Arizona Center for STEM Teachers (ACST)
The Arizona Center for STEM Teachers (ACST) was created in December 2008 through a three-year, $1.5 million grant by Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) to The University of Arizona's B2 Institute to establish a resource and training center that will expand the quality and retention of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers in Arizona. The Philecology Foundation is partnering and providing a matching grant to fully fund the Center.
The Center’s mission is to enhance and deepen the skills of Arizona STEM educators to ensure that their teaching translates to successful graduates who can effectively compete and prosper in the 21st century marketplace. Located at the Biosphere 2 facility in Oracle, the Center is part of the UA's B2 Institute and is slated to engage more than 300 teachers statewide within three years.
The Center is teacher-driven and provides Arizona STEM teachers with:
- Intensive summer programs incorporating research projects, formal lectures and curriculum development.
- Themed weekend coursework for building STEM education content and hands-on classroom curriculum.
- Professional coaching, mentoring and ongoing classroom support provided by experienced, master-level math and science teachers.
- A STEM teacher Web site and portal with online resources, toolkits, discussion boards and forums for sharing best practices, professional development and mentoring opportunities.
- Broad-based linking partnerships for educators to access state-of-the-art teacher resources through the UA College of Science, the B2 Institute and B2 Earthscience, and other educational entities.
An essential feature of the Center's programs is the role played by veteran teachers in developing and enabling statewide teacher professional development, and the universal support of faculty from all three Arizona universities needed to bring about systemic change.
The mission of ACST is directly in line with that of Biosphere 2: to serve as a center for research, outreach, teaching and lifelong learning about Earth, its living systems and its place in the universe.
For more information please visit the ACST web site at: http://www.az-stem-teachers.org/ or call 520-838-6137.
General Information
Programs cover the broad spectrum of STEM topics.
Standards covered vary by theme and topic of sessions held during different ACST programs. Standards are carefully addressed in all pre-program registration materials, agenda, etc.
Venue
The University of Arizona Biosphere 2
Short courses are held once each in the fall and spring each academic year. The Summer Institute is held during a two-week period each summer. Dates vary; please see web site for specific dates of upcoming events: http://www.az-stem-teachers.org/
FREE!