Resources from STEM Smart Workshops

The mission of the Loudoun County Public Schools Academy of Science (AOS) is to provide an academic environment where students are encouraged to develop creative scientific endeavors of their own design, while having the opportunity to pursue a rich, well-rounded high school experience.

The Maker Movement is inspiring thousands of young people across the nation to tinker with and tackle problems involving design, engineering, and programming. There is a strong sense that young makers are accomplishing much more than producing objects—they also seem to be acquiring a host of valuable knowledge and skills. Because making is a relatively recent phenomenon, there are not yet frameworks in place for identifying and documenting these benefits to youth. What are makers learning? How is making changing the way young people engage in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)?

Co-curricular programs complement the formal curriculum and often have sessions outside of the regular school day. A review of evaluation reports from afterschool Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs, both co-curricular and extra-curricular, by the Afterschool Alliance found that students attending these programs had improved attitudes toward STEM fields and careers; increased STEM knowledge and skills; and had a higher likelihood of graduating and pursuing a STEM career. Afterschool programs can provide a safe place for students to explore a STEM field, which contributes to student gains in intellectual skills and temperament to become a scientist.

One of the country’s most successful programs of its kind, Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) provides academic support for thousands of educationally disadvantaged students so they can excel in math and science and graduate with baccalaureate degrees in science, engineering, computer science, and other math-based fields.

The need for research-based recommendations for mathematics instruction for English learners (ELs), aligned with the <em>Common Core State Standards (CCSS), cannot be overstated. The recommendations focus on improving mathematics learning and teaching through language for all students, and especially for ELs. Although it is difficult to make generalizations about the instructional needs of all students who are learning English, instruction should be informed by knowledge of students’ experiences with mathematics instruction, language history, and educational background (Moschkovich, 2010). In addition, research suggests that high-quality instruction for ELs that supports student achievement has two general characteristics: a view of language as a resource rather than a deficiency and an emphasis on academic achievement, not only on learning English (Gándara & Contreras, 2009).

Moving Next Generation Science Standards into Practice was funded by the National Science Foundation to develop a middle school ecology unit and professional development program that models the three-dimensional learning envisioned in the Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

The world economy is rapidly outpacing America’s development of STEM talent. Our students must learn more, do more, and create more. To meet this challenge, thousands of STEM professionals are ready to join forces with new and accomplished teachers to develop the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders we need to thrive in a global economy.

Kansas is one of 26 lead states that have been actively involved with the development of the NGSS and one of 45 states involved with the Building Capacity for State Science Education project of the Council of State Science Supervisors. Now that these standards are nearly complete, it is time to think deliberately about implications for adoption and implementation— 25 STRAND: Supportive Infrastructure for STEM Learning PRESENTER: Matt Krehbiel, Kansas State Department of Education Prepared for STEM Smart: Lessons Learned From Successful Schools, an NSF event held on March 22, 2013, at University of Maryland, Baltimore ways to leverage partnerships to increase capacity for science education not only within, but also between, states.

The National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) are a group of interdisciplinary centers located at universities all across the United States, each in close partnership with industry. ERC innovations in research and education are expected to impact curricula at all levels, from pre-college to lifelong learning, and to be disseminated to and beyond their academic and industry partners. A vital part of ERC education programs are outreach efforts to bring engineering concepts to pre-college classrooms, with the aim of attracting students to engineering and STEM careers. Because ERCs play a critical role by integrating research, education, diversity, outreach, and industrial collaboration, the NSF views ERCs as change agents for academic engineering programs and the engineering community at large.

The Pathways Professional Development Model for Precalculus Level Mathematics (P3DM) has developed resources including student curricula (e.g., in-class student activities, an online interactive textbook, online videos), teacher materials (e.g., teacher notes, exemplary lecture videos, and dynamic computer applets for use in instruction), and workshops designed to support teachers in engaging their students in genuine inquiry and mathematically substantive conversations.