The STEM Education Center is available for teacher professional development, workshops and trainings in a variety of STEM areas. Sessions can be presented as half-day or full-day in-services at your location or ours. We are located on the UA Little Rock main campus, in ETAS 125. With two instructional classrooms that can accommodate up to 24 teachers, we also offer a large selection of hands-on STEM equipment and learning materials, including VEX EDR and VEX IQ competition fields for practicing and coaching.
Scheduling a PD
The STEM Education Center’s PD team consists of experienced STEM educators who understand education standards, school and teachers’ needs, and classroom constraints. Our goal is to develop STEM PD that meet your objectives, recognizing that every school and district has unique needs and wishes. When you inquire about inviting the STEM Education Center to conduct a PD at your school/district, we will schedule a 1-hour consultation Zoom video conference call. During the call we will discuss your goals and expectations for the PD, your long-term goals regarding STEM as well as growth expectations for your teachers. Following the call, we will develop and share a proposal with you that includes a tentative plan and associated costs. There is no charge for the proposal if you choose not to move forward with us. To schedule a consultation, call please contact Kent Layton, Interim Director by email at kxlayton@ualr.edu.
Areas include, but are not limited to: action research, active learning, assessment and evaluation, classroom management, Arkansas State Standards, curriculum Development, Grasping Phenomenal Science, effective questioning, data-driven decisions, using argumentative writing strategies to guide STEM learning, ELL/ESL/ESOL, family and community, science content grades k-8; gifted and talented, inquiry-based learning, project based learning, peer coaching, professional learning communities, STEM, student engagement, student-led conferences, teaming, education technology, VEX robotics, and Project Wet.
Cost for PD and Additional Support
The PD fees are determined based on the length of the program as well as the travel expenses. PD fees cover all handouts and materials that will be distributed during the workshop. In general, our daily rate is $800 (per instructor) for a whole day (6 hours) of PD and $500 for a half-day (3 hours) of PD. For schools that would like to measure the effectiveness of their professional development on student learning and teacher knowledge, we offer pre/post testing, test development, and program results for $1200. For schools that would like before-during-after school support of the implementation of the PD provided on a weekly or monthly basis, we charge $100/teacher/class period.
