Implementation
Results
When Des Moines Christian School (DMCS) decided to launch a new STEAM class for K-5 students in 2021, the school principal asked teacher Liz Sisler if she’d be interested in leading it. While Sisler often substituted at DMCS, she was new to the world of STEAM.
“When the principal approached me, I didn’t have any formal training in STEAM,” she said. “But I like a challenge, and the idea of getting to do hands-on learning with kids was exciting.”
Sisler accepted the position as DMCS’s elementary STEAM instructor. That fall, STEAM was added as a specials class that all K-5 students attend every four days.
“The school already had a great STEAM lab and a lot of STEAM resources,” said Sisler. “Before I started, it was kind of like an open lab where teachers could bring their classes and do their own activities. But creating this class made it a priority to ensure that every elementary student was getting STEAM.”
To prepare for her new role, Sisler scoured the internet to find STEAM ideas and activities to implement each week. At the end of the year, she talked with the principal about seeking further education.
While searching for an online program that she could take during the summer, Sisler came across the National Institute for STEM Education (NISE) and the Micro Certificate program that leads to a STEM Essentials Certificate.
“I really liked the idea of ‘STEM Essentials’ and being able to take courses online at my own pace,” she said. “My school was also very supportive and funded the program for me.”
The NISE STEM Essentials Certificate represents an understanding and application of 12 instructional strategies essential to creating and sustaining STEM learning. To earn the certificate, teachers must complete Micro Certificates in six areas, with two online courses per area:
Teachers may also complete any of the Micro Certificates or individual three-hour courses to refine their practice and learn new strategies.
“It gives you a lot of flexibility,” said Sisler. “I also liked that I didn’t have to do the Micro Certificates in any particular order.”
Each STEM Essentials course is structured around the 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) model of instruction. During each course, teachers must create a customized plan or tool focused on applying the skills they have learned, and they must pass a 10-item assessment at the end.
From 2022 to 2024, Sisler completed two Micro Certificates each June — and she experienced several “a-ha” moments along the way.
“Each course made me rethink my lessons,” she said. “Doing the courses in June was helpful for me because July is when I restructure my lesson plans and make my scope and sequence for the next school year.”
While working toward the Scientific Innovation Micro Certificate, Sisler participated in “Engineering Solutions” and “Technology Integration” courses.
To earn the Scientific Collaboration Micro Certificate, Sisler completed “Cooperative Learning” and “Project-Based Learning” courses.
“Understanding that project-based learning isn’t just group projects was really helpful,” she said. “Project-based learning is helping my students develop skills that will help them succeed in every subject in school and in life. And they have so much fun that they don’t even realize how much they’re learning”
The “Argumentation” and “Claim-Evidence-Reasoning” courses, which are part of the Scientific Argumentation Micro Certificate, also helped Sisler learn protocols and develop tools to help her students express their opinions, make decisions, and tackle problems in class and in daily life.
In June of 2024, Sisler took the “Reading in STEM” and “Writing in STEM” courses and earned a Micro Certificate in Scientific Literacy — completing her STEM Essentials Certificate.
“As a STEAM teacher, I hadn’t really thought about my role in reading and writing. The NISE courses showed me how to incorporate these skills into my lessons in a natural way,” she said. “This will help students see that there isn’t one box of skills for math class, one for science class, and one for reading and writing. These are all skills of everyday living, and they’re all necessary and relevant to their lives.”
Throughout the STEM Essentials courses, Sisler explored ways to help her students develop other skills as well, such as the 4 Cs — collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking skills.
“While I’d been teaching these skills, I didn’t necessarily think of them as 21st century skills,” she said. “Now I have posters on the walls highlighting these skills, and I think about ways I can tie them into my lessons.”
As Sisler worked through the courses, she also discovered how to give herself the space to learn and grow. Since each STEM Essentials course is designed to support practical, relevant learning with bite-size pieces of actionable information, she had ongoing opportunities to iterate her learning in a safe context. She could also immediately apply what she learned in her classroom.
“During my first year teaching STEAM, I felt so much pressure. I was trying to learn, but everything was brand new, and I didn’t understand it all. I thought, ‘If I can’t figure it out and plan it all perfectly, then I’m not even going to try teaching it,’” she said.
“But during the STEM Essentials courses, I learned to give myself the freedom to learn as I’m teaching. It’s a process, and it’s okay to change things up as you’re going. It’s also good for the kids to see that when something I’m doing doesn’t work out, we can talk about it and figure out how to do it better. We can try new things and learn together, and that’s okay.”
This approach has also given Sisler’s students the confidence to explore and experiment because they know if they fail, they can learn from that experience and try again.
“A common misconception people have is if something works exactly like you want it to, then you learned what you were supposed to, but if it doesn’t work, then you didn’t learn anything. But success in STEAM is not just about getting something right on the first try or getting an A on a test,” she said.
“That first year, there were a lot of tears when students’ projects didn’t go right. But now, if students build a bridge and it falls apart, we celebrate because we learned one thing that didn’t work, and we can move on and try something different. Students see that there is learning even in failure, and this is helping them persevere and not give up.”
Parents, too, have seen a change. “Parents tell me that when their kids come home and say that their bridge collapsed in class, they’re laughing about it instead of crying,” said Sisler. “Kids can put so much pressure on themselves, and this is helping break that perfectionism. It’s showing them that we can learn in different ways and that success isn’t always measured in the ways you thought it was.”
As Sisler begins her fourth year teaching STEAM, she is excited to welcome students back to the classroom.
“The kids all love coming to STEAM, and it’s a joy to get to teach them. Since I have the same kids every year, I can see how much they’re learning and growing,” she said.
“I have very few behavior problems in my room because everybody’s engaged. Kids who might have trouble sitting and focusing in the regular classroom love coming here because they can talk and move around — and they’re focused and thinking. Kids who might struggle with reading or writing in their classroom are often the ones who excel here, and it’s fun to give them a place where their skills are utilized.”
Next, Sisler wants to explore other NISE courses to see how she can deepen her knowledge and expand her skills.
“Earning the STEM Essentials Certificate has been a very positive experience for me,” she said. “I definitely see the value of continuing to learn and grow. The more I understand, the better teacher I can be.”
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