Chapter 6 Professional Development for Educators
6.0.0.0.2 The ATE program provides support for projects to develop and deliver professional development for educators, with a focus on enhancing their “disciplinary capabilities, teaching skills, understanding of current technologies and practices, and employability skills” (National Science Foundation (NSF), 2021, p. 5). ATE PIs were asked to report on the focus, number, and length of professional development activities provided by their projects, as well as the number and type of participants and number of students subsequently impacted by those participants.
6.1 Professional Development for Educators
6.1.0.1 Thirty-nine percent of ATE projects provided training or professional development to current or future educators.
One hundred thirty-two ATE projects provided 670 training or professional development activities for educators in 2022. Over half of these activities were a day or less in length (53%), including webinars and one-day workshops. Thirteen percent lasted from one to several weeks, including courses and summer institutes. Twenty-four percent lasted more than one day but less than one week, including workshops and online modules. The remaining 10% were long-term and periodic and included internships and peer coaching.
6.1.0.1.1 ATE projects offered 670 professional development activities for educators in 2022.
Figure 6.1: Number of professional development activities for educators by length of time (n=132)
Professional development activities focused on a range of skills and topic areas. One hundred nine percent focused on discipline- or industry-specific knowledge or skills, 127% on pedagogy, and 128% on training on specific equipment. Additional professional development topics reported by ATE projects included recruitment or retention of students (138%), addressing issues of equity, diversity, or inclusion (136%), and other professional skills, such as leadership (83%).
