Ten St. Croix Teachers Invited To Present At International STEM Education Association Conference On Mainland

ST. CROIX — Ten science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers at three public schools on St. Croix have been invited to present their educational research at the 7th Annual International STEM Education Association Conference, October 6-9 in Branson, Missouri, the Department of Education has announced.

Presentation topics include:

• Developing and Assessing Integrated STEM Learning Outcomes in Green Homes Project Focusing on Energy Conservation
• Integrated STEM Projects with Robotics And Web Development; exposing Students To Advanced Computer Coding In High School
• Modeling of Environmental Impact of Improper Solid Waste Disposal in The Virgin Islands
• Eat To Beat Campaign For Critically Conscious Community-Based STEM Learning
• Using Robotics to Engage Middle School Students in Integrated STEM Learning

The teachers’ participation in the conference was recently announced by the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) and the Virgin Islands Institute for STEM Education Research and Practice (VI-ISERP). The educators, whose work was selected from a vast application pool, were given the opportunity as a result of their work through collaboration with UVI and D.O.E.’s STEM coordinators, according to the release.

Dr. Steve Lawrence and Andre Pompey will represent St. Croix Central High School; Dr. Michael Henry, Ann Marie Gibbs, Risa Gordon, Cassandra King, and Keith Smith will represent St. Croix Educational Complex High School; and Shana Gilbert, Jaynae Williams, and Anne Louise Wilkins will represent John H. Woodson Jr. High School.

The public-school teachers will give presentations in conjunction with their peers from several other St. Croix private and parochial schools, forming a total of five teacher teams from the Virgin Islands. Presenting at the fall conference affords the teacher teams an opportunity to offer their projects for use in other STEM classrooms around the country, while garnering ideas to bring home to their own classrooms, according to the National Science Foundation’s Virgin Islands Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR), who sponsored the teachers’ research.

The 7th Annual ISEA Conference will provide and demonstrate best teaching practices and concepts in STEM, and will support innovation and creativity in the STEM classroom through applied learning projects and activities, while promoting and recognizing outstanding STEM educators and programs.

The International STEM Education Association (ISEA) is a professional association that supports STEM Educators in K-12 classrooms and promotes STEM education as the cornerstone of innovation and excellence.