The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative at the Lam Family College of Business is excited to partner with the Golden Gate STEM Fair and Advancing STEM Research Teaching (ASRT) to provide a multi-day professional development workshop series for high school STEM teachers looking to develop, grow or guide student STEM research programming. For 2025, ASRT will offer a four-day teacher training program at the SFSU Innovation HUB, July 14 - 17, 2025.
Workshop Summary
The Advancing STEM Research Teaching (ASRT) Program is a multiple-day, in-person, professional development workshop focused on curriculum, activities, and guides to support high school teachers involved in providing science/STEM research opportunities for their students.
The program is completely free for high school teacher participants, thanks to generous funding from Regeneron and Carl Zeiss Microscopy.
The Bay Area 2025 program is four days of in-person professional development, with follow-up support, as needed, via Zoom during the school year. The workshop content is customized to help teachers reach their goals and overcome obstacles specific to their school/region. This includes small or medium or large schools and rural, suburban, and urban areas. The curriculum os filled with hundreds of activities and guides that can be customized by teachers who provide research opportunities within a traditional STEM classroom setting, or those with a small, growing research program/club, or even those with more established Science Research Programs/Clubs. These activities include not just what to do, but how and why.
Workshop curriculum includes activities, guides, templates, and rubrics that will help with:
- Guiding students how to decide on a research area that fits within their available time, resources, and area of interest.
- Customizing a calendar to help keep all students on task and moving forward with their STEM research projects.
- Building time management skills with students.
- Increasing students basic (foundational) and advanced knowledge, understanding and critical thinking especially focused on their chosen area of research.
About ASRT Program Director & Instructor:
Michael Blueglass recently retired from being a high school science teacher with more than 35-years of teaching experience, most recently at Yorktown High School in Westchester County, NY where he taught from 2001 to 2020.
Michael founded and directed Yorktown HS’s Science Research program and has grown it into one of the largest and most successful of its kind in the NY tri-state area. In 2001, Michael co-founded the Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF), providing his students and others in the area with a venue to showcase their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research and the opportunity to interact with local STEM professionals, while providing the chance to win awards and compete at the national and international levels. WESEF started with 59 students from 12 local schools, and 20 years later he and a team of local science education champions have built WESEF into the largest science fair in the region, and one of the largest in the nation, with approximately 700 high school students from 45 regional high schools.
Workshop Schedule
Location: Lam Family College of Business Innovation HUB - HUM125
Tentative program content and schedule. Subject to change.
Day 1 Content
- Benefits of having students become involved in STEM research projects
- Mistakes made by teachers that hinder the growth and success of a STEM research opportunities for their students
- Understanding the current and/or potential obstacles that may interfere with the goals of increasing STEM research opportunities
- How to effectively manage multiple students that are all working on different types of STEM research projects at different stages.
- Benefits of increasing contact time, structure and enthusiasm for STEM research projects through a STEM research club/elective/program
- How to increase STEM research opportunities including building a program (club and/or elective course), and gaining interest and support from students, administration, colleagues and parents
- Making it a “thing” until it becomes a THING (Building/Gaining support for a STEM Research Program/Elective/Club)
- Helping students to “think outside of the box” when deciding on a topic and project
- Activities for 1st year students (part 1), regardless of whether STEM research opportunities/projects are being incorporated into a traditional STEM classroom or as a part of a research program or club
Day 2 Content
- Activities for 1st year students (part 2), regardless of whether STEM research opportunities/projects are being incorporated into a traditional STEM classroom or as a part of a research program or club
- Helping each student to connect with a potential mentor, local or distant, that can help to better understand the area of research they have chosen and to help guide them with their project
- Opportunities to have students present research in different venues including local gatherings, professional conferences, and local, national and international competitions.
- Understanding the different deadlines, formats and application forms of the numerous competitions
Day 3 Content
- Advanced Activities (for 1st, 2nd or 3rd year research students), including general overview for creating, hopefully award winning, presentations in the following formats:
- PowerPoint/Google Slides
- Poster
- Training students how to present their research in a professional, clear, enthusiastic manner
Day 4 Content
- Creating, hopefully award winning, research papers
- Community outreach including:
- Establishing a practice night for the JSHS competition (PowerPoint/Google Slides )
- Establishing a practice night for regional science fairs (poster presentations)
- Incorporating an info session for incoming students and their parents into a practice night for the older students
- Creating an end-of-year showcase/symposium for all current students to present to the community
- Making it a “thing” until it becomes a THING (Building/Gaining support for a Science Research Program/Elective/Club)
- Customizing any/all activities reviewed, to suit any style of class, club or STEM research program
| Time | Session | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | Welcome Breakfast & Networking | Continental breakfast, coffee, teas |
| 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. | Session 1 | |
| 11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. | Break & Networking | |
| 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Session 2 | |
| 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. | Lunch (Vista Room - Burk Hall 401) | Self-serve lunch provided in the SFSU Vista Room on the 4th floor of Burk Hall. |
| 1:45 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Session 3 | |
| 2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. | Break & Networking | |
| 2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. | Session 4 |
Travel & Directions to Campus
Directions & Location
The address pull up on the map is 6 Tapia Dr, San Francisco, CA 94132 or:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZtD2roqgMpijuLyY7
The Humanities Building is on the north side of Tapia Dr. The Innovation HUB is room 125, the first door on the left as you enter Humanities building from Tapia Dr.
Accommodations
A list of University-recommended lodging options are available HERE.
Program Sponsors & Partners
Carl Zeiss Microscopy
Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC is the North American sales and service center for ZEISS Research Microscopy Solutions, a world-leading manufacturer of light, X-ray and electron microscope systems, and is committed to supporting STEM Education and scientific research opportunities for high school students nationwide.
Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN)
Regeneron is committed to creating Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) career pathways in ways that ensure diversity, equity and opportunity for all students. We believe that scientists are the world’s heroes, and behind every great scientist are passionate, dedicated and highly-motivated teachers who make all the difference in their education and career trajectory. Regeneron invests in improving the skills of science educators and creating opportunities for hands-on science research for students.
Advancing STEM Researching Teaching (ASRT)
Advancing STEM Research Teaching (ASRT) Program is a multiple-day, in-person, professional development workshop focused on curriculum, activities, and guides to support high school teachers involved in providing science/STEM research opportunities for their students. ASRT is founded by Michael Blueglass, a high school science teacher with more than 35-years of teaching experience, most recently at Yorktown High School in Westchester County, NY where he taught from 2001 to 2020.
GoldenGate STEM Fair
The Golden Gate STEM Fair is an annual event intended to celebrate the excellent research completed by students in the San Francisco Bay Area community. The Fair itself is open to the public.
Over 70,000 Middle and High School students throughout the San Francisco Bay Area complete science projects for science fairs at their schools. Those projects judged to be of the highest quality compete in local city or county competitions.