2025 WestEd Report
Summary of Findings from the STEMACES Summer Institute Evaluation Report
2025 Summer Institute Highlights
The STEMACES Summer Institutes held in Texas and California in July 2025 demonstrated what makes STEMACES professional learning distinctive: teachers learn science the way scientists and engineers do—by building, testing, troubleshooting, modeling, and making sense of real data.
Rather than sit-and-get training, educators experienced adult versions of the same challenges students will complete, allowing them to develop confidence, computational thinking skills, and classroom-ready strategies. Grounded in research-based frameworks such as Computational Thinking in Mathematics and Science and TPACK, the institutes supported teachers in integrating content, pedagogy, and technology in meaningful ways. Teachers left not only understanding the STEMACES activities, but ready to implement them with purpose and confidence.
A defining feature of STEMACES is the ingenuity of placing real hardware in students’ hands. Using the Learning by Making (LbyM) platform, teachers worked with breadboards, resistors, LEDs, sensors, and Arduino microprocessors, paired with a browser-based coding environment. This combination allows students to engage science as it is practiced—by designing systems, collecting real sensor data, and analyzing evidence. Instead of relying on simulations alone, STEMACES invites students to build functioning circuits, investigate phenomena, and experience firsthand how technology supports scientific discovery.
Throughout the week, teachers progressed from simple circuits to complex, sensor-driven investigations, supported by facilitation that encouraged productive struggle, collaboration, and risk-taking. Participants reported high satisfaction and growing confidence, with many noting the supportive environment made challenging technology feel approachable and empowering. The result is professional learning that prepares teachers to foster student agency, systems thinking, and scientific reasoning in the classroom. As one participant shared, this experience opened the door to giving students “opportunities to learn” that feel authentic, engaging, and transformative.
Evaluation Report
The STEMACES Summer Institute Evaluation Report, written by Kim Luttgen, Linlin Li, and Kevin Huang, documents observations, participant feedback, and findings from the STEMACES professional learning institutes in Texas and California in 2025. Grounded in established research frameworks, the report examines how hands-on engineering, computational thinking, and facilitation practices supported teacher growth and readiness for classroom implementation. It provides evidence of strong participant engagement, confidence-building, and the effectiveness of STEMACES’ unique professional learning model.