STEM-it Up 2

STEM-it Up2 (SIU2) is the same species, just a new cultivar! SIU2 is a three-year professional development program designed to deepen teacher understanding of the interconnectedness of agriculture, focusing on the identified needs in the “green industry.” Join the SIU2 team in an immersive program exploring each stage of the fresh-cut flower industry. Unlike any other program, SIU2 is an authentic, transformative, active professional development where secondary agriscience teachers create innovative learning modules based directly on their immersive, firsthand accounts of the floriculture/green industry, and then teach and disseminate the curriculum to other educators. STEM-it Up2 is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy program and is also sponsored in part by the American Floral Endowment. Clemson University will collaborate with the University of Florida, Virginia Tech, Michigan State, and Louisiana State Universities to host the SIU2 program.

Image of a science classroom with people learning.

About Past Programs

The STEM it Up (SIU) program, launched in 2019 with support from the American Floral Endowment, aims to enhance professional development for agriscience teachers and raise awareness of floriculture and horticulture careers. By leveraging school-based agricultural education (SBAE), the program fosters interest in plant science and guides students toward post-secondary education and careers in the plant science industry. SIU provides agriscience teachers with resources and support from universities and industry partners to integrate STEM concepts into plant science curricula. The program offers a three-day professional development series at Clemson University and a virtual format when in-person attendance is not possible.

Curriculum development uses inquiry-based instruction to teach floriculture science with a focus on STEM concepts. Virtual tours and lab investigations are delivered through a Learning Management System. Agriscience teachers were selected annually from 2019-2022 to attend the professional development program. The previous programs 2019- SIU. 2020- SIU 2.0. 2021-SIU 3.0. 2022- SIU 4.0  impacted over 75 agriscience teachers and beyond 15,000 of their secondary students from 34 states across the nation.

Goals of SIU

  • Provide agriscience teachers around the nation with the knowledge, technical skills, and resources to confidently teach numerous aspects of floriculture in their secondary SBAE curriculum.

  • Educate and excite teachers about career possibilities in floriculture in their secondary SBAE curriculum.