PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

ABC CREATE promotes a culture of sharing among teachers in its 14 participating school districts, business partners and in the community.

ABC CREATE promotes a culture of sharing and collaboration among its teachers, school districts and educational partners. By facilitating multi-district professional development, showcases and strategic planning sessions, ABC CREATE helps educators develop a network of peers with which to exchange best practices, co-author Learning Pathways and share resources. Educators find support for ongoing exploration and implementation of innovative ideas from peers, thought leaders and STEAM experts. These unique collaborations and partnerships, fostered by ABC CREATE, help educators to develop regional STEAM-fluent students who are empowered to learn, create, lead, and succeed in the 21st Century.

FALL CONVENINGS

STEAM SHOWCASES

TRAININGS + WORKSHOPS

EQUITY INITIATIVES

STEAM CAMPS

ABC CREATE FALL CONVENINGS

Every fall, ABC CREATE draws educators together along with supportive partners for full day work sessions designed to address issues pertinent to the implementation of ABC CREATE’s mission.  

In 2021, ABC CREATE educators focused on advancing two key areas of STEAM integration: computational thinking at the elementary level and shaping the future for K-12 education at the Digital Foundry at New Kensington for middle and high school educators and students. Dr. Tom Lauwers, co-founder and CEO of BirdBrain Technologies, led and participated in the elementary work sessions creating a vision for practicing computational thinking in elementary classrooms.

Middle and high school educators worked with Sherri McCleary, Executive Director and  Steve Leonard, Operations and Program Manager of the Digital Foundry at New Kensington to learn about current and upcoming opportunities and to prioritize potential offerings for teacher professional development and student field trips to the Digital Foundry.

ABC CREATE STEAM Showcases

Each spring, ABC CREATE educators and other educational partners convene to share the STEAM activities and relevant pedagogy they've successfully implemented during the school year at the ABC CREATE STEAM Showcase.

In 2021, the ABC CREATE STEAM Showcase took the form of a Show & Tell – converted to online in an extended series of casual STEAM sessions led by teachers and/or our education partners. Sharing tech tools and pedagogical approaches that helped them to resolve challenges that arose while teaching through a global pandemic, educators were inspired and re-invigorated.

Learn more about each session at our ABC CREATE STEAM Showcase 2021 Show & Tell webpage or view recordings of all Show & Tell sessions HERE.

ABC CREATE Trainings and Workshops
Throughout the school year, ABC CREATE invites educators to both in-person and virtual trainings and workshops. Educational partners, such as BirdBrain Technologies and CodeJoy, teach educators how to integrate STEAM into their classroom instruction using Hummingbird Kits, Finch Robots and Micro:bits.

In 2020, ABC CREATE helped teachers improve virtual learning by offering workshops on teaching hands-on learning in virtual/hybrid learning environments, teaching with Hummingbird robots in the virtual/hybrid learning age and using the split screen, share screen, and seamless video integration features of OBS Studio to improve their virtual/hybrid teaching.

ABC CREATE Equity Initiatives

ABC CREATE aims to center equitable access in all its professional development and continues to work with thought partners and regional resources to guide ongoing exploration and learning of various forms of equitable access ranging from economic, gender, and racial disparities. 

With support from Bortz Consulting and Erika Gold Kestenberg, a dozen white teachers and administrators came together to form a racial equity learning group. Focusing on discussing White Fragility by Robin Diangelo and on applying learnings to their school contexts, educators developed action plans including steps such as auditing the curriculum, initiating conversations that “break the silence,” and hosting similar book studies for staff and families.

ABC CREATE Teacher Summer STEAM Camps

Each summer, ABC CREATE educators co-design our Teachers’ Summer STEAM Camp. During this multi-day professional development, attending teachers share relevant and engaging STEAM integration ideas, explore hands-on lessons and resources, and connect with their peers. With support from collaborative partners like the Consortium for Public Education and Better Questions, educators have real conversations about their current teaching experiences and look forward to what the future of education may hold.


In 2021, our ABC CREATE teachers’ summer camp experience focused on supporting teachers as they reflected upon their experiences teaching through the challenges of the past year+, as they refreshed understandings of the changes in work, education, and society, and as they designed pathways for STEAM integration and the teaching of future ready skills. 

Click HERE to learn more about our past summer STEAM camps.

 

ABC CREATE + Penn State New Kensington’s NextovationTM
While ABC CREATE gained traction, Penn State New Kensington continued to convene collaborative partners and to build a more expansive ecosystem to amplify the collective impact. Led by Penn State New Kensington, NextovationTM is an initiative focused on transforming a rust belt community through innovation, entrepreneurship and preparation for the digital age. NextovationTM efforts are centered around the city of New Kensington and designed to serve as a pilot testing ground upon which revitalization models may be built.

Phases of Nextovation thus far include various revitalization efforts supported by the Foundation of Westmoreland County and the City of New Kensington.The most well-known is the Corridor of Innovation, a five-block stretch of Fifth Avenue, which has been transforming since summer 2017. A facade improvement mini-grant program for business owners and organizations helped revamp and upgrade 18 buildings. Artist murals and several colorful bike racks and benches can also be found along Fifth Avenue. A brand new corner parklet was an added feature thanks to the work of volunteers from the campus, Arconic and the City of New Kensington. The Corner LaunchBox and Co-working Space garnered support from a range of funders and collaborators bringing in entrepreneurialism, idea generation, and creativity; opportunity accelerators, free tax and legal advice, deeper access to resources - spawning ideas and collaborations. 

In 2019, ABC CREATE was awarded a PAsmart Advancing Grant through the Pennsylvania Governor's office to further its work and alignment with the campus' promotion of innovation, entrepreneurship and essential skill sets in the Alle-Kiski Valley region. In addition to ABC CREATE’s ongoing initiatives, the PAsmart Advancing Grant allowed ABC CREATE to integrate future-ready skills in K-12 STEAM education through the development of Learning Pathways, to prepare a cohort of middle school teachers to teach computer science through code.org’s CS Discoveries, to  equity ….

The Digital Foundry lands on the scene in 2022 existing to help improve lives and strengthen businesses in the region through access to digital technologies and future-ready skills. As an initiative of Penn State New Kensington and the Economic Growth Connection of Westmoreland County, the mission of the Digital Foundry is to partner with manufacturing companies, educators and the workforce to accelerate economic growth and competitiveness using digital technologies and data-driven decision making.

EDUCATORS

ADVISORS

CREATE LAB

PARTNERS

NEXTOVATION

Teachers from Fox Chapel and Leechburg explore Puzzlets with Ed Tech professionals from Birdbrain Technologies, Kid Spark Education (formerly Rokenblok) and CREATE Lab member.

Culture of Sharing

Knowledge: Providing professional development, shared curriculum, and trainings
Creative Technologies: Lending educational tools through the ABC CREATE Resource Library
Feedback: Helping developers test and improve emerging technologies
Learning Pathways: Designing a progression of K-12 STREAM-focused learning sequences of tech fluency
Convenings: Hosting peer-led, multi-district showcases and strategic planning sessions
Support: Developing a platform for best practices, cross-network collaborations
Connections: Accessing thought leaders, innovation experts, funding and opportunities
Training: Equipping pre-service teachers to thrive in the classrooms of tomorrow
Equity: Encouraging approaches that are inclusive to female and students of low socio-economic status