Internship Proposal

STEM Fridays
Stacy Kozub

Rationale
My teammates and I find it difficult to find time to teach science during the school day,
since there is such a big focus on math and reading. Recently there has also been data to show
that our students are struggling with math and our scores are not where we would like them to
be. By creating a STEM curriculum and implementing STEM lessons on Fridays, we will be able
to implement science during the week as well as help students become better problem solvers
and critical thinkers in math. These lessons will be rigorous and give students the skills that they
will need to be successful in the 21st century world.

Proposal
For my educational technology internship, I plan to lead my teammates in creating a
STEM curriculum that will be implemented on Friday afternoons. These STEM lessons will last
approximately 30-45 minutes and will include topics such as quick building challenges,
engineering, coding, etc. During these lessons, students will be able to use technology
appropriately and solve real world problems using problem solving, critical thinking, and
collaboration.
In our first two meetings we will focus on an overview of STEM education and the
importance of introducing STEM to students at an early age. We will then dive into what a
STEM lesson looks like as well as look at a STEM lesson planning template that we will use
when creating our STEM lessons. I will then hold weekly planning sessions where we will use
the Maryland State STEM Standards of Practice Framework to plan our Friday STEM lessons.
A Google Classroom class will be created for my first grade team where we can
collaborate, post any questions or ideas we might have for upcoming lessons, as well as student
success stories. The site will also provide stem resources as well as a link to the Maryland State
STEM standards so participants will have access to it at all times. Every Friday after a STEM
lesson is implemented a Google Form will be sent out for participants to use to debrief on how
the lesson went. The survey results will then be used to help change the STEM lesson for next
year as well as be used to help plan future lessons.

Learners/Objectives
The learners will be two first grade teachers where we will work towards several
objectives during our planning sessions. These objectives include:
● Participants will examine parts of the STEM framework.
● Participants will identify the benefits STEM education offers to our students.
● Participants will examine resources available to help support STEM lesson planning.
 ● Participants will utilize the MSDE STEM framework to develop lessons appropriate for
first graders.

● Participants will reflect on the implementation of a variety of STEM lessons in their

classroom.

Change Research
In order to effectively lead my fellow teammates in planning sessions to implement
STEM, I need to fully understand the adult learners as well as the process of change. It is
important to take into consideration Roger’s perceived attributes when addressing change. The
perceived attributes will allow me to see how well STEM Friday’s will be implemented in first
grade. STEM has a relative advantage of being hands on and engaging for students that are
participating. STEM also allows for students to use their creativity as well as critical thinking to
solve higher level problems. The biggest relative advantage that is associated with STEM is that
it combines science, technology, and math. STEM is compatible with existing practices because
it helps address goals identified in our school progress plan. When it comes to observibility
there are so many resources available that relate to STEM. Teachers will be able to observe how
STEM is implemented in the classroom and watch example lessons through videos and blogs.
Ely’s Eight Conditions of Change (Ely, 1990) show that there are many factors that need
to be addressed in order for change to occur. At my school there is dissatisfaction with the
status quo. Teachers are currently not satisfied with student progress when it comes to test
scores; especially in math. Also the technology that is available to be used is not being used to
the fullest potential. By incorporating STEM on Friday’s students are able to use technology in
more appropriate ways as well as use their math skills to problem solve. Right now there is a
wide range of knowledge and skills that teachers have when it comes to technology. Many
teachers currently only use technology to implement Dreambox and lack the skills needed to take
implementation a step further. Part of the reason for the lack of skills is because no time is given
for teachers to explore technology and learn how to teach effectively with it. There is also
limited professional development given associated with technology. In order to address this
issue for my innovation, I will hold training sessions for teachers to learn what STEM is and how
to incorporate it into instruction. When it comes to resources my school currently has 6 devices
per class for students to use. Students will need to pair up or use the computers in small groups.
Many resources needed for STEM are found already in the classroom however there may be
additional materials needed. In order to get the missing materials a letter will be sent out to
parents asking for donated items to be used for STEM activities.
When looking at the ACOT model, (2007) our school would fall in either the entry or
adoption stage. Many teachers are currently just using technology at the basic level and are only
using the devices for programs such as Dreambox and ABC ya. My goal is to move past these
stages into the appropriation stage, where teachers are using technology to help support
cooperative and project based work through STEM.
Overview of Learning Activities
The first learning session will be an introductory session where participants will be
introduced to the concept of STEM and the benefits of using STEM in the classroom. This
session will take place in October. For this session, everything will be held online through
Google Classroom where all the materials for the sessions will be stored. The session will open
up by having participants watch a video, where they will then comment their reactions to the
video via discussion board. They will then watch a screencast that I will make giving an
overview on where things are stored on google classroom as well as what makes up STEM, and
the benefits of using STEM in the classroom. The session will end by participants taking a
survey asking how they feel about implementing STEM lessons in the classroom. They will have
a week to complete this session. A reminder will be sent out 3 days before it is due to remind
participants to complete the session.
The next learning session will take place a week later where participants will learn all
about the MSDE STEM Framework as well as resources that can be used to help with planning.
Participants will go on a scavenger hunt where I will expose them to the different parts of the
framework. They then will be introduced to the STEM lesson planning sheet. To wrap up the
session participants will watch sample STEM lesson and then answer a survey question about
how they feel about using the framework and the lesson planning sheet to plan upcoming STEM
lessons. Again, a reminder will be sent out to participants 3 days before the learning activities are
due.
The next couple of learning sessions will all be focused on planning upcoming STEM
lessons that we can implement in the classroom. These planning sessions will begin in
November. Planning sheets will be printed for participants to use when collaboratively planning.
These planning sessions will be held weekly on Tuesdays in my classroom. At our first planning
session, together as a group, we will generate a list of additional resources we may need to make
STEM Friday’s successful. Once STEM lessons begin to be implemented a survey will be sent
out on Fridays where participants will be asked to reflect on the lesson. Questions will include
things such as how they believe the lesson went, strengths of the lesson, and parts of the lesson
that need improvement. I will then use this data to help provide support on areas that they believe
need improvement. Chocolate will be provided as an incentive during all of the planning
sessions.
The final session, which will be held in December, will be a debriefing session where we
will talk about how STEM Friday’s went. At the final session a survey will be sent out asking
how I can continue to help participants with planning STEM for the remainder of the school
year.

Tech Tools & Online Learning

The first two learning sessions will allow participants to view and participate in learning
activities on their own time. I will create screencasts as well as share resources that participants
can look at outside of the workplace. Participants will have access through Google Classroom
where they will be able to respond to posts and make reflections. Since these learning sessions
will be stored in Google Classroom, they will be able to refer back to these resources throughout.

TPACK/SAMR
Both TPACK and SAMR will be taken into consideration not only when I am planning
learning sessions for my teammates but also while we are planning STEM lessons. I will use
SAMR to show my teammates lessons that will change how they may use technology in the
classroom. The goal will be to use technology in more ways than just substitution. All elements
of TPACK will be met during learning sessions. The technological aspect will be met through
the use of devices as well as Schoology and Google Classroom. The pedagogical aspect will be
met through my teaching experiences, as well as what I have learned through my classes at
Loyola. The content aspect is met through our learning sessions as well as our planning sessions
to help enhance STEM learning in the classroom.

Evaluations and Documentation

I believe that it is highly important that participants reflect on their learning as well as the
implementation of the STEM lessons throughout. After each learning/planning session
participants will be able to reflect using informal sharing, or responding to posts on our Edmodo
page. At the end of each stem lesson participants will reflect on how the lesson went using a
Google form, as well as use Google Classroom to post examples of student work from the lesson.
Based on the reflections I will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing STEM on
Friday’s. I will use Google Drive to document all progress as well as to store survey results,
lesson plans, and all other learning activities.

Conclusion
I believe that the implementation of STEM into instruction will be beneficial to both
students and teachers. Teachers are developing more technological skills that they can use across
all subject areas. By participating in STEM students are developing skills that they will need to
be successful in the future. With STEM Friday’s we are helping students become lifelong
learners in the 21st century world.

References
Dwyer, D. Ringstaff, C., Sandholtz, J. (n.d.). Integrating technology into classroom

instruction: an assessment of the impact of the ACOT teacher development center

project.

Ely, D. (1990). Conditions that facilitate the implementation of educational technology

innovations. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 23(2), 298-306.

Wolf, M. A., Bobst, E., & Mangum, N. (2017). Leading personalized and digital

learning: A framework for implementing school change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

Education Press.