Learning & Improving in Community

We designed a learning community that leverages the power of a network and improvement science to engage in work with a collective impact. Pre-college STEM program leaders from across the country work together, learn together, and strengthen their practice in a disciplined way.

This learning engine is accredited by Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS).

Middle States and STEM PUSH logos

MSA accreditation credentials STEM PUSH as a learning services provider. Through this model, STEM PUSH has established a novel pathway for program accreditation with MSA, based on meeting and improving along our standards, and allows us to advocate collectively for the quality and improvement-centered work of the network.

The central tenets of a networked improvement community inform our current continuous improvement efforts, including:

STEM PUSH Quality Standards

Focusing the work is a set of evidence-based practices for precollege programs to effectively support students on a path to STEM postsecondary education. Our quality standards help programs reflect and plan, help us see Network needs and assets, and help us benchmark progress over time.
View our quality standards

Root Cause Analysis

In 2020, STEM PUSH engaged in a collaborative process to understand why precollege STEM programs working alone had not significantly broadened access along STEM pathways.

Theory of Improvement

After mapping the system producing our problem, we worked with our stakeholders to determine what we wanted to accomplish together (our aim) and to identify the most high leverage areas that we could work on to achieve that aim (our theory of improvement). This is an active process and is currently being optimized for the next phase of STEM PUSH.

Networked Improvement Community Collective Learning

The STEM Push Network has engaged in a collective impact approach called a networked improvement community. After groups of programs implemented tests of change, learnings have been synthesized to share within and beyond our network.
See what we've learned

The STEM PUSH Network has increased the capacity of 40 pre-college STEM programs, supporting 8,000+ students each year on pathways to STEM undergraduate study.

What Programs Are Saying

Cynthia
"It's been really nice to connect with some of the other pre-college STEM programs. We have very unique issues that others, including colleagues at the University, might not understand. We are now part of a community where we are facing a lot of the same things, and we can support each other. It's very easy for us to vocalize the issues and help each other out."
David
"I was drawn to STEM PUSH because I am a strong believer in the power of networks. I have found it very valuable for my own programming to have a professional learning community. I'm always learning from my peers and it just makes my programing better for my students."
Janiene
"STEM PUSH was a perfect opportunity to be able to work with colleagues across the country to learn more and really get professional development that I was not going to have access to otherwise. I knew I would be able to learn from what others have done and build a program in a way that would really support our students."
Grady
"Participating in STEM PUSH has energized me and given me more clarity of purpose around how important the work is. I'm basically a committee of one. I don't have a staff, and use instructors who are are contract to help me execute the coding curriculum and instruction. I don't have an assistant. I don't have a peer group. So, when I get the opportunity to share and bounce ideas off others, it's very, very helpful. Specifically, STEM PUSH is allowing me to think bigger about what I want to do to scale my program. The ability to dream, and to show how relevant our work within communities really is; and to show that nationally."

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Please contact us for information to learn more about our programs, initiatives, and strategic partnerships.

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General Inquires

University of Pittsburgh

Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

Department of Biological Sciences
Langley Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15260

BESTEM@pitt.edu