Teacher Academy
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Grow STEM in your classroom
- 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?
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:Â
- How could inner workings of this industry apply to classroom experiences?
- What authentic problems faced by this industry work for student-driven design challenges?Â
- 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 $800 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 Submarine Industrial Base in the United States.
The Submarine 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 fleet.
There are hundreds of Submarine Industrial Base Suppliers in Ohio. Key trades include: Welding, CNC Machining, Pipefitting, Non-Destructive Testing, Additive Manufacturing, Plumbing, Electrical, Machining, and Metrology.Â
Learn more at https://buildsubmarines.com/.Â
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Program details
Priority deadline is March 11, 2024
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 $1,600 program fee for the 2024-2025 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 2024-2025 school year.
- Complete a W-9 form upon acceptance for payment of externship stipend.
Schedule
- June 10 – June 13, 2024: In-person workshop on in Columbus (full-day)
- Before workshop: Asynchronous half-day learning session
- June – August 2024: One to two-day business externship experience
- August 27, September 23, October 23, January 14: Virtual booster calls (2 hours)
- November 15, 2024: In-person workshop in Columbus (full-day)
- February 6, 2025: Virtual workshop (full-day)
- April 18, 2025: Final in-person meeting in Columbus (full-day)
Deadlines
The priority deadline is March 11, 2024. If the cohort fills by this time, a waitlist will be created. Applications will close completely on April 19, 2024.
Selected participants will be notified by May 1, 2024.
Graduate credit option
The OSLN Teacher Academy will offer the option of purchasing graduate credits from Kent State 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.