The 2025\u20132026 year was one of growth, collaboration, and innovation for the WNC Elementary STEM\/Science Community of Practice. Throughout the year, educators from across Western North Carolina came together with a shared commitment to strengthening elementary science and STEM education through professional learning, resource development, and meaningful partnerships.<\/p>\n
One of the highlights of the year was the launch of our Third Grade Collaboration Pilot. Teachers from multiple districts met throughout the fall to examine standards, explore high-quality instructional materials, and collaboratively develop ready-to-use resources aligned with research-based science teaching practices. Together, participants considered how to leverage science and engineering practices, local phenomena, and community connections to create engaging learning experiences for students.<\/p>\n
Beyond developing instructional materials, the pilot provided valuable insight into how a regional, grade-level community of practice can support teachers and inform future expansion into additional grade levels and content strands.<\/p>\n
This year also featured a collaborative book study of Rise and Thrive with Science: Teaching PK\u20135 Science and Engineering<\/em>. Through thoughtful discussion and reflection, participants explored research-based recommendations for excellent elementary science instruction and considered how to translate those ideas into classroom practice. The book study provided an opportunity to connect with colleagues across districts while building a shared understanding of what high-quality science learning can look like for all students.<\/p>\n In April, members of the Community of Practice gathered at the beautiful Lake Logan Conference Center for a day of collaboration, learning, and connection. The retreat brought together teachers, instructional coaches, university faculty, and community partners to explore phenomena-based science instruction, learn about regional organizations that can support classroom experiences, and strengthen relationships across Western North Carolina.<\/p>\n The retreat also provided dedicated time for reflection and planning, reinforcing the importance of place-based learning and the power of educators working together to improve science teaching and learning.<\/p>\n As our Community of Practice continues to grow, we remain committed to connecting educators, fostering teacher leadership, and building partnerships that make high-quality science and STEM education accessible to all students. The work accomplished during the 2025\u20132026 year has laid a strong foundation for future grade-level collaborations, expanded community partnerships, and continued innovation across the region.<\/p>\n Thank you to everyone who contributed time, expertise, and enthusiasm this year. We look forward to continuing this journey together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 2025\u20132026 year was one of growth, collaboration, and innovation for the WNC Elementary STEM\/Science Community of Practice. Throughout the year, educators from across Western North Carolina came together with a shared commitment to strengthening elementary science and STEM education through professional learning, resource development, and meaningful partnerships. Third Grade Collaboration Pilot One of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3406,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-highlights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/wncelementarystemcop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/wncelementarystemcop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/wncelementarystemcop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/wncelementarystemcop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3406"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/wncelementarystemcop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10055"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/wncelementarystemcop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10120,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/wncelementarystemcop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10055\/revisions\/10120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/wncelementarystemcop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/wncelementarystemcop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/wncelementarystemcop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Lake Logan Professional Learning Retreat<\/a><\/h3>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n