Giving Compass' Take:

• Education Dive reports on a program in Phoenix's Arizona Science Center that trains teachers on how to bring more engaging STEM lessons to their classrooms.

• How important is professional development in the education space, especially when it comes to developing effective STEM programs in schools? What can we do to scale them?

• Here's more on how to help students land the STEM jobs of the future.

When 3rd grade STEM teacher Amanda Roum went to camp this summer, instead of playing games and learning archery, she developed a science curriculum. And after five days​ at the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix, she took that curriculum, along with the materials she needed, back to her classroom at the Tartesso Elementary School in Buckeye, Arizona — just in time for school to start in August.

“What we learned in five days is exactly what we taught in first six weeks of class,” Roum told Education Dive. “I’ve used the exact lessons and lesson plans I learned that I’ve modified for my group of students.”

Roum attended the center's Science Teacher Residence (STAR) Program, a residency designed to get educators up to speed on STEM subjects and spark their own students' interest as well. Roum was part of STAR's first cohort, which focused on life sciences. The center is planning to have six modules in total, and has almost completed funding for all of them, Beth Nickel, the center's chief learning officer, told Education Dive. It’s professional development that is filling a need.

Read the full article about STEM by Lauren Barack at Education Dive.