Featured: Give Them STEM


Next Steps Institute Recap


Fall VIP Networking Event


Call for Teachers & Mentors: PBL Externships


PD Spotlight
In this Photo: ASSET's newest PD Specialist, Elaine Lucas-Evans collaborating with a 1st grade teacher to categorize types of clouds during the team's Weather module training.
Give Them STEM: Help us break down barriers to STEM education
A recent study from a Stanford economist concluded that that children from high-income families are ten times more likely to become inventors than those from below-median income families.
 
The truth is that many schools and educators in our community are struggling this year to access updated and quality training and educational STEM materials for their students. This contributes to a growing achievement gap, with students in under-served communities and students of color falling behind their peers.
 
Our Access ASSET Scholarship Program ensures that all students benefit from highly-effective educators and high-quality learning tools by providing no-cost training and instructional STEM materials. 

In the past four years of Access ASSET:
  • Awarded $202,664 in scholarships
  • Trained 643 educators
  • Delivered 293 instructional materials kits
  • Awarded 79 total scholarships
  • Impacted more than 13,700 learners

This year, we set a goal of raising $150,000 for Access ASSET.  

Please consider making a donation to the Access ASSET Scholarship. Respond to an urgent need and make an immediate impact for children and teachers in your community

ASSET Presents at 2018 Next Steps Institute
What does inquiry in mathematics look and sound like?

Two of ASSET's Professional Development Specialists, Dr. Dan Lujetic and Lindsay Anderson presented during the 2018 Next Steps Institute in Colorado this month on "Refining Math Instruction Through Inquiry."

In this session participants will were provided with an inquiry-based, hands-on mathematical experience where they were able to walk away understanding the importance of embedding authentic and critical problem-solving skills into instruction. 

When creating and promoting inquiry-based learning experiences, scholars are engaging in questioning, giving priority to evidence, formulating explanations, evaluating connections, and justifying findings. It is at the core of these features where participants examined indicators of mathematical inquiry and coupled it with the 8 Standards of Mathematical Practices and the characteristics of rich mathematical tasks.
BE AN ASSET TO EDUCATION - FALL VIP EVENT
11/15 from 5-7 PM at CoLab18 Office (Nova Place)
ASSET is hosting a Fall networking event for local educators, community members and advocates on the Northside. During the event, guests can mingle and chat about the future of STEM education in Pittsburgh, explore STEM classroom modules, hear from PD specialists about upcoming initiatives and enter to win the raffle.
RSVP here .


PROJECT-BASED LEARNING THROUGH TEACHER EXTERNSHIPS
December 4-5 and January 23
This innovative Professional Development program   empowers teachers to introduce real-world problem solving skills to the classroom and prepare their students to succeed in the 21st century workforce. The program is FREE to local educators in Southwestern PA.
Sign Up here .


ACADEMY FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL TEACHING & LEARNING
Program Kickoff - October 26 at ASSET Office
Six school-based teams were recently selected to participate in ASSET's Academy for Three-Dimensional Teaching & Learning and take the lead in fostering student achievement in STEM. Over the course of five months, teams will participate in professional development and an online Professional Learning Community, redesign lessons, and contribute to a Compendium of Three Dimensional Learning. 
Registration Closed

Check out our Events Page to stay up to date on our latest training sessions and conferences.
WOODROW WILSON TEACHING FELLOWSHIP
Duquesne University was recently selected to participate in the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship program, and ASSET will serve as a consultant partner for the program. The Fellowship intends to ensure that qualified teachers work in high-need school districts teaching STEM fields, providing participants with an opportunity to pursue a master's degree program at the University and experience other program benefits. ASSET PD Specialist Dan Lujetic joined Gov. Tom Wolf and others in Harrisburg to announce the initiative. 
Read more about the program here .


VOLUNTEERS
ASSET volunteers help to clean, pack, count and sort our hands-on STEM materials, to keep them affordable for schools. Interested in volunteering as an individual, group or company? Click here.
PD Specialist, Lindsay Anderson joined first grade teachers at North Hills School Dis trict for " A Work In Process: Improving the Play Dough Process."
Can you hear that? ASSET's PD Specialist, Dan Lujetic helps educators from Quaker Valley, West Jefferson Hills, North Hills, and Upper St. Clair explore tools and techniques to teach students about sound and light. During the session, participants built telephones using cups and string.
PD Specialists, Stephanie Rakowski and Sarah Chesney presented at the PA Science Teachers Association Conference earlier this week on "Crosscutting Concepts - Making the Connection for Deeper Understanding." They explored ways teachers can help students recognize deep connections between seemingly unrelated topics and engaged in the power of crosscutting concepts in the context of three-dimensional teaching and learning. 
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