K-12 Professional Learning
At the RiSE Center our professional learning is always aimed to be collaborative and ongoing with the ultimate goal of facilitating genuine change in the classroom through professional partnerships among teachers, RiSE staff, and University faculty.
Mathematics Content Immersion: Math Made Meaningful: Geometry and Real-World Applications for K-8
July 6–9, 2026 (Monday–Thursday); 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. with one-hour lunch break
Estabrooke Hall, University of Maine, Orono
Mathematics Content Immersion with Dr. Franzi Peterson and Jenn Fronczak
Geometry is a critical area of mathematics that connects meaningfully to other domains, including algebra, measurement, and proportional reasoning. It also provides powerful ways to make sense of and interact with the physical world. Through spatial sense and geometric reasoning, students learn to model real-world situations, investigate patterns, and explain phenomena around them.
During this four-day content immersion, we will explore the progression of key geometry concepts across the elementary and middle school grades. Our focus will include:
- Examining geometric shapes and their properties (such as sides, angles, and faces) and understanding how these properties can be used to categorize shapes.
- Investigating spatial relations and spatial structuring for two- and three-dimensional shapes, including concepts of area, surface area, and volume.
- Exploring transformations—translations, reflections, and rotations—as well as symmetry and similarity, and their roles in building geometric understanding.
Participants will engage in hands-on activities and work with manipulatives to deepen their understanding of these core ideas. Throughout the immersion, we will highlight real-world applications and grade-level connections that support students in developing meaningful and lasting geometric reasoning. Teachers will leave each day with tasks that can be used directly in their classrooms.
Cost per teacher: $1,000
Participating teachers will receive a stipend of $700, contact hours, and lunch is included!
To request a reasonable accessibility accommodation to participate, please contact the RiSE Center: risecenter@maine.edu or 207-581-4672.
Registration is open through June 30, 2026
Professional learning opportunity open to Maine high school science, mathematics or STEM teachers
Hosted by The RiSE Center, University of Maine
Made possible by National Science Foundation Grant #2500129
Join University of Maine faculty for a STEM content session guided by inquiry and accessibility. You won’t just learn about the content—you will experience it through hands-on explorations, small group discussions, and other active learning approaches. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss strategies for scaffolding these complex topics, making them both rigorous and accessible for their students.
You may select to attend 1 of our 4 faculty-led content sessions. Each 3-day session will run July 27–29, 2026: Monday (9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.), Tuesday & Wednesday (8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m.)
There is no cost to attend this event, lodging and breakfast will be provided for those traveling over 65 miles and participating teachers will receive a stipend of $630 for full participation. Contact hours and lunch are included as well.
Register for the session you desire by adding this event to the cart below.
Force and Motion by Inquiry
Workshop leader: Dr. MacKenzie Stetzer, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy and RiSE Center Member
While the topics of force and motion are typically covered in introductory physics and physical science courses, students often find this material to be quite challenging. Some students are tempted to focus on memorizing lots of specific equations rather than engaging in physical sensemaking and ascribing physical meaning to those equations. In this content immersion, key concepts in kinematics and dynamics will be built from the ground up through a process of inquiry involving basic experiments and exercises, with an emphasis on sensemaking. Many of the strategies highlighted in this immersion have been successfully incorporated into physics and physical science courses for both high-school and middle-school students.
Teaching the Reasoning of Science (with examples from Chemistry)
Workshop Leader: Dr. Mitchell Bruce, Professor of Chemistry and Rise Center Member and Zoe Prats, PhD Student in STEM Education
Reasoning plays a vital role in innovation and the advancement of science. In this workshop, we explore how scientists reason about the submicroscopic domain—things that cannot be directly sensed—by constructing representations. Participants will work in teams to complete inquiry activities and reflect on how curricular materials, teacher knowledge, student engagement, and assessment can work together to make this reasoning explicit for students. Discussions will include teaching practices and how introducing this frame may provide students support for scientific reasoning.
Mathematical Models in our World: Sun, Sea, and the Sky
Workshop Leader: Justin Dimmel, Interim Director of The Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center), Associate Dean for Academics and Student Engagement, and Associate Professor of Mathematics Education and Instructional Technology, College of Education and Human Development
By embedding mathematical activity in the familiar experiences of the natural world, such as looking out to the horizon, observing light and shadow, or gazing at the night sky, we create opportunities for participants to engage in active mathematical modeling. This content immersion will feature outdoor mathematics labs (weather permitting), and participants will experience these activities as an active learner. Participants will also engage in group discussions on how to embed mathematical activity in our everyday experiences of nature. Time will be allotted to reflect on how to embed these outdoor labs into existing curricula and boost student engagement.
The Sun and the Weather: A Solar-Powered Weather Station
Workshop Leader: Dr. Nuri Emanetoglu, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering and RiSE Center Member
Solar energy can be used to power homes, businesses, towns, or a remote weather station. The principles of designing and using a photovoltaic electricity generation system will be introduced through a sample project based on an automated weather station powered with a solar panel and a battery backup. Skills gained, or reinforced, will include circuit design and analysis, circuit construction and testing, and programming using Circuit Python (or Arduino Uno).
To request a reasonable accessibility accommodation to participate, please contact the RiSE Center: risecenter@maine.edu or 207-581-4672.
91¸ŁŔű System is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.
is open through July 10, 2026.
The Maine STEM Teacher Corps community will meet monthly August–May, forming working groups that focus on critical problems of practice and areas where you/they would like to grow as a teacher. Members will also attend an annual planning retreat assisting in the direction the group will grow. Each Maine STEM Teacher Corps member is committed to full participation in community events that will not exceed 80 hours for each calendar year. The Maine STEM Teacher Corps will also be responsible for planning and/or implementing a summer leadership academy, and various summer content immersions. The first meeting will be a congratulations dinner on May 15, 2026. Virtual community meetings will begin August 10, 2026.
The Maine STEM Teacher Corps will also have an Associated Community of Teachers (ACT) beginning in October of 2026. The ACT will meet with the Maine STEM Teacher Corps members monthly. This group of 50 teachers will be invited to participate in events but are only committed to participating for one year. Members will be paid a stipend of $35/hour for each hour of participation. Let us know if you are interested and want more information about ACT.
To apply for Maine STEM Teacher Corps membership, please send the following items to the Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center) at the University of Maine (risecenter@maine.edu):
- a cover letter that includes
- your name,
- contact information,
- brief introduction of yourself
- A statement addressing these questions
- Why do you want to be a member of the Maine STEM Teacher Corps and how will it be valuable to you?
- What are some of your teaching practices that you have found to be most effective? Provide a brief description.
- How do you want to grow as a teacher and teacher leader?
- What are other experiences that you will bring to the Maine STEM Teacher Corps?
- three letters of recommendation at least one from a teaching colleague and one from an administrator.
If you are selected as a finalist, you will be invited to an online interview.
Applications will be accepted until 12 PM on March 22, 2026.
Information comProfessional learning opportunity open to grade 3–8 science, mathematics and/or STEM teachers in Maine
Presented by the University of Maine College of Engineering and Computing
Facilitated by Shane Barker from the RiSE Center, University of Maine
Made possible by Tom Hickey ’73 BS CHE, ’74PP and Christine Hickey ’73 EDU
2026 Igniting Engineering and Computer Science Minds: A Professional Learning Experience for Grades 3-8 Teachers
July 14 and 15, 2025 (Tuesday and Wednesday); 9:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m. with one-hour lunch break
Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center, University of Maine, Orono and a zoom follow up sessions during the 2026–27 school year.
In this 2-day engineering and computing content immersion we will provide opportunities for you to gain experience and confidence with engineering and computer science concepts and instructional activities using these concepts.
You willÂ
Gain confidence to integrate engineering into your classroom
Complete grade-level specific engineering and computer science activities with the guidance of a facilitator and University faculty.
Complete an instructional activity using micro:bit, including basic codingÂ
Explore a variety of engineering and computer science activities that are aligned to Maine science standards.
We will work with actual NGSS and Common Core Math aligned hands-on activities. Teachers will leave each day with tasks that can be used directly in classrooms.
$200 registration fee. If your school or district is unable to pay this cost, please contact the RiSE Center for scholarship options, risecenter@maine.edu.
Participating teachers will receive a stipend of $385, contact hours, and lunch is included!
To request a reasonable accessibility accommodation to participate, please submit a request form and/or contact the RiSE Center: risecenter@maine.edu or 207-581-4672.
91¸ŁŔű System is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.
is open through July 3, 2025.ing soon!
Virtual Communities
Statewide Content Discussions (virtual)
- 4 meeting sequence for each content area
- Mathematics
- Chemistry
- Earth & Space Science
- Life Science
- Physics
- Grades 6-12
Staff: Beth Byerssmall
These one-hour zoom sessions from 4pm – 5pm are informal but give you a chance to hear what is successful in other classrooms and to ask for help from others. Please come and join the discussion by telling us what is working for you and your students.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the online meeting.
Contact hours will be provided for those in attendance. Please contact me if you have any questions at elizabeth.byerssmall@maine.edu
This online community will meet on the following Mondays from 4–5:30 p.m.
| Topic | January Meetings | February Meetings |
| Mathematics | Tuesday1/13 | Tuesday2/10 |
| Chemistry | Monday1/12 | Monday2/9 |
| Physics | Tuesday1/20 | Tuesday2/24 |
| Life Science | Monday1/26 | Monday3/2 |
| Earth & Space Science | Thursday1/22 | Thursday2/26 |
Interested in bringing FOSS, SEPUP, or EarthCom into your science classroom, you can learn more about our inquiry driven hands-on science curriculum and materials kit rentals.
The next running of productive talk will be in the 2026-2027 school year
Check here for the announcement of dates for Fall 2026 and Spring 2027.
Productive Talk in the STEM Classroom 2024–25
Sponsored by the Maine STEM Partnership at the RiSE Center, University of Maine
These sessions will be co-facilitated by Maine teachers who are successfully using these strategies in their high school and middle school classrooms.
This online community will meet on the following Mondays from 4:00–5:30 p.m.
February 10, 2025
February 24, 2025
March 10, 2025
March 24, 2025
April 7, 2025
April 14, 2025
Create a classroom culture that promotes rich discussions among students and facilitates sense making of mathematics and science content.
This community will learn, practice and share their experiences with specific strategies that promote sense making discussions between and among students. These sessions are adapted from “Talk Science” developed by the Inquiry Project at TERC. High school and middle school examples will be highlighted in the sessions with elementary examples available if needed by the community. Participants are asked to try the strategies in their classrooms and share their experiences at the following meeting.
Cost to participate: $500.
Teachers will receive a stipend of $270 and 9 contact hours for full participation!
The next running of productive talk will be in the 2026-2027 school year
Check here for the announcement of dates for Fall 2026 and Spring 2027.
Professional learning opportunity open to all K–12 STEM-discipline teachers in Maine
Sponsored by the Maine STEM Partnership at the RiSE Center, University of Maine
Facilitated by Kate Dumont (Bonny Eagle High School), Andrew Myers (Old Town High School)
Six sessions, Mondays on Zoom, 4:00–5:30 p.m.
October 16, 2023
October 30, 2023
November 13, 2023
November 27, 2023
January 8, 2024
January 22, 2024
Join teachers from the Maine STEM Partnership at the RiSE Center to strengthen your assessment literacy skills.
This Assessment For Learning series will include six virtual sessions starting in October (dates and times listed below). It will begin with an introduction to Assessment For Learning and setting success criteria for your students. In subsequent sessions, participants will learn about a specific formative assessment strategy and discuss their experiences using these tools and strategies in their classrooms.
The strategies we will explore include:
As a group we will see how these tools and strategies work together to increase student achievement by helping students see and know themselves as learners. These sessions provide ongoing support as you continue to implement these strategies in your classroom regardless of whether or not this is your first time trying them!
Led by experienced professional learning facilitators:
Kate Dumont – science teacher, instructional coach, and experienced professional learning facilitator
Andrew Myers – mathematics teacher, former high school administrator, and experienced professional learning facilitator
$500 registration fee. If your school or district has agreed to pay for this professional learning opportunity, you can select “Invoice (Enter School or District Billing Info)” at checkout.
Teachers will receive a stipend of $270 and 9 contact hours for full participation!
The next RiSE Center Conference on discipline-based education research (DBER) happening in various STEM fields.
Check here for the announcement of dates.
The Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center) at the University of Maine proudly hosts a conference dedicated to advancing STEM education.This dynamic event features a keynote address, invited talks, interactive workshops, panel discussions, round-tables, and a vibrant poster session.
Designed to spark meaningful connections and lively discussions, the conference brings together discipline-based education researchers and STEM educators from middle schools, high schools, and post-secondary institutions. Join us to share ideas, explore new approaches, and collaborate with colleagues committed to excellence in STEM education.