JoinFields of STEM
NSTA Professional Learning Cohort
Purpose Statement
The Fields of STEM program provides STEM educators from the Midwest an opportunity to leverage the collective expertise of the cohort and the latest relevant research to improve K-12 STEM education and workforce development in their local and global communities. A key focus of this initiative will be the integration of food and agriculture-based high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) into high school life science, agriculture and STEM classrooms. This effort is particularly timely in light of the recent National Academies’ K-12 STEM Education and Workforce Development in Rural Areas report, which advocates for expanding ideas about STEM to include agriculture and the industries relevant to rural areas.
The Program
NSTA recruited high school science and CTE teachers in the areas of Biology, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Anatomy/Physiology, STEM, and Food Science to join a year-long Professional Learning Cohort as part of the Fields of STEM program in 2025. This opportunity includes synchronous and asynchronous virtual professional learning experiences directly related to their agriculture and/or STEM content that strengthen resumes and provide building blocks for leadership.
Participants receive a year-long NSTA membership with a virtual cohort space for networking, sharing ideas, and community engagement, registration for NSTA web seminars and NSTA resource e-books, and mentorship from NSTA professional learning experts. Participants will also attend NSTA’s 2025 Fall National Conference in Minneapolis.
High Quality Instructional Materials
Units of Instruction
Transfer Task/Assessment Library
Digital Learning
Transfer Task Online Learning
20-minute asynchronous course
Transfer Tasks are a type of performance assessment designed for NGSS. They allow educators to gather evidence about what the student knows and what they can do with that knowledge to make sense of a phenomenon and/or solve a design problem. This course will cover how to access, implement and interpret student results of a NGSS transfer task.
Additional Resources
Food and Agriculture Center for Science Education
A collection of learning materials that are in alignment with contemporary STEM standards using food and agriculture as a context for learning.