For a second year in a row, the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts STEM Pathways initiative has set an enrollment record.
The initiative is serving 3,315 students across the state through its Computer Science Plus, Advanced Biology Plus and Advanced Statistics Plus cohorts. The program set a record last year with 2,117 students enrolled in Computer Science Plus and Advanced Biology Plus cohorts.
There are 2,912 computer science students statewide enrolled in Coding Arkansas’ Future cohorts. That is about 11.75 percent of the total number of students statewide taking a computer science course. This year’s cohorts include 49 teachers in the Computer Science Year 1 program, 18 educators in the Computer Science Year 2 program and four instructors in the Computer Science Year 2 Advanced Placement cohort.
The Advanced Biology Plus program is serving 30 teachers with 361 students statewide. There are four educators and 42 students in the Advanced Statistics Plus cohort. This is the first year Advanced Statistics Plus is being offered.
Lori Kagebein, director of the STEM Pathways program, said that all ninth-grade students in Arkansas must have a year of high school computer science before they graduate. Next year, all high schools must have a certified computer science teacher of record for at least one approved high school computer science course. Coding Arkansas’ Future provides school districts the opportunity to send a teacher through its program leading to eventual licensure to teach computer science.
“We are seeing growth in our program because we offer more than just curriculum to educators,” Kagebein said. “Not only do we provide teachers with a high quality, standards-aligned curriculum, (but) we also support, train and mentor teachers as they implement the curriculum.”
The STEM Pathways program began in 2015 with the creation of the Coding Arkansas’ Future initiative. That program offered high schools across the state the opportunity to expand their computer science curriculum while receiving guidance and professional development from ASMSA staff members. While ASMSA instructors taught some computer science courses for schools through digital learning, the main emphasis was preparing educators to become computer science teachers through the Computer Science Plus program.
That included offering summer boot camps to introduce teachers to computer science. Those teachers received guidance throughout the school year from ASMSA, including continuing professional development through weekly video meetings and a follow-up camp at the conclusion of the academic year. The goal was to prepare those educators to earn their license to teach computer science while also becoming the primary computer science teacher at their school.
The program expanded in recent years to offer a middle school coding block and the Advanced Biology Plus program. In the Advanced Biology Plus program, instructors around the state receive professional development from ASMSA’s life science specialists in the instruction of AP Biology. ASMSA’s biology teachers guide camps prior to the beginning of the school year. They then help educators prepare their curriculum for the year and provide unique lab learning activities that the individual schools may not be able to offer otherwise.
STEM Pathways officially expanded this year by adding an Advanced Statistics Plus cohort. Advanced Statistics Plus provides mathematics educators across the state the same type of guidance in teaching Advanced Placement Statistics as biology instructors receive in the Advanced Biology Plus cohorts for AP Biology.
The program is led by Tracy Watson, who joined the STEM Pathways faculty last year. She spent the first year on staff speaking with educators and districts to explore what they would desire in a program. Watson offered several workshops and bootcamps based on the feedback, which has led to a successful first year so far, Kagebein said.
“A statistics course has not always been a part of the requirements for a secondary education mathematics degree,” Kagebein said. “As a consequence, the Advanced Statistics Plus is invaluable to support teachers by providing them with a high quality, standards-aligned curriculum with continued mentoring and training throughout the school year. The initial feedback for the summer training has been positive.”
Many of the educators involved in Advanced Statistics Plus program have indicated that they plan to continue in the program next year. One of the teachers cited the camaraderie that the educators involved in the program built during the summer training. The participants were able to bounce questions off the instructor as they worked together, the teacher said.
The Advanced Biology Plus program has several educators who continue to participate every year, said Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak, a life science specialist who co-leads the program with Dr. Whitney Holden, who is also a life science specialist at ASMSA. If an educator leaves, many school districts have the new faculty member enroll in the program.
“The fact that teachers choose to participate in our program for multiple years and districts quickly replace participants in our program when a teacher leaves their district shows the value, effectiveness and usefulness of the program,” Krakowiak said.
Data reveals that educators who participate in the Advanced Biology Plus program develop a better outlook on their own effectiveness that also coincides with improvement in their students AP Biology scores, Holden said.
“Participating teachers also rank their own outlook on life and their self-perceived effectiveness as AP Biology teachers higher after participating in Advanced Biology Plus,” Holden said. “The average outlook on life score increased 83 percent from 4.2 to 7.7 out of 10 while the average self-perceived effectiveness core as AP Biology teachers before and after one or more years of support increased 115 percent from 3.9 to 8.4 out of 10.
“We receive regular feedback from out teachers who tell us that our (professional development) events are the best PD they have ever received.”
Holden said that the program is constantly adding new resources and new materials that help keep the program from becoming stagnant. Each cohort includes at least one Update Seminar where teachers learn about a relevant topic in much more detail than what the AP Biology curriculum requires. They also help participants develop beyond the classroom.
“For example, we have helped them build LinkedIn profiles, identify conferences to attend and find grants to apply for to get additional lab funding,” Holden said.
Kagebein said Coding Arkansas’ Future receives similar feedback from educators who continue to use the resources made available to them through the initiative. In addition to Kagebein the Coding Arkansas’ Future staff includes Ashley Kincannon and Carl Frank, both computer science specialists.
“In general, teachers appreciate being able to reach out to our team both day and night to ask questions and receive support,” Kagebein said. “They express gratitude for having a team to support them on their journey as they implement the curriculum.”
It’s those kinds of connections that have continued to make the STEM Pathways program a success.
“I think the growth and success of the program shows that we are genuinely devoted to teachers and seeing them excel. We provide them with rigorous curriculum that aligns to standards, and then we support them through their journey by making honest connections. We listen to them and encourage feedback. We celebrate their successes and help them overcome their struggles,” Kagebein said.