DDC STEAM offers Professional Development to DOE District 6 Middle School Teachers

June 11, 2018

On June 11th, Educators from the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) and the NYC Department of Education (DOE) came together at PS 189 in Washington Heights for a two-day professional development program in which 25 public middle school teachers from District 6 were introduced to the DDC’s “Building the Future” curriculum’s hands-on engineering- and architecture-related activities. 
 
The training program was organized with the assistance of Community School District 6 Superintendent Manny Ramirez and Director of School Improvement Sandy Mayol.  DDC educational programs are conducted through its STEAM initiative, which partners with DOE and the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD) to bring initiatives such as the Young Engineers Program to students citywide.  DDC STEAM has engaged 2539 students in various programs since its inception in 2015, working exclusively with Title I schools.  DDC STEAM has helped organize 6 professional development workshops since June 2017, reaching 124 instructors from schools and community based organizations from every borough.
 
“Our goal with DDC STEAM professional development is to bring math and science concepts to life and to bring engineering and problem solving to NYC students. In our Train the Trainer sessions, we give educators, in this case, New York City Public School teachers the opportunity to explore the concepts and methodologies in a fun environment so they are confident implementing the program. It was wonderful to see how excited the teachers were as they performed the very same experiments their students will be implementing in the classroom,” said DDC Deputy Commissioner for Community Partnerships & STEAM Initiatives Lee Llambelis.
 
As part of the training, DOE middle school teachers performed many of the activities that students in the program go through to demonstrate design and construction methods that can better withstand climate change and rising sea levels.
 
Other successful DDC STEAM programs include the Ace Mentor Program, Town & Gown and the High School Summer Internship Program a six-week paid internship program for students interested in pursuing careers in architecture, engineering, building trades, public administration, business administration or information technology.
 
“Just over two years ago, a large cohort of our students studied green, urban-infrastructure design alongside their teachers and under the guidance of a few educators from the DDC.  From that short-term investment, our students produced rather sophisticated plans, mocked-up scale models, and tested their designs, publicly-- an effort which engendered cognitive negotiations, eager persistence, personal confidence, and critical analysis and innovation, efficiently.  The ‘test, adjust, and defend’ feature embedded into the DDC curriculum, was framed for students in ways that felt critically important yet tacitly embraced… and that was the key.  Community School District 6 has enjoyed its partnership with the DDC and intends to maintain it for one very good reason:  it works.” stated Sandy F. Mayol, Director of School Improvement and Innovation, Community School District 6.
 
DDC’s “Building the Future” curriculum emphasizes the structural characteristics of 3D shapes, bridge engineering, constructing with I-beams, creating building models and green technologies such as bioswales, tower gardens and green roofs. The curriculum was developed by DDC’s office of Community Partnerships and STEAM in partnership with Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone, a science educator and founder of Storefront Science. It is currently being implemented as part of the Young Engineers Program, a program designed to teach middle school students the fundamentals of environmentally responsible city planning as it pertains to public buildings and infrastructure added Manuel Ramirez, Superintendent, DOE Community School District 6.
 
"What an exciting way to spend two days: With deeply committed and curious teachers from D6 who want to add more engineering, and STEAM to their classrooms!" stated Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone, Ed.D.
 
DDC’s “Building the Future” curriculum emphasizes the structural characteristics of 3D shapes, bridge engineering, constructing with I-beams, creating building models and green technologies such as bioswales, tower gardens and green roofs. The curriculum was developed by DDC’s office of Community Partnerships and STEAM in partnership with Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone, a science educator and founder of Storefront Science. It is currently being implemented as part of the Young Engineers Program, a program designed to teach middle school students the fundamentals of environmentally responsible city planning as it pertains to public buildings and infrastructure.
As part of the training, DOE middle school teachers performed many of the activities that students in the program go through, including modeling buildings, infrastructure, homes, bridges, public areas and streetscapes to demonstrate design and construction methods that can better withstand climate change and rising sea levels.