STEM Education Program Self-Evaluation Rubric(DRAFT – April 2016)

Authentic STEM education offers students an opportunity to engage with meaningful problems beyond the application of isolated pieces of science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning. STEM education is more than the sum of its parts, functioning as a metadiscipline that provides a way of approaching problems across contexts. In the 21st century, major societal problems do not belong to any one discipline; they must be solved through multiple approaches and perspectives. STEM provides one such approach, emphasizing a quantitative, collaborative, innovative, and logical analysis rooted in a solid understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (from

This tool provides guidance for school or districtteams to self-evaluate their STEM education programas part of a continuous improvement cycle (not a one-time event). Ideally, the team will include teachers, administrators, students, higher education representatives, business leaders, community members, and others based on your context. Leadership teams of STEM education stakeholders from across Wisconsin generated, reviewed, and revised this list of elements of effective STEM education programs using research, evidence, and tools from other organizations and reports.

STEM Wisconsin recommends the following elements of a self-evaluation process for a team using this tool:

●If they do not have one, schools/districts should establish a vision and goals for STEM education to ensure that programmatic elements in place align with this vision.

●Teams should collaboratively gather evidence in relation to the STEM program. Evidence could include course offerings, course enrollments broken down by gender and ethnicity, unit and lesson plans, classroom and school/district level assessment examples, local assessment results (including performance-based tasks and surveys if available), details of external partnershipsand internal collaboration, strategic plans, and other relevant evidence.

●No STEM program is expected to meet the highest level in all of these criteria. It is important to see them as a progression to generate ideas for possible improvement, not as definitive statements for what all STEM programs should look like—that depends on your community’s needs and capacity.To tailor this reflective work, before and afterthe evaluationteams will need to consider which among these categories are the highest priorities based on your context.

●After reflection in each category, teams will conduct an analysis, with a possible template provided on the last page of this document. The analysisshould include claimsand evidencefor how well the STEM program aligns with the vision and goals set out, along with next steps in moving forward.

○A sample analysis statement that builds on a set of district goals: “To engage students and empower them to make STEM-based decisions in their life, they need to investigate and make sense of real-world problems at a deep level. In our STEM programming, units on communication technology, medical chemistry, and biodiversity show that all students have the opportunity to do that in their integrated science, mathematics, and engineering block course in grade 10.”

○Crafting statements like the above sample in relation to all relevant portions of your vision and goals for STEM education will support decision-making about program improvement.

For further information on statewide STEM education work or the leadership team, please visit or or email .

In addition to Wisconsin stakeholder input, this tool was informed by the Univ of Chicago STEM School Study, Carnegie STEM Excellence Pathway, Arizona STEM Immersion Guide, and Indiana DOE STEM Implementation Rubric

Elements of School Culture and Structures / 1 / 2 / 3 / Observations/Evidence/Analysis
1) STEM definition, vision, and goals /
  • Developed STEM coursework that implies a definition of STEM.
  • STEM courses have specific goals for student learning.
/
  • Developed specific, measurable goals for the STEM program and individual classes.
  • Course structures, pedagogy, and topics imply a definition of STEM as an integration of S, T, E , and M.
/
  • Collaboratively developed a vision for the STEM program with measurable goals and an explicit definition of STEM education.
  • Explicit connections are made to classes beyond S, T, E, and M, with STEM seen more as a mindset or problem-solving method important as a lens that can be applied across all disciplines.

2) Collaborative culture and structure /
  • Teachers within departments have time to collaborate and do so.
/
  • Teachers across STEM subjects have regular, structured, effective collaboration time. Administrators sometimes join in on that collaboration.
  • Have a culture of sharing teaching practice and materials.
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  • Teachers across STEM subjects have regular, structured, effective collaboration time, with open sharing. As needed, it includes administrators, community members, and teachers from other disciplines to discuss student learning and progress of the program.
  • Decision making is done collaboratively.

3) Reflective practice and professional learning /
  • Teachers individually reflect on effectiveness of lessons/units based on student work.
  • Professional development opportunities are provided to staff.
/
  • Teachers collaboratively reflect on the effectiveness of their lessons and units.
  • Staff members have a role in determining their professional learning efforts in and out of the school based on their needs.
  • Teachers have received training on how to effectively integrate the STEM subjects.
/
  • STEM leaders systematically reflect on progress toward personal and school-level vision and goals. That reflection guides professional learning.
  • Professional learning includesintegrating STEM subjects, and applying a STEM lens in other content areas. It involves regularly observing each other’s classes, and reviewing student work and assessment samples together.

4) Trust and respect /
  • Educators generally assume an adequate level of trust and respect among staff and students.
  • Extracurriculars are in place to support student interests.
/
  • Work done to build trust and respect among staff and students.
  • Extracurriculars are in place to support student interest and a sense of belonging and community building.
  • Post-secondary planning support provided to students.
/
  • System-wide work done to evaluate and improve trust and respect among all staff, students, and community.
  • Effective extracurriculars and transition programs are in place, with a school focus on building a strong learning culture responsive to student and staff needs.

Other locally determined element(s)
Elements of College and Career Readiness / Initial / Developing / Systemic / Observations/Evidence/Analysis
5) Partnerships with organizations and higher education /
  • Partners such as business and local higher education officials advise STEM programming.
/
  • Partnerships support the day-to-day work of STEM through efforts such as staff and student mentoring, presentations, field trips, internships, judging, and creating lessons.
/
  • Partners serve on a STEM leadership team that meets regularly to discuss research, best practices, successes, and opportunities for improvement toward goals.
  • Partners support connections of lessons to actual needs and problems in partner organizations.
  • All students understand pathways into partner college/career opportunities.

6) Partnerships with family and community /
  • Community invited in regularly to see student work and engage in activities such as STEM nights.
/
  • Communities are involved in planning STEM events.
  • Families made aware of STEM career pathways and supports along those paths.
/
  • Community and school support consistent,multi-modal communication strategies to help families understand STEM career pathways and support, and the importance of STEM literacy regardless of post-secondary path.
  • Community assets, such as natural areas,are utilized and improved through collaborative STEM projects.

7) Career, college, and life skills /
  • Courses include an emphasis on career and college readiness.
  • An Academic Career Planning (ACP) program supports college and career awareness activities.
/
  • Dual credit and STEM work-based certifications are offered, linked to ACP.
  • Higher ed and business partnerships support alignment of skills taught to needed workplace and college skills.
/
  • Dual credit, work-based certifications, and workplace/college experiences are the norm for all students, founded on personalized ACP work.
  • 21st century career, college, and life skills (such as creativity and teamwork) are integral to all courses.

8) Equity – for all students /
  • All students have access to STEM courses, based on pre-requisites.
  • Accommodations provided for all students with special needs.
/
  • Specific recruitment efforts for underrepresented students
  • Teachers receive PD on and provide differentiated and inclusive instructional practice.
  • STEM enrollments are close to representative of the broader school/community population.
/
  • All students have access to all STEM courses, receiving supports needed to overcome any barriers.
  • All students’ course pathways build toward STEM literacy (as it is part of the expectation for all), with systemic support for varying learning needs.
  • Projects link to diverse student interests and community culture and needs.

Other locally determined element(s)
Elements of Instructional Design / Initial / Developing / Systemic / Observations/Evidence/Analysis
9) Problem-based and rigorous learning /
  • Students engaged in problem-based learning aligned to standards.
/
  • Students engage in problem-based learning connected to real-world contexts based on their interests and questions.
  • Work is cognitively demanding, linked to highest levels of content and practice standards at that grade.
/
  • Students engage in and drive problem-based learning, requiring use of 21st century, standards-based content and skills to solve complex problems.
  • Students have access to sufficient technology and resources to make the instruction real-world (i.e., linked to current community and global needs).

10) Integrated STEM and broader connections /
  • Projects include linkages to each of the STEM subjects.
  • Students have multiple options for college and career aligned STEM courses.
/
  • Projects require content and practice skills in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.
  • Students have options for college and career aligned STEM courses that meet their needs and interests.
/
  • Through integrated STEM learning, students develop a mindset and problem-solving skills that they apply to scientific and technological contexts as well as other disciplinary contexts.
  • All students engage in college and career-ready courses which result in base-level STEM literacy, regardless of their post-secondary plans.

11) Personalization /
  • Students have some choice in project direction and topic.
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  • Teachers understand the individual needs of their students and guide them within learning opportunities based on those needs.
  • Students have choice in their grade 9-12 learning pathways based on their needs and interests.
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  • Teachers’ customize instruction based on ability and learning styles, connecting students’ lives and interests to work.
  • Curriculum is either staff- developed or tailored to meet the needs of their students and community.
  • Students have choices in their course and learning pathways and in how they demonstrate their learning.

12) Effective Assessment /
  • Teachers use project-based assessments and reflect on how to improve practice based on them.
  • School and student-level decisions are based on assessment data.
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  • Authentic and meaningful assessments inform school and student-level decisions, as well as student-reflection on their learning.
  • Collaborative reviews of student assessments informs how teacher teams plan and provide instruction.
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  • Program, school, and student-level decisions are based on the use of an authentic system of assessments (e.g. projects, presentations, portfolios, surveys). STEM leadership teams and students strategically use this system to reflect on progress towardprogram and learning goals.
  • Collaborative review of student assessments informs how teacher teams plan and provide instruction, and communicate with parents and students.

Other locally determined element(s)

Analysis

It is critical for schools and districts to conduct this evaluation thoroughly and collaboratively as part of an ongoing improvement process. It’s not a one-time event. Notably, all characteristics may not be equally weighted in your analysis. Teams will have to determine which characteristics and evidence are most important based on their context and needs. It is also expected that this review will take more than this one page.

●Overall claim about the strength of the STEM program:

●Our evidence-based reasoning for how well our program currently aligns with our school’s/district’s vision for STEM education includes:
Example: “To engage students and empower them to make STEM-based decisions in their life after formal schooling, they need to investigate and make sense of real-world problems at a deep level. In our STEM programming, units on communication technology, medical chemistry, and biodiversity show that all students have the opportunity to do that in their integrated science, mathematics, and engineering block course in grade 10.”

●Areas in need of improvement and evidence of that need:

  • Next steps and any additional comments/questions:

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