MCLA's Improving Teacher Quality Grant Extended
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, the lead partner for the Berkshire Early Learning Lab Improving Teacher Quality program, has had its ITQ grant extended for another two years, which will allow more than 40 additional educators to participate, and an expansion of existing programming.
The grant, which began in 2013, serves Berkshire County preschool through second grade teachers by providing rich opportunities for them to learn about and implement the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education model.
Sites presently being served include North Adams Public Schools, Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, Northern Berkshire School Union, Head Start and Child Care of the Berkshires. With the grant extension, educators from Pittsfield Public Schools will join them.
The University of Massachusetts' Donahue Institute, which has been monitoring the ITQ grant at all of its sites throughout the Commonwealth, saw significant evidence that the teachers who participated in the Berkshire Early Learning Lab implemented and benefited from integrated STEAM learning, according to Dana A. Schildkraut, STEAM education coach for the ITQ grant program.
"Young children learn best holistically and through experience, the STEAM education model promotes integrated, multi-disciplinary learning, which is proven to cultivate creative thinking and engages through hands-on activities," Schildkraut said.
To date, about 800 Berkshire County students have experienced STEAM education through the ITQ grant. With the additional of Pittsfield Public Schools, approximately 800 more students will benefit.
Preschool through second grade teachers participate in this program by attending STEAM-themed evening workshops hosted both by MCLA faculty and museum educators from the Clark Art Institute, Mass MoCA and the Berkshire Museum.
These educators go on to develop STEAM lesson plans based on the content learned in the workshops, and implement those lessons in their classrooms. They also collaborate with Schildkraut to enhance these STEAM lessons, and reflect on implementation highlights and challenges. Lastly, teachers also may attend optional summer courses on STEAM content.
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