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Student learning through a STEM activity.

STEM Instructional Leader

McDaniel’s STEM Instructional Leader Program prepares you to take on STEM leadership roles in your school and in your district—and to make a difference in students’ lives.

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Degree Types
Graduate Certificate
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Program Cost
$552 per credit
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Total credits
18
Document
Format
Online (Hybrid available for School Partnership cohorts)

About the Program

Developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Aerospace’s Center for Integrative STEM Education and initially piloted in Carroll County Public Schools and Newport News Public Schools, McDaniel’s Graduate Certificate in STEM Instructional Leader (SIL) is offered in an online format and is open to all interested educators.

Who Is It For?

The program is designed for many types of educators at varying stages of their careers:

  • Practicing childhood K-12 educators
  • Teachers seeking STEM leadership roles
  • Curriculum developers and supervisors
  • Instructional leaders
  • School administrators

What You Need to Know About the STEM Instructional Leader Certificate

Admissions Requirements

  • Completed application for graduate study
  • Official transcripts verifying completion of an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited college or university
  • Copy of a Teaching Certificate - Maryland State Department of Education Standard Professional Certificate (SPC I or SPC II). Students with Professional Eligibility Certification (PEC) or evidence of completion of teacher preparation program and passing Praxis II scores can be accepted in lieu of teacher certification.  Teachers who hold a license or certification from states outside of Maryland must also provide a copy of their teaching certificate.  Students holding provisional or conditional teacher certification would not be eligible for this program

State Authorization & Professional Licensure

Program & Course Details

STEM Instructional Leader Catalog

Find Out More

Discover more about this program and others at one of our monthly, virtual open houses!  

Register

Apply

This program begins in Fall, Spring, and Summer. 

Start Your Application

Program Coordinator

Sharon Bowers, Ed.D.
sbowers@mcdaniel.edu

Request More Info

Certificate and Endorsement

McDaniel’s STEM Instructional Leader (SIL) program has been approved by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Maryland Higher Education Council (MHEC).

McDaniel College is a member in good standing of the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), a national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The STEM Instructional Leader Post-Bachelor's Certificate program has been awarded initial accreditation status by AAQEP through June 30, 2029. Accreditation acknowledges that a program prepares effective educators who continue to grow as professionals and has demonstrated the commitment and capacity to maintain quality.

 

Students completing the program's six courses (18 credits) earn:

  • a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate; and
  • the Instructional Leader: STEM (PreK-6) endorsement from MSDE.
Official seal of the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP)

Advancing Your Career

The SIL program offers several benefits that will help you build your knowledge and progress in your career. Throughout the program, you will:

  • Develop a practical and foundational understanding of STEM education content and practices that prepare you for STEM leadership roles. 
  • Develop and implement authentic, integrated inquiry- and design-based STEM learning experiences.
  • Deepen science, technology, and mathematics conceptual knowledge.
  • Develop an understanding of trends and issues related to STEM education.
  • Improve your understanding of the engineering design process.
  • Learn to support integrative STEM learning through inquiry using national science, engineering, and mathematics practices.
  • Establish a working understanding of Maryland’s STEM Standards of Practice (SOP) and the ability to develop lessons that support the SOP.
  • Utilize STEM notebooks as tools to develop students’ abilities to engage in argument from evidence and communicate information.
  • Enhance coaching and facilitation skills for both face-to-face and online professional development for colleagues.
Clare Hoerl walking in a field with children.

Becoming a STEM leader A memorable lesson

Clare Hoerl, a 2021 graduate of the STEM Instructional Leader certificate program, used a 7E learning plan during her time in the program that resulted in a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Hoerl’s students. Her eighth-grade STEM class at St. John Catholic School in Westminster, Maryland, spent months meticulously planning a large-scale project that won them a downlink with NASA astronauts.

Read "McDaniel certificate program turns alum into a STEM leader"

Related Programs

Secondary Education, M.S. Innovations in Teaching and Learning (formerly Curriculum & Instruction) Elementary Education, M.S.

Find Out More

Discover more about this program and others at one of our monthly, virtual open houses!  

Register

Apply

This program begins in Fall, Spring, and Summer. 

Start Your Application

Program Coordinator

Sharon Bowers, Ed.D.
sbowers@mcdaniel.edu

Request More Info
McDaniel College
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Westminster, MD, 21157
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