Re-imagine Learning Experiences

Beth Vinson, Director of STEAM, Denver Public Schools

Beth Vinson brings over 16 years of expertise in K-12 and higher education to her role as Director of Curriculum and Instruction STEAM at Denver Public Schools. Prior to this position, she served as the Principal of a highly-regarded Dual Language Elementary school in Southwest Denver, where she was recognized as the 2019 School to Learn From for exceptional academic growth in mathematics and literacy. Beth has also demonstrated her commitment to educational equity and innovation as a lead principal for the Breakthrough Network, providing support and guidance to other school leaders.

Beth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and International Business from the University of Arizona, as well as a Master’s degree in Curriculum & Instruction and a Graduate Certificate & Principal Licensure from the University of Denver. She is also a proud recipient of the 2012 Presidential Award for Mathematics and Science Teachers, and a Leverage Leadership Institute Platinum Leader for 2020-21, a distinction reserved for only the most exceptional leaders in the field. With a proven track record in leadership development, team culture, and academic achievement, Beth is poised to make a significant impact at Denver Public Schools.

Following in the conversation we had with Beth.

As the Director of STEAM, what are some of your key roles and responsibilities that you have on a daily basis at Denver Public Schools?

As director of STEAM in Denver Public Schools, my role is to expand opportunities for learners, especially those historically underserved that will allow them to experience high-quality STEAM programming that provides a pathway to be future ready for industry 4.0. Our team consists of curriculum specialists and instructional coaches in the content areas of Science, STEM, Educational Technology, Arts and PE, Comprehensive Health, and Library Services. We work to create systems, resources, and professional learning that will engage teachers, students, and families in robust STEAM bilingual programs and cultivate purposeful partnerships across our community.

Our team recently collaborated with the DPS Career and Technical Education department to create the first district-wide Computer Science Week Hour of Code initiative. The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code," to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science.  This year's theme is Learn Computer Science. Change the World. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts.

“We work to create systems, resources, and professional learning that will engage teachers, students, and families in robust STEAM bilingual programs and cultivate purposeful partnerships across our community.”

Our team coordinated resources and professional learning to support teachers across the district. Over 7,000 students participated. Our Governor, Jared Polis made a video to support the initiative and Google and Crusoe Energy visited schools to volunteer in classrooms. Students received Hour of Code stickers to wear home and were encouraged to tell their families about the experience. It was amazing to visit schools during the week and see learners engaged with a variety of coding experiences.

STEAM education has always been vital, but perhaps now is the time when it’s more important than ever. Society is advancing toward the age of robotics, artificial intelligence and interconnected machines making daily life easier. Your views on this?

The top emerging roles for 2025 according to the Future of Jobs Survey 2020, World Economic Forum are increasingly technology driven. When we think about preparing students for these careers as data analytics, AI and machine learning specialists, digital marketing and strategy specialists, process automation specialists, and business development specialists, we have a responsibility to lean into this learning as educational professionals. It is essential to equip educators with the resources and skills that will allow students to have foundational exposure in these areas. We are excited to begin a partnership with Intel Skills for Innovation to support technology-infused learning experiences that build future-ready skills in learners.

Learning about science, technology, engineering and mathematics is essential for today’s students. If the world hopes to keep its forward progress, will it need more scientific minds to develop and build its robots, devices and machine-learning programmes? Please elaborate.

New jobs require different skills focused on developing higher-order thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and soft skills in addition to technology skills. Students will need to utilize analytical thinking and innovation, complex problem solving, creativity, originality, and initiative to be successful with the technology demands of the future.

Denver Public Schools has a longstanding partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder School Wide Labs and the Artificial Intelligence Institute for Student-AI Teaming. This partnership has supported the development of middle school curriculum units anchored in phenomena, aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and purposefully integrated Computational Thinking (CT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Integrating technology with science has been pivotal in our strategy for accelerating learning and preparing future-ready students.

What would be your piece of advice for your fellow peers and leaders?

I would advise peers and leaders to build a diverse cross-functional team that will cultivate university and community partnerships to help re-imagine learning experiences with technology to empower learners to become the confident innovators of the 4th industrial revolution.

Artificial Intelligence

Robotics

Educational Technology

Machine Learning

Industry 4.0

Digital Marketing

Leadership Development

Process Automation

Marketing