PLTW’s approach to professional development prepares educators to lead the engaging PLTW experience in their classrooms and provides continuing support, which is especially helpful for teachers as they transition from industry to the classroom.
John Stockham is new to the teaching profession and recently attended PLTW Core Training in San Diego where he completed professional development for PLTW Automation and Robotics. After a few years in the renewable energy sector, most notably at TESLA Energy and Brilliant Harvest LLC, he’s looking forward to taking this experience to students at Cypress Creek Middle High School in Wesley Chapel, Florida, where PLTW President and CEO Vince Bertram visited to speak to the teachers.
“We can have an intellectual debate about the purpose of education, but our students must have the kind of learning experience that prepares them for careers,” Bertram said. “PLTW Teachers are critical to this purpose as they help students develop knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems.”
PLTW’s professional development is designed to create dynamic learning experiences for educators through powerful and flexible instructional support, as well as an ongoing professional community.
“My experience in San Diego at Core Training was invaluable as it not only introduced me to the formatting of appropriate curriculum for K-12 students, but I also learned a lot of valuable classroom management and teaching techniques from PLTW Master Teachers and peer teachers who are already seasoned and know what works and what doesn’t work in the classroom,” Stockham said.
Core Training immerses teachers in a hands-on, collaborative learning where they take on the role of a student, engage in in-depth exploration of PLTW coursework, and gain invaluable experience to take back to their classrooms.
“The Master Teachers were unbelievably helpful and familiar with the course subject,” Stockham said. “Being able to network with teachers from around the country was also great. I love that PLTW is integrating a progressive new age approach to learning.”
PLTW offers many training options and flexibility with over 200 training experiences throughout the U.S. at our Core Training hubs, Online Core Training, and our new Blended Core Training option that includes both the in-person and online training experiences. For more information about PLTW Professional Development and to view the 2020 Core Training schedule, visit our Core Training page.
To stay up to date on all of Vince's travels and the latest in education and workforce development news, please follow @vincebertram on Twitter.
