Blog Post 4- Peer Project

                Naturally, when we were assigned the peer project, Mrs. Harris and I looked at each other knowing we would partner up to do this, but unsure of what we would do.  Since RES is a STEAM school and we focus heavily on STEM and PBL staff development, we were not convinced that our peers at school would receive us so graciously.  We knew we had to think outside of the box.  We had to dig deeper than the surface area. Afterschool one day, I was talking with a first year teacher about how her year was going.  She mentioned that she had an upcoming meeting with all of the other first year teachers.  After giving her session of 21 questions, I knew that Lindsey and I would have to help our first year teachers. 

                STEM has been a transition for all the teachers at RES.  Some have had to completely alter their way of teaching, while  others have been moldable to make STEM work in their classrooms. Most teachers, like myself, had never even discussed a STEM education in my college practices.  Lindsey and I spoke with several first year teachers and many of them said some of the same things, “They had never heard of it, They was not sure if they were doing it right,  They were handed the lesson plans and never explained anything, etc.”   So, Lindsey and I decided to create a general powerpoint to help the first year teachers understand what they should be doing in their PBL unit because we are required to complete 4 per year at RES.  Also, we created a google form for the teachers to fill out and provide us with feedback so we could know how to specifically help them.  Next year, there will be several new teachers in our building.  Hopefully, the Harris sisters will be supportive to all of those who need our help!