Vision, Mission, and Goals

Vision and Mission

The vision of the Center for Excellence in STEM Education (STEM Center) is to improve the quality of STEM education throughout the state of Rhode Island, and within Rhode Island College in particular.  The center will train STEM educators and other professionals who will be the next generation of scientists, engineers, teachers, and other professionals in STEM areas.  The mission of the center is to increase collaboration, develop new initiatives, and support and develop continuous and rigorous preparation, professional development and recruitment of high quality STEM teachers and other STEM professionals.  In partnership with other institutions, the center will develop strategies to increase student awareness, interest, motivation, and achievement in STEM at the primary, secondary, and undergraduate levels. 

Goals

1. To create world-class learning environments for pre-service and in-service teacher education.
2. To provide excellent pre-service and in-service teacher training through continuous and rigorous preparation and professional development, with consistency in methods and content training.
3. To better align training offered by school districts, collaboratives, and institutions of higher learning, especially Rhode Island College.
4. To foster “horizontal” collaboration, communication, and alignment between school districts, between STEM departments and education departments, and between institutions of higher learning or professional development providers such as collaboratives.
5. To develop collaboration and communication “vertically” between K-12 and higher education, fostering alignment between best practices in K-12 education, and teacher training and professional development.
6. To generate student awareness, interest, motivation, and achievement in STEM, and increase the number of students pursuing careers in STEM areas.
7. To offer opportunities for teachers and students to obtain practical training, especially in inquiry, that will better prepare them for careers in STEM.