STEM Education Graduate Certificate

About the Certificate in STEM

The STEM Education graduate program will prepare prospective and practicing teachers to integrate and incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to PreK-12 instruction inside and outside the classroom. The program was developed in response to the calls at the national and local levels to recruit, educate and support PreK-12 educators to plan, teach, assess, and reflect on integrated STEM instruction. Teachers will study the core ideas in science, cross-cutting concepts, and science and engineering practices based on the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards. Specifically, the goals of the STEM Education program are to:

• Enhance teachers’ knowledge building and development of disciplinary core ideas in science (i.e. physical, Earth system, life, environment).
• Develop teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in teaching integrated STEM with connections to literacy (reading and writing). PCK includes teachers’ assessment of student learning, teaching orientation, knowledge and use of suitable resources and curricula.
• Improve teachers’ ability to incorporate, develop and implement instructions, units of study, and curricula with the following STEM practices: (a) use of students’ prior knowledge to ask questions or define problems, (b) develop conceptual or physical models, (c) use models to design experiments or prototypes, (d) conduct experiments to test these models, (e) construct explanations and solutions, (f) use and apply mathematics and technology, (g) revise models or prototypes, and (h) argue in light of new evidence (NRC, 2012).
• Foster teachers’ scientific, mathematical, and technological skills.
• Develop the next generation of teacher leaders with global perspectives towards STEM, society, education, energy, environment, and sustainability.
• Promote students’ 21^st century skills such as creativity, innovation, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and communication through STEM practices.
• Increase the number of teachers with STEM Education background.
• Enhance partnerships between Arcadia University and PreK-12 School Districts in the professional development of teachers and redesign of science curricula to integrate STEM Education.

The STEM Education graduate program is for prospective and practicing teachers, PreK-12 educators with or without STEM background, instructional coaches, school  administrators, and informal educators.

This is a 15-credit program which will provide qualified teachers with specialized knowledge of the application of STEM. Specifically, teachers will engage in:

• Five graduate courses in STEM education (three credit hours each): Introduction to STEM Education, Understanding the Designed World, STEM Literacy and Technology, STEM and Society: Field Study Abroad, and STEM Curriculum and Assessment in Action.
• At least 40 hours of fieldwork that will highlight the STEM disciplinary practices and PCK. Fieldwork includes STEM in the Box units of study and projects, case studies, developing sustainable everyday practices and re-engineering neighborhood projects, and environmental education fieldwork Philadelphia and Sicily, Italy.
• Completing a culminating project in which teachers will develop an integrated unit of study that focuses on students’ STEM learning, conduct curriculum mapping and articulation, write a proposal for a small grant, and participate and organize STEM community-based gatherings

Study Abroad

• Highly unique to Arcadia’s Graduate  Certificate in STEM is its integrated study abroad program that includes 40 hours of fieldwork in Sicily. For the fifth consecutive year, Arcadia has been ranked first in the U.S. in study abroad programs according to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors Report.

Expenses

Please note that STEM Certificate tuition includes a travel component.

• $866/credit for Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 entering cohorts (fixed throughout program)
• $40/semester registration fee + $50/semester technology fee + $70 annual parking fee if applicable.

The travel expenses that are provided through tuition to the student include: group international airfare, air taxes and fuel surcharges, group airport transfers in the destination city, double occupancy accommodations, group transportation for all activities listed in the itinerary, meals as noted in the itinerary, admission and entrance fees for cultural excursions listed on the itinerary. Incidental expenses associated with travel that are not covered by the tuition are the responsibility of the student.

Certificate Requirements

(15 credits)

• ED 694 Introduction to STEM Education (3 credits)
• ED 695 Understanding the Designed World (3 credits)
• ED 696 STEM Literacies & Technology (3 credits)
• ED 697 STEM and Society: Field Study Abroad (3 credits)
• ED 698 STEM Curriculum and Assessment in Action (3 credits)