Principals Sought for STEM Research Leadership Project
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 04/01/19
A
North Carolina university is recruiting principals for a new
grant-funded program intended to help school leaders work more
effectively with their math and science teachers. The program will
use virtual reality and online coaching. The purpose: to help them
improve their abilities to observe, analyze and communicate
improvements to classroom instruction, particularly as it relates to
access and equity in STEM.
"Project
I4,"
as it's named (for "innovate, inquire, iterate and impact"),
is taking place at East
Carolina University's Department of Educational Leadership,
which was awarded a five-year, $9.7 million innovation grant from the
U.S.
Department of Education
for the program.
Over
the course of a year, almost 300 participants will attend a week-long
learning exchange on campus in late July, along with online and
on-campus classroom experiences in the fall and spring, followed by
an additional on-campus workshop the following summer. Among the
activities will be the use of a VR simulation of STEM classrooms to
allow the principals to practice observing and giving feedback in a
game setting.
Those
who complete the program will earn a nine-credit microcredential,
which can be applied to a 60-credit doctorate in educational
leadership.
"Linking
school leadership to student learning has been elusive. However,
there are a few promising studies about school leaders' ability to
impact student achievement by providing more timely, specific
feedback to teachers," said Matt Militello, a professor in the
College
of Education,
and the principal investigator for the research project, in a
statement.
Militello added that the project
and study rely on research evidence that has found that effective
principals who foster fruitful observation and coaching can boost
student outcomes. "If we want to help teachers improve their
instruction, then we must help principals develop the knowledge and
skills to do so."
Applications
are being accepted until April 30, 2019.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.