One of the very first organizations to become part of Engineering is Elementary’s national network of professional development (PD) providers was the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM). Since then, SMM educators have developed an innovative (and highly effective) approach to EiE PD. It’s called an “immersion residency.”

A typical teacher workshop takes you out of your classroom, to attend a training someplace else. With immersion residencies, SMM sends an experienced EiE educator right to your classroom, to teach an EiE curriculum unit over the course of several days while you observe and then co-teach. There’s also time for you to discuss and ask questions. SMM evaluators say this up-close-and-personal approach is getting great results!

The Skyline Room at the Museum of Science, Boston has (as its name suggests) a stunning view up the Charles River to the iconic Longfellow Bridge. Usually, it’s a place for formal events: luncheons or cocktail parties. But if you peeked inside last week, you might have seen a crowd of excited educators engaged in an offbeat game of darts, lobbing Velcro-studded plastic cups at an equally Velcro-studded bullseye.

The “game” was actually one of several educational components at an important event for Engineering is Elementary professional development (PD) providers: the Raytheon – EiE Invited Symposium. This two-day meeting brings EiE PD collaborators from across the nation to our Boston headquarters to learn about new elementary engineering resources and initiatives and—more importantly—to share their own innovations and strategies for providing effective EiE PD.

Oregon’s adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards in 2014 means more elementary teachers in the state will be integrating engineering with classroom instruction in science. Engineering is Elementary’s network of professional development (PD) providers has expanded to meet that need. We’re pleased to welcome the Portland, OR team of David Heil and Mia Jackson as our newest collaborators.

Heil and Jackson will facilitate EiE workshops for teachers through their affiliation with the Foundation for Family Science & Engineering (FFSE). The independent nonprofit has a flagship program called Family Engineering (FE) that engages young children and their families in exploring science and engineering together.

The stated ambition of the STEM Task Force of the California Department of Education is the opposite of modest. Leaders want to see a future where the state “leads the word in STEM education.” No wonder California was a lead state partner in the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and an early adopter of the standards once they were released in 2013.

Statewide implementation of the new standards is a multi-year effort; right now, the state is moving from the “Awareness” phase, involving public education and planning, to the “Transition” Phase, which includes (among other steps) making teacher professional development on NGSS implementation more widely available. With this need in mind, the 2015 California Science Teachers Association conference (slated for October 4 – 5^th in Sacramento) includes a “conference within a conference” on this theme: “Primary Pathway to Next Generation Science Standards through Language and Literacy Development.” EiE director Christine Cunningham will be one of the featured presenters.