In November, a cohort comprised of six Department of Education staff and teachers attended experiential STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) training at three award-winning schools in Wake County, NC. Schools who hosted the Bermuda cohort included Wake STEM Early College, Reedy Creek Middle School Center for Digital Sciences, and Brentwood Elementary School of Engineering.

This professional development opportunity is directly aligned with the Government’s Platform and Strategy 2.9.5 of Plan 2022, which places STEAM Education as a priority.

The Department cohort participated in classroom sessions where teachers served as facilitators of the learning process. The cohort also spent time actively learning about:

• Unique teaching methods;

• Student transition to STEAM Model learning environments;

• Incorporation of professional industry standards beyond the core curriculum;

• School culture;

• Parental involvement;

• Leadership; and

• Industry partner collaboration.

Department of Education Gifted and Talented Education Officer, Luann Wainwright-Dill commented, “Although defined differently in each school, the focused approach to STEAM drove a consistent approach to teaching and learning standards. Students, all the way down to Kindergarten, demonstrated ownership of their learning. This experience was invaluable for myself and other Department of Education staff as we work to expand the STEAM curricula in our Bermuda Public Schools. I am encouraged by the knowledge we were able to glean from this experience and we look forward to providing an in-depth overview of our learning to senior leaders at the Department of Education.”

In the 2019-20 Budget Statement, the Ministry of Education allocated $770,000 to continue the deployment of STEAM programmers at the Primary School level. This is inclusive of professional development training for teachers., updating the social studies curricula, and expanding literacy programmes.