My name is David Johnson. I teach sixth and seventh grade science at Charter Day School in Leland, NC. 

In March 2018, I was selected to be a member of a special group of STEM educators from across the country as part of the 100Kin10 Teacher Forum. 

Our mission: to provide meaningful feedback to a national network of organizations committed to adding 100,000 new STEM teachers to U.S. classrooms by 2021. 

The 100Kin10 Teacher Forum met for the first time in Phoenix. At the Summit, the nation’s top academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, foundations, companies and government agencies came together to bravely address the nation’s STEM teacher shortage and other systemic challenges. 

In addition to collaborating with other educators, I was able to discuss STEM education with business with industry and community leaders. It was a privilege to hear how General Electric was investing in STEM programs—supporting teachers and students to tour a copper mine with engineers and management as part of a hands-on curriculum. 

Who knew there were so many powerful partners on the side of STEM education and teachers?

One of the key themes at this year’s Summit was to identify and discuss strategies for tackling the grand challenges to STEM teaching today. 

This is a daunting task because partners, Teacher Forum members and summit leaders have identified 100 challenges, ranging from teacher salary to the amount of time a teacher is given to work collaboratively with their colleagues. 

Where do we even begin? 

In her keynote address, 100Kin10 Co-Founder and Executive Director Talia Milgrom-Elliot presented 100Kin10’s approach to solving the grand challenges facing STEM teaching today. 

Instead of trying to tackle each grand challenge individually, Elliot proposed that Summit partners and forum members focus on what she called the “catalyst challenges.” As the term suggests, catalyst challenges are the pipelines from which all the grand challenges flow. Addressing the catalysts may have positive effects on the grand challenges. 

Elliot continued by identifying what those challenges were:

1. Prestige: How might we raise the prestige of the STEM teaching profession?
2. Teacher Preparation: How can we ensure teachers enter the classroom well prepared to teach STEM?
3. Elementary STEM Teachers: How might we effectively prepare and support elementary teachers to teach STEM?
4. Professional Growth: How might we ensure valuable professional development and growth for STEM teachers?
5. Teacher Leadership: How might we empower STEM teachers with leadership and autonomy?
6. Value of Science, Technology and Engineering: How might we ensure science, technology and engineering are valued in schools?
7. Instructional Materials: How might we ensure teachers have access to quality STEM instructional materials?

From this opening address, forum members and partners went off to attend different sessions focused on these seven catalysts. During these sessions, forum members and partners got to offer feedback on many issues, plans and ideas.

In one such session, I gave feedback on a manuscript which would provide university STEM faculty members with a more accurate picture of the teaching profession, as well as provide them with feedback for how they could assist in the recruitment of the best and brightest teachers. 

It was exciting to work on this with other forum members and partners, knowing that my voice was an essential part of this manuscript’s future success. 

I also spent a good deal of my time attending sessions that focused on the Teacher Preparation catalyst. As a teacher mentor for my school, I have an interest in seeing science teachers properly prepared for the classroom, but I’m rarely given the opportunity to weigh in on policies that affect it. At the 100Kin10 Summit, I was given the opportunity to do just that.

I heard from representatives of four organizations taking unique approaches to preparing STEM teachers. The Gulford County Alternative Track (GCAT) program, for instance, collaborates with its local county to provide teacher training and certification handcrafted for meeting the needs of the students in their county. I was stunned that such a program existed in my home state of North Carolina. 

It’s funny that I needed to travel all the way to Arizona just to discover the creative ways in which partners in my state are advancing the STEM teaching profession.
 

If I could pass on one thing to current and future teachers that I gleaned from my time at the Summit, it would be this: Look around you; there might be solutions to some of the challenges facing the teaching profession right under your nose. Learn what those solutions are and provide meaningful feedback. 

Your voice matters and is essential, so don’t lock your ideas away in your classroom. 

You might be surprised and relieved to find that someone with your same ideas is already changing the landscape of the teaching field for others. Why not join in on the fun?

If you’re ready to share your voice, sign up for Talk to a Teacher. You’ll get to speak with a current educator about anything that’s on your mind.

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See the complete list of all the grand challenges facing STEM teaching identified by 100Kin10.

If you have a solution to some of these challenges, or just want to contribute to the larger dialogue, I want to hear from you. As a Forum member it would be my pleasure to be a sounding board for your ideas and feedback. Just send me an email and we’ll arrange a listening session. Remember, your voice counts.