Adding to the constant effort of striving to meet North Carolina’s current and future needs in STEM education, The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching has hired Senior STEM Specialist Dr. Jennifer Redfearn to support teachers in incorporating STEM learning into their instruction. NCCAT, a recognized national leader in professional development programming for teachers, responded to an expressed statewide need for professional development in STEM education.

How can we as educators enhance our classroom settings to engage students in real-world problem-solving skill sets? In this session coming in October to NCCAT Cullowhee, participants will come to understand a framework of Project/Problem-Based Learning (PBL) through the “7 Gold Standards” of PBL. Educators will practice designing a PBL unit. This session is intended for any grade level and content area educators. 

October is a great time to join NCCAT for professional learning. Applicants are encouraged to register as soon as possible to ensure a spot. Programs are available to North Carolina educators at the Cullowhee and Ocracoke campuses, online, and with NCCAT faculty visiting school districts. From our literacy-focused programs to digital learning, to STEM, math, and science, we have plenty of offerings designed to help teachers to positively impact student learning across our state.

Join us September 25-29 at NCCAT Ocracoke for the "Middle Grades Math Badge Series" as we explore strategies that allow all students to thrive and grow into successful mathematicians who ask questions, engage in math discourse, and think critically. Badge one will focus on core instructional models and mathematical discourse. Badge two will examine conceptual teaching and learning through the concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) model. Badge three will explore research-based number sense routines that support students’ reasoning skills. Badge four will investigate problem-solving routines that embrace the eight mathematical practices.

Governor Roy Cooper has appointed Dr. Freddie E. Williamson of Robeson County to the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT), a recognized leader in professional development programming for North Carolina teachers. Dr. Williamson became Superintendent of the Public Schools of Robeson County in 2020.  Williamson — who began his career as a classroom teacher — came to Robeson County from Hoke County Schools, where he served as superintendent for 15 years. Dr. Williamson has received multiple accolades for his leadership, character and resolve to make a difference in the lives of the students he has served. Throughout his educational tenure, he has served students in Sampson, Hoke, Scotland and Robeson counties.