based on location and proximity to the schools participating in the program. Every effort is made to find a host industry within the community in which the cohort member teaches.

An $1,200 stipend will be offered to offset the cost of time/travel to participants who complete an externship and all of the program’s requirements.

Supported by the U.S. Navy

The Teacher Academy is supported, in part, by the U.S. Navy under a grant to expand the Maritime Industrial Base in the United States.

The Maritime Industrial Base includes millions of workers across 16,000 suppliers. This network of manufacturers and engineers is essential to the design, construction, maintenance and modernization of the U.S. Navy’s submarine and surface ship fleets.

There are hundreds of Maritime Industrial Base Suppliers in Ohio. Key trades include: Welding, CNC Machining, Pipefitting, Non-Destructive Testing, Additive Manufacturing, Plumbing, Electrical, Machining, and Metrology.

Learn more at https://buildsubmarines.com/.

Program details

Eligibility

Applicants must:

Teach at a school in the State of Ohio
Provide direct full-time instruction to students in grades K-12 (Note: This program is open to all content areas including electives)
Upon acceptance, ensure delivery of a commitment form signed by the school’s principal supporting the applicant’s participation in the Teacher Academy

Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to apply to this program with a partner teacher from the same school or district.

Commitments

Thanks to the generous support of the Submarine Industrial Base of the U.S. Navy, the $2,000 program fee for the 2025-2026 Teacher Academy is waived.

Program expectations include:

Attend all program meetings, both virtual and in-person. (See schedule)
Complete all program tasks and activities.
Implement strategies learned with their classes during the 2025-2026 school year.
Complete a W-9 form upon acceptance for payment of externship stipend.

Schedule

June 16 – June 18, 2025: In-person workshop in Columbus (full-day)
Before workshop: Asynchronous half-day learning session
June – August 2024: One to two-day business externship experience
August, September, October, January: Virtual booster calls (2 hours)
Two full-day virtual conferences: November 13, 2024 and February 5, 2025
April 3, 2025: Final in-person meeting in Columbus (full-day)

Deadlines

The priority deadline is March 14, 2025. If the cohort fills by this time, a waitlist will be created. Applications will close completely on April 15, 2025.

Selected participants will be notified on a rolling basis but no later than May 1, 2025.

Graduate credit option

The OSLN Teacher Academy will offer the option of purchasing graduate credits from Ashland University. Details will be provided with the acceptance letter. Those not taking the course for college credit will receive certificates documenting professional development contact hours.