SOU TH FAYE T TE TOW N SHI P SC HOOL D IS T RIC T NE WS
South Fayette
Teachers and Students
Learn From Each Other
at STEAM Innovation
Summer Institute
Even though school may be out for
the summer, South Fayette’s passion for
innovative STEAM education never takes a
break.
In late June, the District hosted the
annual STEAM Innovation Summer Institute,
a series of workshops designed to help and
inspire educators to incorporate innovative
concepts and technologies into their
classrooms. This is the second year South
Fayette has hosted this institute, which is
made possible through generous support
from the Grable Foundation.
The Summer Institute offered
participating educators from South
Fayette and 28 other regional schools
a choice of 18 workshops facilitated by
South Fayette teachers and students,
as well as other STEAM and technology
education professionals. The workshops,
each targeted to a specific grade range, are
meant to provide teachers with professional
development experiences that become a
springboard to greater ideas and visions for
their own classrooms.
In each session, the participants form
a collaborative team that supports one
another and shares ideas and perspectives
not only during the Institute, but also
throughout the following school year as
they implement STEAM
and technology into the
classroom.
“South Fayette looks
forward to the incredible
ideas and skills that are
shared among educators at the
Institute each year,” noted Dr.
Bille Rondinelli, South Fayette
Superintendent. “Educators are
lifelong learners, and by fostering
these collaborative exchanges
among teachers and students, we
remove the line between teachers
and learners and help to create
the most well-rounded education
for all students in the region.”
While the annual STEAM
Innovation Summer Institute
is geared toward professional
development for educators, South Fayette
students were given opportunities to
participate and share with teachers as well.
This year several students from the
District’s Emerging Innovation Student
Leadership Team served as facilitators and
teaching assistants at the Institute. Some
of the students taught lessons in programs
like App Inventor, Python and Raspberry
Pi, while others worked with teacher
facilitators to introduce Microsoft OneNote
as an instructional tool.
The teachers who participated in the
student-led sessions said that they were
given valuable, unique perspectives into the
thoughts and language of students, which
the teachers can use to better understand
their own students. Many also said it was
one of the best professional development
programs they ever attended.
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