Presenter: Bill Penuel, University of Colorado, Boulder
This session introduces ideas for supporting implementation of the effective practices outlined in Successful K-12 STEM Education: Identifying Effective Approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The session is especially relevant to instructional leaders in schools and districts seeking to align practice to recommendations from the report. The core idea is that implementation of the practices depends on accessing and activating relevant expertise within professional networks. Relevant expertise includes knowledge of practices, curriculum, assessment, and professional development needed to support implementation.
About the Presenter:
Bill Penuel, Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder
Bill Penuel is professor in educational psychology and the learning sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His research focuses on teacher learning and organizational processes that shape the implementation of educational policies, school curricula, and afterschool programs. In his research, he examines learning and development from sociocultural, social capital, and complex social systems perspectives. One strand of his research focuses on designs for teacher professional development in Earth science education. A second strand examines the role of research-practice partnerships in designing supports for teacher learning in school districts. A third strand examines how children’s interest in science develops over time and across different kinds of settings. This third strand includes a focus on young children’s learning through digital media, including public television programs. His research has appeared in the American Educational Research Journal, Teachers College Record, the American Journal of Evaluation, Science Education, and the Journal of the Learning Sciences. He is currently associate editor of the Social and Institutional Analysis section at the American Educational Research Journal, and he is on the editorial board for Teachers College Record, American Journal of Evaluation, and Cognition and Instruction. Penuel holds a BA in Psychology from Clark University, an EdM in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Clark University.
