Professional development is standards-based and designed to have a lasting impact on school effectiveness, teacher performance, life long learning, and student achievement. Year two is a continuation of professional development activities in the content areas of science, mathematics, technology and world languages in grades K-8. Princeton's Science, Mathematics and Technology Collaborative consists of the Invention Factory Science Center in Trenton, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Rider University, and Mercer County-Education Technology Training Center. The participating schools are Florence Township Public Schools, Burlington City Public Schools and Trenton Public Schools. This collaborative provides professional development activities aligned to New Jersey's Core Curriculum Content Standards in science, mathematics, technology, as well as the integration of these subjects with the other core content areas to teachers in grades 3-6.
Emphasis is on technology integration as well as developing interdisciplinary teaching approaches.
Pre-service students and inservice teacher participants become familiar with New Jersey's Core Curriculum Content Standards, exemplary materials, and applications of the standards in the classroom. Professional development activities focus on acquiring fundamental knowledge in the content areas. Teaching modules translate knowledge into useful pedagogical practice by assisting participants in making direct connections between activities, the standards and the assessments. In addition, they help teachers learn to interpret students' thinking as a means of maximizing learning. Preservice teachers are integrated into the program so that they may benefit and gain insights from the experience of current teachers.