HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As a growing number of schools launch science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs, teachers are looking for fast and effective ways to build their STEM teaching skills. The National Institute for STEM Education (NISE) has partnered with Chalk & Wire, a leader in higher education assessment, to provide teachers with a digital portfolio tool that allows them to quickly demonstrate their proficiency in the 15 teacher actions necessary to create a STEM classroom of excellence.
Through this partnership, NISE has integrated Chalk & Wire’s ePortfolio solution into the self-paced, competency-based program leading to the National Certificate for STEM Teaching. Using the NISE online learning platform, teachers work with a dedicated academic coach to build competency in 15 STEM actions across three domains: Creating an Environment for Learning, Building Scientific Understanding, and Engaging Students in Science and Engineering Practices. With the ePortfolio solution, which is built into the platform, teachers can produce and submit portfolio artifacts for certifications.
“Because the National Certificate for STEM Teaching is competency-based, skilled teachers do not need to sit through content they already understand. Instead, with their ePortfolio, they can personalize their learning experience so they can quickly demonstrate their strengths and focus only on those STEM actions they have yet to master,” said Vernon Johnson, president and CEO of Accelerate Learning, which announced the formation of NISE last month. “This not only saves time, but it allows teachers to quickly put into practice the actions that are essential to creating effective STEM classrooms that increase student achievement.”
Added Geoff Irvine, CEO of Chalk & Wire, “Chalk & Wire is pleased to work with the National Institute for STEM Education on this endeavor to strengthen STEM teaching by offering comprehensive, competency-based certification programs.”
About Chalk & Wire:
With a market-changing, research-based approach to higher education assessment, Chalk & Wire has helped institutions demonstrate student competency and improve the evaluation of learning outcomes for nearly 20 years. To increase the validity of assessment data, Chalk & Wire’s market-leading assessment platform is built on its CoreValidity™ process, which drives alignment between faculty and leadership through a unified assessment language and raises inter-rater reliability earlier in the process. Chalk & Wire takes a consultative approach to helping institutions prove their value and efficacy as well as their ability to prepare students for their post-graduate pursuits. For more, visit www.chalkandwire.com.
About the National Institute for STEM Education: Headquartered in Houston, NISE was conceived by practicing educators and is based on thousands of hours of research, professional development, curriculum design and educational leadership. Using an online learning platform and unique digital portfolio, NISE offers STEM certification programs for individual teachers, and for campuses and districts. Through these self-paced, competency-based programs, participants learn and apply the three domains of STEM teaching, and build an understanding of the pedagogy necessary to create effective STEM classrooms that increase student achievement. For information, visit http://www.acceleratelearning.com/nise.
