STEMx

Celebrating the 2023 STEM Innovation Forum

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 18:43:11 GMT

by Heather Sherman, Director of STEMx

The 2023 STEM Innovation Forum: Activating Collaborations to Advance an Inclusive STEM Workforce was a success! Through our collaboration with STEMconnector and Million Women Mentors, we convened 160 leaders from industry, government, non-profit organizations, and education institutions from all over the United States to discuss strategies and best practices to support the STEM workforce.

We were honored to host a variety of dynamic speakers including:

Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado
Brynt Parmeter, Chief Talent Management Officer, U.S. Department of Defense
Dr. Athina Kanioura, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, PepsiCo and
Dr. Lisa Hinkelman, Founder and CEO of Ruling Our eXperiences (RoX).

We extend our gratitude to our panelists, Learning Session speakers, and participants who joined us in Denver.

Broadening participation

We set out share information on trends in STEM education and workforce development, with an emphasis on broadening participation in STEM careers. Resources from sessions highlighting strategies for broadening participation are linked below:

Driving change

Another goal of the forum was to feature high impact strategies, programs and solutions that are driving change, and STEMx members from LASTEM , the PAST Foundation and MBRT showed how they are engaging youth and building career awareness through their workforce programs.

Emerging technologies

We looked towards the future to better understand how emerging technologies will change the world and the ways we must prepare STEM talent for jobs in logistics, artificial intelligence, research safety , bioenergy , and renewable technologies. Chevron‘s sponsored panel, “Cultivating the Talent to Drive the Innovation and Technologies for Ever-Cleaner Energy” was a rich discussion featuring experts from Chevron, Project Lead the Way and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Dr. Jamie Vernon, Executive Director, and CEO, Sigma Xi Society was a fantastic moderator for this discussion.

Next steps

We have linked event resources including videos, slide decks and collateral on the event landing page . The event photo gallery is located there as well.

If you attended, please complete our 30 second event survey . Five lucky winners will be selected at random to receive a Forum water bottle! More importantly, your feedback matters to us.

If you did not attend, mark your calendar for next fall - we’re looking to make next year even bigger! If you are interested in hosting in your state, or have thoughts about compelling content that we should include, please reach out to Heather Sherman .

STEM Innovation Forum: Agenda and New Sponsors

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 19:36:21 GMT

Join us for The STEM Innovation Forum: Activating Collaborations to Advance an Inclusive STEM Workforce

The STEM Innovation Forum is taking place on October 19th and 20th at the new, state-of-the-art Colorado State University Spur Campus in Denver, Colorado. The Forum will engage stakeholders across the STEM education and workforce development ecosystem. Leaders from industry, government, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and STEM networks will have unmatched opportunities to collaborate to advance a diverse, robust and sustainable STEM workforce across the U.S.

Agenda Day 1 (Thursday, October 19th)

8 am - 4 pm

Breakfast & Registration
Welcome
Keynote: A Total Force Talent Acquisition and Management Strategy for Defending our Nation, Brynt Parmeter, Chief Talent Management Officer, Department of Defense
Panel 1: High-Impact Strategies for Sustained Industry Engagement in STEM Workforce Development
Learning Sessions (details coming soon)
Fireside Chat: Employer Roles in Supporting STEM Education
Lunch
Learning Sessions (details coming soon)
Presentation: Leveraging Technology to Support Non-Traditional Talent: A Case Study with Walmart and AtlasJobs

5:30 pm: Cocktail reception

Agenda Day 2 (Friday, October 20th)

8 am - 2 pm

Breakfast
Welcome
Keynote: How Digitalization is Transforming PepsiCo for the Future, Dr. Athina Kanioura, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, PepsiCo
Panel 2: An Industry in Transition - Implications for STEM Education and Workforce Development: A Clean Energy Case Study
Keynote: Cracking the Gender Code: Girls’ Confidence and STEM, Dr. Lisa Hinkleman, Founder & CEO, Ruling Our Experiences (ROX)
Learning Sessions (details coming soon)
Lunch
Panel 3: Innovations in Higher Education to Advance Student Learning and Workforce Development
Closing

Register today for the STEM Innovation Forum, October 19-20, 2023

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 13:15:19 GMT

Registration is now open for the STEM Innovation Forum hosted by STEMx , STEMconnector and Million Women Mentors .

The Forum will be held in Denver, Colorado on October 19-20, 2023, at the Colorado State University Spur Campus , and will engage stakeholders across the national and regional STEM education and workforce development ecosystems. Leaders from industry, government, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and STEM networks will have unmatched opportunities to collaborate to advance a diverse, robust and sustainable STEM workforce across the U.S.

Forum participants will:

Learn about trends in STEM education and workforce development, with an emphasis on broadening participation
Discover high-impact strategies, programs and solutions to advance an inclusive STEM workforce
Explore how emerging technologies are changing the world of work, and the implications for preparing STEM talent
Connect with like-minded thought-leaders in the STEM ecosystem

Forum themes include:

Implementing robust, scalable and sustainable solutions that meet the needs of the STEM workforce.
Increasing opportunities for all individuals at every age and stage of STEM education and workforce development to pursue, persist and succeed in STEM education and careers.
Developing a responsive STEM education and workforce system that addresses emerging technologies and changes in the world of work.

*Please note STEMx members will receive 2 complimentary registrations. Please reach out to Heather Sherman for member registration promo codes. Capacity is limited!

Learning Session proposals sought! Apply by August 15

We are seeking proposals for Learning Sessions (50-minute concurrent sessions), to ensure we have a variety of strategies, approaches and organizations represented at the STEM Innovation Forum. If you have an example of a program, resource, or collaboration that is effectively advancing an inclusive STEM workforce, apply here to lead a Learning Session. Preference will be given to submissions that feature collaborations between various organizations.

Session Proposals are due August 15, 2023. Contact us for more information.

Sponsorships available

Learn more about the forum and opportunities for sponsors .

Act now to shape the 2023-2028 Federal STEM Strategic Plan

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 16:50:42 GMT

A new series of listening sessions from the White House will lay the groundwork for the next Federal STEM Strategic Plan and we need your input!

Together, the members of STEMx advance high quality STEM education as a workforce and equity imperative. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is taking feedback on the upcoming Federal STEM Strategic Plan. Using the form below, share some of your ideas and the STEMx Policy Advisory Team will share this feedback with OSTP.

OSTP will host a series of virtual listening sessions to inform the development of the next Federal STEM Strategic Plan. Six sessions will be held between March 15 – 24. From OSTP, the aim of these sessions is to gather “information and perspectives on the challenges faced by – and within – the STEM ecosystem in the United States and solutions that might be implemented by the U.S. Government” from a variety of stakeholders.

Members of the STEMx Policy Advisory Team will attend the listening sessions on behalf of STEMx. They will represent the identified STEMx policy priorities, along with STEMx member feedback on the topics identified by OSTP. These topics are the themes for the listening sessions, and will likely show up in the final STEM Strategic Plan:

STEM Education: Support learners and educators in and across all science and technology disciplines
STEM Workforce Development: Prepare and recruit our Nation’s future STEM workforce
STEM Workforce: Foster inclusive STEM learning and working spaces to retain STEM learners and workers
STEM Engagement: Foster meaningful community and public engagement in science and technology
STEM Research and Innovation Capacity: Build and drive capacity and cutting-edge STEM (and STEM education) research and development
The National STEM Ecosystem

This is the moment to help OSTP create a Federal STEM Strategic Plan that reflects the reality we live in, work in, and experience each day. This is the moment to show the power of the STEMx network – to use our collective voice to shape the direction of the plan, to help define the language used, and highlight proven strategies that can make a difference for all STEM learners.

We are collecting STEMx member feedback here . Over the next week, add feedback, thoughts, statistics related to that topic. The Policy Advisory Group members will share this feedback on behalf of STEMx during the Listening Sessions.

The listening sessions are open to the public. Visit the OSTP website for a complete list of sessions, times and registration links.

STEMx on the Hill: Policy Briefing and Advocacy Day

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 19:27:24 GMT

Policy Briefing & Advocacy Day

March 21-22, 2023

STEMx is hosting a Congressional advocacy event exclusively for our members in Washington, DC on March 21-22, 2023! Join fellow STEM leaders on Capitol Hill to meet with federally elected officials and key policymakers. Advocate together for high-quality STEM education opportunities as a workforce and equity imperative.

The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 authorized new and expanded investments in STEM education and training from K-12 to community college, undergraduate and graduate education. The act's passage offers a powerful chance to renew the focus on STEM education and the 21 ^st century workforce. As leaders of STEM networks, we need to use the power of our collective voice to help our policymakers prioritize investments and legislation that fully support STEM education and workforce development.

Benefits of attending STEMx on the Hill:

Represent your STEM network as part of a national movement to advocate for STEM education.
Meet your state’s Congressional Delegation, and advocate for your state’s STEM priorities.
Network with other STEMx members to share policy ideas and best practices.
Participate in panel discussions with key policymakers.

Who should attend STEMx on the Hill?

All STEMx members are invited and encouraged to attend. You are welcome to bring other members of your organization, particularly those who are engaged in policy and advocacy. Since STEMx no longer has access fees, each attendee is responsible for lodging and travel costs.

Agenda

March 21, 2023 – Policy Briefing on Capitol Hill*

2:00 – 2:30 PM: STEMx member welcome

2:45 – 3:45 PM: Meet with committee professional staff

4:00 – 6:00 PM: Policy Briefing and Reception for STEMx members and invited guests

7:30 – 10:30 PM: Private bus tour, DC Monuments

*confirming meeting locations, but expect to meet on Capitol Hill from 2-6 pm.

March 22, 2023 – Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill

8:00 – 9:00: STEMx member breakfast (hosted by STEMx, location TBD)

9:30 – 11:00 AM: Individual meetings with members

11:00 – 12:30 PM: US Capitol Tour (optional)

12:30 – 3:00 PM: Individual meetings with members

Registration and lodging

Registration for STEMx on the Hill is open through March 1, 2023. STEMx and Battelle staff will provide guidance and support for preparing for your meetings. We can help you navigate the process of scheduling, preparing, and finding the right office location on the Hill. All STEMx on the Hill participants are all asked to attend our preparation session on March 16, 2023 from 12:00 - 1:00 PM, ET.

Suggested Hotels – Reserve Quickly – Cherry Blossom Fest begins March 20th!

Hilton Washington DC Capitol Hill 525 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001
Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall 400 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20024
Holiday Inn Washington Capitol-Natl Mall 550 C St SW, Washington, DC 20024

If you have any questions about STEMx on the Hill, please contact Heather Sherman .

Get involved in STEM education advocacy!

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 18:19:22 GMT

A widely cited differentiator and value-add for members is the focus and expertise at STEMx on education policy advocacy, particularly at the federal level. We’re launching three new opportunities to help STEMx educate leaders about legislative policy advocacy and leverage the expertise within the network to advance high quality STEM as a workforce and equity imperative, in each state and nationally.

Each of us is called to be an advocate for high-quality STEM education within the bounds of our current organizational roles. Whether you are permitted to lobby or not, all of us can (and should) educate our elected officials about issues we are facing as we work to promote access to STEM.

To support and engage your efforts in education policy advocacy, we’re announcing:

Plans for a STEM Policy Forum in March 2023
Formation of a STEMx Policy Advisory Group
First cohort of the STEMx Policy Institute

STEM Policy Forum in March 2023

We are planning a STEM Policy Forum for late March 2023, in Washington DC. Please hold March 21-23 for now, and we will confirm the exact dates as soon as possible. More details about the Policy Forum will be forthcoming.

The STEM Policy Forum will build two other new programs: the Policy Advisory Group and Policy Institute.

Policy Advisory Group

The Policy Advisory Group will consist of 6-8 STEMx members who will:

Help identify STEMx policy priorities for the next two years
Develop and share STEMx policy platform
Share their expertise with other members through mentorship
Provide occasional support for the STEMx Policy Institute

The Policy Advisory Group will meet about six times per year. The term of service is one year, with the option to renew after completing the first year. If you have experience influencing state or federal education policy, or if you are simply passionate about supporting STEMx policy work, please complete the form below. We will review the interest forms and be in touch before the end of 2022 if you are selected.

If you are not quite ready to serve on the Policy Advisory Group and would like to grow your own knowledge or comfort as an advocate for policies that support high quality STEM education, our second offering, the STEMx Policy Institute might be of interest to you.

Click here for the Combined Policy Advisory Group/Policy Institute Interest Form

Policy Institute

The STEMx Policy Institute is a 10-month, cohort-based program to help STEMx members build their personal and organizational capacity to effectively advocate for high-quality STEM education as a state and national priority. The program is open to STEMx members, or an appointed staff designee. This program is open to people who are new to advocacy, and those who have lots of experience to share!

Policy institute participants will:

Become more knowledgeable and comfortable navigating the policy/advocacy space, at both the federal and state level
Identify opportunities and areas of focus for advocacy in their state
Use the design process to develop and implement a state-level STEM advocacy plan, including the creation and deployment of a public advocacy event to be held in 2023.
Prepare for the STEMx policy seminar in March 2023 – storytelling, prepare asks, prioritize meetings

The Policy Institute requires an application to participate. The application is not competitive, rather, the application is a way to gauge interest and assess participant background.

Click here for the Combined Policy Advisory Group/Policy Institute Interest Form

Policy Institute Schedule and Topics

Meetings will be held on Fridays (monthly) from 12-1:30 pm ET, via zoom. Below is a list of topics and activities planned for the cohort. This could be adjusted to address the needs of the cohort.

January 2023 Meeting

Navigating the bounds of advocacy in your current role
State vs federal lawmakers
How do you find your representatives?

February 2023 Meeting

Identify policy priorities in your state
Conducting effective outreach
Storytelling – getting your message across

March 2023 Meeting

Prepare for policy fly-in
Peer feedback on messaging
Initial discussion about state policy plans

April 2023 Meeting

Debrief policy fly in – what worked? Lessons learned?
Guest speaker
Brainstorm components of advocacy plan and outreach policy event

May 2023 Meeting

Submit draft plans
Gather peer feedback on draft plans
Guest speaker

June 2023 Meeting

Pitch plans to Policy Advisory Group
Guest speaker
No July meeting – incorporate feedback from Advisory Group, modify plan

August 2023 Meeting

Initial planning for a STEMx national STEM Day initiative

September 2023 Meeting

October 2023 – Present at Summit

If you’d like to participate in either the Policy Advisory Group or Policy Institute, please complete this form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1HLmqjahzF11Gl_0z8mQFVlo1bBSSFEMaGRMNlKxJ-ck/edit

Share how #YOUbelonginSTEM for National STEM Day, November 8th

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 19:11:17 GMT

On October 12th, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten announced the YOU Belong in STEM initiative at the Innovating for the Future Summit , held by STEMConnector, Million Women Mentors, and the STEMx network.

This initiative aims to improve STEM education outcomes by advancing a sense of inclusion and belonging in STEM for all students and teachers and has three primary goals:

Ensure all Pre-K-Higher Education students have access to, and benefit from rigorous, relevant, and joyful STEM learning.
Support STEM educators by strengthening opportunities to join, grow, and stay in the STEM teaching field.
Encourage education and youth-serving systems and organizations to invest American Rescue Plan and other federal, state, and local funds in STEM education.

As a network of organizations poised to expand participation in STEM among historically underrepresented groups, we can think of no better initiative to support on National STEM Day than YOU Belong in STEM, and we invite you to join us! Let’s leverage the power of our networks to shine a spotlight on STEM education and highlight your efforts to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and access in STEM.

Please join us in this simple, high-impact effort by following the steps below:

Step 1: Consider these questions:

Why is diversity in STEM important?
Why is it important that all students and teachers believe that they have a place in STEM?
What can you do, or what are you already doing, to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in STEM?
Why is an initiative like YOU Belong in STEM important?
Or, if you're a student: How do you belong in STEM?

Step 2: Make a short (30-second) video on your phone.

Answer one of the questions above.
Conclude your video with the statement, “YOU Belong in STEM.”

Step 3: Upload your video by Monday, November 7th

Upload your video here and label it with your first and last name, job title and organization name as follows:
NAME_STEMleader_STEMorganization

Step 4: Follow along and share on Tuesday, November 8th!

Follow @STEMx on Twitter you'll see as we tweet out each new video.

Need a few ideas to get you started? Check out the videos below from some of the leaders at STEMconnector, Million Women Mentors and STEMx.

Advocacy creates opportunities in CHIPS Act

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 18:33:23 GMT

The bipartisan 2022 CHIPS and Science Act has some exciting provisions for K-12 students in rural communities—thanks in part to the work of Battelle. Battelle manages a range of programs advancing STEM education, including the STEMx network. Battelle, on behalf of STEM educators nationwide wide, advocated for key elements of the bill to key leaders in Congress.

Idaho

Idaho STEM Action Center: STEM education, including the STEMx network. Battelle, on behalf of STEM educators nationwide wide, advocated for key elements of the bill to key leaders in Congress. LINK
Idaho National Laboratory: STEM education, including the STEMx network. Battelle, on behalf of STEM educators nationwide wide, advocated for key elements of the bill to key leaders in Congress. LINK

The new law includes a rural STEM education pilot program modeled after the Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative (TRSC), developed by the Battelle-managed Tennessee STEM Innovation Network (TSIN).

The Rural STEM Collaborative Pilot included in the bill authorizes the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish “regional cohorts in rural areas that will provide peer support, mentoring, and hands-on research experiences for rural STEM educators, principals, and other school leaders of students in prekindergarten through grade 12, in order to build an ecosystem of cooperation among educators, principals, other school leaders, researchers, academia, and local industry.”

Thomas Phillips, Senior Congressional Affairs Specialist on the Government Relations & Public Policy team in Washington D.C., says the initiative has been a long time coming. “We started discussions with the House Science Committee over three years ago, during the last Congress, when they were developing a draft bill to promote rural STEM education,” he explained.

At that time, committee staff reached out to learn more about the STEM education initiatives at the Department of Energy (DOE) national labs that Battelle manages, many of which tend to be in rural communities. Ultimately, however, the committee decided to move the focus to new programs at NSF, rather than DOE, in order to better align with a similar measure being considered in the House.

While initially disappointed, Phillips saw an opportunity to introduce the committee staff to the Tennessee and Ohio STEM initiatives that Battelle manages Through those conversations, committee staff learned about the model of the Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative. They were impressed. An initial bill with language modeled on TRSC passed quickly, with strong bipartisan support in the House, but was ultimately stalled in the Senate in the last Congress. Fortunately, the bill (and the Battelle-developed pilot program) was re-introduced in this Congress and quickly passed both chambers. After a year in legislative limbo, the bills were finally conferenced together in the CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by President Biden on Aug. 9. Through it all, Battelle has been working both behind the scenes and with many coalitions and partners to influence the direction and language of the new law.

The success of TSIN and OSLN caught the attention of lawmakers early on. The NSF pilot program written into the CHIPS and Science Act is directly modeled after the TRSC. The Battelle Government Relations and Education teams also had the opportunity to provide input into the rest of the bill.

“We leveraged the expertise of not just the OSLN and TSIN but all our STEMx membership and crafted cohesive policy recommendations based on the real-world experiences of our network leaders and educators in their communities,” said Phillips.

Battelle also helped to shape language defining STEM ecosystems as networks, which has a direct impact on what kinds of organizations will be eligible for the newly authorized NSF funds. We hope to see the Rural STEM Collaborative pilot adopted by more state and regional STEM networks as a result of the new legislation. More work remains to be done; while the bill authorizes funding for NSF to establish additional regional rural STEM networks, funds have not yet been appropriated by Congress.

“I plan to stay engaged as NSF moves into the implementation stage. This is a great opportunity for the Education team to scale up and expand our impact with help from NSF,” said Phillips . “Seeing this through to implementation will demonstrate to the House Science Committee their instinct to come to us as experts was right. It will help us work with them to shape the policy of tomorrow.”

STEMx will host conversations with members about the CHIPS and Science Act in the coming months, to strategize how we can effectively use these funds to advance high-quality STEM education nationally.

Institute of Transportation Engineers publishes free STEM lessons

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 17:28:49 GMT

Q: Why and how should transportation matter to students involved in STEM education?

A: Transportation is part of our lives every day, whether in how we travel or in how things we need get to us. Because we are all so involved in transportation, it is easy to take it for granted and not recognize its importance or what it takes to ensure our systems work well.

There are so many diverse applications of STEM in transportation. We need bright minds bringing diverse perspectives to solve the transportation challenges of now and the future – from creating sustainable and environmentally friendly vehicles and systems to integration of robotics and autonomous driving to design innovations that enable people with physical or other limitations to safely get to where they need to go.

No matter what your STEM interest, you can find a way to have a successful career in transportation.

Q: Tell us about the transportation resources developed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers: What is the ITE, and why did it create these resources? What do they consist of, and what level of students are they for?

A: ITE – A Community of Transportation Professionals is an international membership association of transportation professionals who work to improve mobility and safety for all transportation system users and help build smart and livable communities.

The organization includes a diverse range of transportation professionals who work to improve transportation systems and our communities in a variety of ways. ITE recognizes the importance of building a pipeline of STEM professionals for the transportation workforce, which is why the ITE STEM Committee was created.

The STEM resources are intended to help students learn about transportation topics and careers and to provide support for teachers or ITE members who want to lead transportation learning activities for K-12 students.

There are resources available for preK-high school students ( https://www.ite.org/stem ), including hands-on activities, research projects and career videos (plus more).

Q: How can teachers use these resources in the classroom? Can students use the resources on their own?

A: Each of the STEM lessons available on the site provides information about the grade level most likely to benefit from the activity, background information needed to successfully lead the activity, expected duration and material requirements. These lessons can be integrated into STEM classes or even math and science courses where topics covered are relevant.

For example, the Ramps and Friction activity can be introduced during science lessons when friction is being discussed to provide a hands-on learning experience. Students can also use the resources on their own to explore career options, such as by watching the videos of professionals talking about their careers or exploring the career resource links provided on the site.

Q: Can these materials be used to foster student interest in transportation careers?

A: Absolutely! Our committee’s goal with these resources is to make it easier for teachers and ITE members to share information about transportation careers. The activities and resources are designed to engage students in fun learning opportunities that help them understand the roles, impact and importance of transportation professionals.

Q: What do you see as the future of transportation? What kind of transportation careers might we see and how will they be different from today’s jobs? How can educators best prepare students for these careers?

A: The future of transportation is exciting – so much is changing as technology evolves. Transportation professionals of the future will be responsible for a complete transformation of our transportation systems as we move toward autonomous and connected vehicles and infrastructure. They will be involved in the move toward zero emissions to reduce the impact of transportation on our environment. They will also be at the forefront of designing systems so that our communities are livable and inclusive, providing accessibility to safe and efficient transportation for everyone.

All of these challenges require workers with stronger technical backgrounds and more interdisciplinary skills than ever before. There are opportunities for students through any educational pathway, from technical certifications to advanced university degrees.

Educators can help prepare students by exposing them to transportation topics and challenges, providing experiential learning opportunities where students can create, innovate and problem-solve, and engaging transportation professionals to bring real-world experience into the classroom.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about current and future STEM education in general?

A: As what is needed in the workplace continues to evolve, so must STEM education. The best path forward, in my opinion, is through partnerships between K-12, higher education and industry. By working together, we can create unique learning experiences that empower students to find their fit in terms of both educational and career pathways and better prepare them for the workforce of the future.

Pre-apprenticeship programs bring students inside careers

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 17:24:01 GMT

Q: You are working with STEMx on a training series on pre-apprenticeship programs for schools. What is a pre-apprenticeship program?

A: The U.S. Department of Labor defines pre-apprenticeship as a program or set of strategies designed to prepare individuals for entry into Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAP) or other job opportunities.

Youth pre-apprenticeships combine academic and technical classroom instruction with work experience that is directly linked with a RAP. Youth pre-apprenticeships may start any time during high school, but work-based learning experiences for youth may not begin before the youth turns 16.

Pre-apprenticeship programs have varied program elements; however, at the core, they place an individual on a pathway to employability through a RAP. Traditionally, apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships have been in construction and trades.

However, in the past several years, the Labor Department has been working closely with multiple industries to expand RAPs and registered pre-apprenticeship programs. Currently, apprenticeship spans more than 1,000 occupations including careers in health care, cybersecurity, information technology and energy.

Apprenticeship training is distinguished from other types of workplace training by several factors, including paid work experience, classroom instruction, mentorship and a portable, nationally recognized credential. Youth who complete a registered pre-apprenticeship receive a pre-apprenticeship certificate of completion that can be used as a demonstration of their competency.

Completion of a pre-apprenticeship does not require a person to enter a RAP, nor does it guarantee a position in a RAP. But it does provide a young person with a “leg up” as they matriculate to work or other post-secondary education or training.

Q: What characteristics make up a good pre-apprenticeship program?

According to the Labor Department, a quality pre-apprenticeship program provides:

Training and curriculum based on industry standards, approved by an apprenticeship sponsor.
Strategies that increase apprenticeship opportunities for disadvantaged individuals.
Access to support services that help participants remain in the program.
Collaboration with program sponsors to promote apprenticeship to other employers.
Hands-on experience that simulates work performed in an apprenticeship with proper supervision and safety protocols.
Formal agreements with apprenticeship sponsors for entry into registered apprenticeships (when possible).

As long as a registered pre-apprenticeship program complies with these requirements, it has tremendous flexibility in the depth and breadth of program experiences. This flexibility enables school and industry partners to create and personalize academic and work-based learning experiences to meet their region, industry and school needs.

Q: Are certain groups of students targeted for such a program?

A: While many Ohio high schools are interested in pre-apprenticeship programs to help students meet Ohio’s new career readiness competency alternative for graduation, pre-apprenticeship programs can and should be made available to any interested student.

Q: How do such programs differ from early college credit experiences?

A: Pre-apprenticeship programs generally do not include or require a student to complete college credit. That said, some registered pre-apprenticeship programs may include college level coursework that is relevant to the career field.

For example, if a two-year college or adult career center offers a college level course that prepares a student to successfully earn the Comp TIA IT Fundamentals + certification, then a student in an information technology focused pre-apprenticeship might be able to complete that certification and earn college credit or articulated college credit.

Q: What impacts do pre-apprenticeship programs have on students and the workplace?

A: Quality pre-apprenticeship programs are a starting point toward a successful career path for underrepresented job seekers (such as disadvantaged women and men, individuals with disabilities and others) who might not be aware of this approach to obtain good jobs with opportunities for advancement.

Pre-apprenticeships help individuals meet the entry requirements for apprenticeship programs and ensure they are prepared to be successful in their apprenticeship.

A wide variety of pre-apprenticeship programs serve a broad range of populations. Some programs focus on serving a specific target population, such as military veterans, while many pre-apprenticeship programs focus on youth. ( https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/apprenticeship/pdfs/pre_apprenticeship_guideforwomen.pdf page 3)

Q: What advice would you give a school administrator who wants to start a pre-apprenticeship program?

A: Each state has an office that manages the state’s pre-apprenticeship program. Contact that office and schedule a meeting to learn more about the state’s specific requirements.

Join EnvisionEdPlus for one of our upcoming training sessions. Visit the EnvisionEdPlus Eventbrite Page for registration information.

STEMx Hosts: A National Look at Promising Pre-Apprenticeship Practices (live virtual; Wednesday, April 27, 3-4 p.m. EDT). Free.
Pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships can be an attractive pathway to well-paying careers in skilled trades as well as health care, information technology and many more industry fields. This session is a national BYOP (bring your own partner) event where together you will learn about successful practices and models for pre-apprenticeships used across the nation.
EnvisionEdPlus: District Sponsored Pre-Apprenticeship Design Lab (live virtual; Wednesday, June 8, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. EDT). Free.
Did you know, districts and education service centers can be apprenticeship sponsors? As part of their statewide outreach plan for a RemotEDx grant, EnvisionEdPlus and Battelle’s STEMx national network will showcase how five Ohio districts have become state approved apprenticeship sponsors and designed personalized and flexible pre-apprenticeship programs to address critical staffing needs in their organizations. Meet the practitioners, discover their stories and reflect on how their lessons learned. Begin to create your own district sponsored pre-apprenticeship to apprenticeship program in your community.
EnvisionEdPlus: LaunchPad Summer Institute (Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 9-10, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. each day)
In person at the Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake in Geneva, Ohio.
Early Bird Registration of $750 per team of three to five ends May 31. (Regular registration fee is $900 per team.)
Join EnvisionEdPlus for a two-day LaunchPad immersive learning experience that will prepare high school teams to launch high quality career-college pathways including pre-apprentice to apprenticeship programs. Learn from and collaborate with like-minded education leaders as you envision, brainstorm and begin planning strategies to expand opportunities for your high school students. Youth will begin to see relevance in their learning; be exposed to practical, real-world work-based learning; and even begin to define their futures. Day 1 will focus on partnerships, plans and models. Day 2 will focus on brainstorming how Ohio’s flexibility options, work-based learning and “doable” credentials can enhance pre-apprenticeship experiences. Teams will meet one-on-one and in small groups with practicing schools and experts who will inspire innovation. Teams will also have time to work on their local plans.

Contact me at EnvisionEdPlus for more information or to learn how we can support your organization starting a youth pre-apprenticeship program.

Recent research shows that teacher professional development in science is key to student success

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 14:30:03 GMT

Q: How is the program designed?

The program is designed to be a system in which schools/districts opt-in and pay a one-time fee, which covers the cost of the curriculum. Each year districts pay a per student fee that covers the refurbishment and shipping of the kits. The kits ship to the teacher, they use them for 9-10 weeks, they pack them up, ship them back to us and then we ship them the next kit. The kits are shipped in a rotation—three to four kits in a school year. Teachers do not have to be concerned about shipping, but they do need to learn how to pack them back up.

Q: Who were the subjects of the study?

The subjects of this study were teachers and their students in Indiana in grades 3-5. The students were using the curriculum adopted by the Indiana Science Initiative.

Q: Explain what the article calls Collective Participation, and why does it matter?

Collective participation is when teachers from the same district and school engage in professional development together and form a supportive cohort, as opposed to isolated teacher participation. This allows colleagues to support each other during professional development sessions, and then to consult each other when encountering challenges and/or discussing changes they are making back in their classrooms. Collective participation can turn into collective support, which can help shift teacher beliefs and practices. It is important that the professional development help teachers build trust, as they work together to bridge the gap between current and new instructional practices

Q: What does this study tell us about designing effective professional development?

This study tells us that we need PD that is:

Job embedded
Of sufficient duration—at least 3 years
Supportive
Recent

Q: What are the benefits of integrating Science and ELA in Elementary settings?

Because science is often overlooked in K-4, integration with other subjects is a way to have more time for science and to give context.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add about this study?

While this study focused on the amount and recency, we also measured changes in teacher efficacy after two years.

View from DC: FY22 Appropriations final, Rural STEM act moving

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 13:09:58 GMT

Q: We’re a few months into calendar year 2022, and nearly halfway through the fiscal year; what’s going on with appropriations?

A: After many months, and nearly as many continuing resolutions (CRs), which carried us from October 1 ^st through last week, Congress finally passed an “omnibus” spending bill to finalize FY22 appropriations, and it was signed into law by President Biden on March 15 ^th . H.R. 2471, the FY2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act , is a package of all 12 regular spending bills, hence the Latin etymology for the package: omnibus means “for all.” While it’s a positive that FY22 spending is finally enacted, and at overall higher levels than FY21, the breakdown of the process is still concerning. During the FY22 process, the House only passed 9 of 12 regular appropriations bills, and the Senate passed none. Without a return to regular order (where both chambers consider and vote on a full slate of bills), the process will continue to be mired in controversy and plagued with delays.

I’ll speak more to those delays when I talk about the upcoming release of the President’s Budget Request (PBR). For now, however, I’d like to report out on the accounts of interest to the STEM education community. Below, I’ve updated the table shared with us by the STEM Education Coalition with the recently enacted FY22 funding levels.

You’ll see increases over FY21 in every account, although the final omnibus increases are not as high as those from the House-mark passed last summer. Notably, the Title I-A Grants to LEAs saw an increase of $1 billion, which is the largest increase to that program in over a decade. Additionally, Title II-A’s Supporting Effective Instruction grants saw an increase of $27 million. Title IV-A’s Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants were increased by $60 million (which is still over a quarter-billion dollars shy of the funding level authorized in ESSA), and Title IV-B’s 21 ^st Century Community Learning centers were increased by $30 million. The Education Innovation and Research program was increased by $40 million and CTE State Grants saw an additional $45 million over FY21. Finally, NASA’s STEM Engagement program was increased by $10 million, and the NSF’s Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate was increased by $32 million to bring the account just over $1 billion!

Q: When can we expect to see the President’s Budget Request (PBR) for FY23, and what happens next?

A: The initial PBR is expected to drop next week, on March 28 ^th . This is later than normal, but not quite as late as last year. I’ll note that despite arriving late, this PBR will just be a “skinny” budget, meaning we won’t have all of the granular details that come with each agency’s full request. Those will come later in the spring.

As far as what happens next, both chambers of Congress will be reviewing the request as they set their 302(b) allocations, and prepare their own appropriations bills for FY23. During this time, stakeholders will weigh in with the appropriations subcommittees on their own priorities, and eventually, each subcommittee should pass a bill to be considered by the full committee, then the full House or Senate. Congress has until September 30 ^th to pass all regular appropriations for FY23; however, we all know that they have a handy tool at their disposal which will allow them to bypass that deadline. My prediction today is that they’ll pass a CR until after the election – kicking the can down the road so they can focus on the midterms. What happens after that will be determined in the voting booth.

Q: You’ve laid out the budget and appropriations process for this year – what else is on the legislative table?

A: As I mentioned up front, the House and Senate are currently working on conferencing their differences on a major competitiveness package. Before known as the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) it’s now called America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act . It includes everything from re-authorizations for the NSF and the DOE Office of Science, to security and trade provisions, along with emergency supplemental appropriations for the semiconductor industry, which is facing a chip shortage. As far as large-scale, bipartisan legislation goes, this package does and has it all.

To that end, there are some provisions that the broader STEM community is trying to include in America COMPETES. Battelle and STEMx worked closely with the STEM Education Coalition and Senator Mark Kelly’s office on the recently introduced Strengthening STEM Ecosystems Act . That bipartisan legislation would complement the innovation components of the broader package, and efforts to incorporate it (in whole, or in part) are ongoing.

It’s going to take a concerted effort to get America COMPETES over the finish line, and especially within the timetable that Congressional leadership would like (that is, before Memorial Day recess). Assuming they meet that “deadline” Congress will not be in a hurry to get much else done until after the midterm elections are over. We can expect a bit of a lull through the summer and fall as they turn their attention to the campaign trail. Then, we’ll see a sudden flurry of legislative activity coming in November and December during the “lame-duck” for any and all outgoing members.

I’ll be going into a bit more detail and providing additional insight into the congressional calendar and STEMx’s engagement activities during my presentation to the STEMx Members Roundtable later today. Please join me, and bring your questions!

As always if you want to learn more about anything in this post, don’t hesitate to contact me .

Join International Women’s Day Virtual Event: Breaking the Bias

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 19:53:19 GMT

You are invited to celebrate International Women’s Day and #BreakTheBias with Million Women Mentors (MWM), STEMx, and Learning Blade.

International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, and marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

Join us on Tuesday, March 8th from 2 pm to 3:30 pm ET and hear from thought-leaders working across the STEM ecosystem about their organizational efforts to support women in pursuing, persisting and succeeding in STEM careers. Additionally, presenters will offer their ideas for what you and/or your organization can do to support women in the STEM workforce and ‘Break the Bias’ as it pertains to women in STEM.

Speakers include:

Kate Marshall, Former Lieutenant Governor of Nevada

Kate Marshall was elected Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 2018. She currently serves as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to

Governors in the Biden Administration. She was previously elected to two terms as Nevada’s State Treasurer, during which she helped manage the

state’s finances through the Great Recession. Prior to that she served as a trial attorney for the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, and as a Senior Deputy Attorney General in Nevada.

Governor of Arkansas’s Chief of Staff: Alison Williams

Alison Williams serves as Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Chief of Staff and Chairs the Newly formed Governor’s Women’s Commission. Her work includes managing a large team and supporting the Governor’s groundbreaking Computer Science Initiative that has led to the National Governor’s Association Chairman’s initiative on K-12 Computer Science Education. Many of these efforts include attracting more girls to these fields.

Featured organizations include:

As STEM evolves, so does South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 22:10:37 GMT

“There is not much in STEM that we have not done and done well.” That’s how Thomas T. Peters describes South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science. Peters is executive director of the coalition, which is based at Clemson University in Anderson, South Carolina. The coalition, created in 1993, under a different name, initially worked to support science and mathematics education in the state. Then, as the concept of STEM has evolved, so too has the coalition to become “both an advocacy and an action organization,” Peters said. To find out the details, we asked Peters some questions about the coalition, its partners and its programs:

Q: What is your source of funding? Do you have an affiliation/partnership with the state of South Carolina and its Department of Education?

A: About a dozen years ago, we learned a hard lesson about being overly reliant on a single source of funding. We went from a revenue base of about $3 million annually to $300,000 almost overnight. Never again!

Our current “secure” revenue source is a proviso that gives us access to the state’s Education Improvement Act fund. Additionally, we generate revenue through contracts with schools for specialized services, grants and gifts.

SCCMS is unique in its current iteration in that we are not directly affiliated with any government agency. That said, we work collaboratively with the state Department of Education to review and revise academic standards, promote computer science, support connections between STEM and career and technical education and more. We have also engaged with the state Department of Commerce in various STEM workforce efforts.

Q: Tell us about the South Carolina Grand Challenges in STEM: What are they, how did they come about, how have they shaped your work and how is SCCMS doing in meeting these challenges?

A: In 2017, we were awarded a STEMx /Battelle Challenge Grant. With additional support from Boeing SC, Comporium and Fluor, we hosted a Grand Challenges in SC STEM Summit. Dialogue was centered on research conducted by 100Kin10 , a national network committed to adding excellent STEM teachers to U.S. classrooms. The research identifying root causes and possible actions to address the critical shortage of STEM teachers was shared with thought leaders from across South Carolina who added to this knowledge base and critically examined the state of STEM education in South Carolina.

From this dialogue, we identified five key challenges associated with overarching themes of valuing STEM teachers and STEM teaching.

Q: What/who are your other notable partners and how do they help SCCMS advance STEM education in your state?

A: Every partner we have is notable in its own way. Our “Founding Partners,” those whose foresight and financial support created SCCMS as we know it today, are BMW Manufacturing Co., Michelin North America, Duke Energy and DuPont.

Of course, I must recognize Clemson University. SCCMS is not a stand-alone 501(c)(3). Clemson’s College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences and the Clemson University Foundation support our infrastructure and give us the ability to accept grants and gifts.

Other organizations, such as Lander University and Spartanburg School District 7, support our regional “bricks and mortar” needs. And hundreds of individuals volunteer their time and talents to our community STEAM festivals and other coalition initiatives.

Q: Your organization manages other STEM-based groups. How does that work? Tell us about these groups – S ² TEM Centers SC, DIG, STEMLinx – and the role you play in their work.

A: As I have mentioned, SCCMS is a true coalition. We are greater than the sum of our parts. And our parts are pretty great, too!

S ² TEM Centers SC is the living, functioning, current generation of the statewide network established by the SC Statewide Systemic Initiative. This action network is self-managed, with mission guidance and financial oversight from SCCMS. Its connection to SCCMS was codified by proviso in 2011. It is nearly impossible to determine where SCCMS ends and S ² TEM Centers SC begins. Two sides of the same coin as structured. Action and advocacy melded together.

Our partnerships with DIG , the EE Just Foundation and Million Women Mentors SC are a bit less obtuse. DIG and EE Just are nonprofits with their own boards of directors. We provide technical assistance in the form of a shared staff member with DIG and advocate for the programs of both. Million Women Mentors SC does not have nonprofit status. We manage their financial resources and contribute staff time to their efforts.

These three organizations do an incredible job reaching out to underserved populations including those in regions of our state where a personal connection is a key to credibility.

Q: What about your own programs, which include the upcoming STEM Education Month (March 14-April 11): Describe these programs and how they advance STEM education in your state.

A: STEM Education Month began as STEM Education Day at the State Capitol in 2018 and has continued to morph and grow. It was the brainchild of Rep. Sylleste Davis , who called on us to help create a platform to recognize student success in robotics competitions.

During STEM Education Month, which always kicks off on Pi Day, we now recognize dozens of STEM education focused programs, organizations and individuals including our STEM Educator of the Year. STEM Education Day at the State Capitol is scheduled for March 17.

Our other programs include the iMAGINE STEAM Festivals , which are community events to promote interest in STEAM learning and careers, and our social media presence. Along with our STEMLinx wakelet , we are active on Facebook, Twitter and via an e-newsblast.

During the 2020/21 fiscal year we recorded nearly 370,000 social media engagements.

Q: How is SCCMS helping to build the workforce of tomorrow?

A: The operative word for SCCMS when it comes to workforce is “opportunity.” As a lead organization, our efforts to increase opportunity are twofold. First and foremost, we support and improve STEM teaching through the work of our S ² TEM Centers SC education specialists. As an example, we are providing curriculum and content professional development to elementary teachers focused on student learning in science and engineering through a Smithsonian Science for North and South Carolina Classrooms partnership with the Smithsonian Science Education Center.

Second, we engage communities with their local STEM workplaces, as previously described, through the community-based iMAGINE STEAM Festivals.

As a partner organization, we add PK-12 STEM expertise to the efforts of many workforce focused organizations including the Department of Commerce, the Clemson University Center for Workforce Development and the SC Council on Competitiveness, the latter of which helps to promote STEM teaching as a STEM career by identifying and honoring a STEM Educator of the Year .

Q: What is SCCMS best known for? What is the biggest accomplishment of SCCMS in the past year or so?

A: I think, first and foremost, we have a reputation for versatility coupled with quality. There is not much in STEM that we have not done and done well. We have led instructional coaching initiatives, supported teachers as they added disciplinary literacy and computational thinking strategies to their repertoire, assisted schools seeking STEM certification, introduced preservice teachers to STEM concepts, piloted STEM activities in afterschool settings and much more. All, while maintaining a client satisfaction rating averaging 94% during the past four fiscal years.

I’ve heard that we are also known in some circles for our grit and determination. As you might imagine, we’ve been on the brink of extinction a few times over nearly 30 years, and still, here we are.

Q: What is on the drawing board for SCCMS?

A: I think it is time to be new again. As we emerge from pandemic times, we have an opportunity to rethink and reinvigorate our alignment with government agencies. Our crazy-quilt structure, patched together through three decades of birth and rebirth, is beautiful in its own way. And it is neither simple to understand, or explain, or to be passed along to an inevitable next generation of leadership.

Q: Give us a fun fact about yourself that other STEMx members might want to know.

A: As I think back across the years, there are many stories that could be told involving a velvet Elvis, or pirates, or “the bad table” or even a Will Ferrell moment in Florence.

These stories are best told over a good beer. Cheers!

From the classroom to White House and NASA, meet Cindy Hasselbring

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 22:26:12 GMT

In the field of STEM education and experiences, it would seem that Cindy Hasselbring has done it all – or close to it: teaching high school math courses for 16 years, becoming a pilot and creating a high school aviation curriculum, serving as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at the National Science Foundation, working at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, even turning a childhood interest in outer space into multiple applications to the U.S. astronaut program as an adult. And though she didn’t become an astronaut, she is now working for NASA on an online platform for educators. So what have all these experiences taught the former math teacher? We asked Hasselbring to share what she has learned about STEM education during her varied professional career:

Q: Did you have early experiences that influenced your career path in STEM? How important are such childhood exposures in shaping a youngster’s hopes and dreams?

A: My first memory of interest in STEM began when my parents took me to Kennedy Space Center as a young child. I was fascinated by the mock-up of the Saturn V mission control room that helped land a man on the moon. My dad told me that some men had planted a flag on the moon, and I remember looking up in the night sky for the flag on the moon. That initiated a curiosity in me about space, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Also, my mom’s best friend was a math education professor at a local university. She was constantly encouraging my brother and me in math by letting us play with her math teaching manipulatives, creating mathematical thinking games, etc. I grew up liking math as a result of her influence.

I think helping students think STEM is accessible to them at an early age is critical to their STEM success in the future. If students grow with the mindset their STEM skills are inadequate, it takes a lot more energy to help them think otherwise. We need to encourage their curiosity through inquiry, develop their problem-solving skills and build strong STEM knowledge and thinking.

Q: You spent 16 years as a high school math teacher in Michigan. How did those years in the classroom influence your views on the value of STEM education and how a STEM curriculum is best taught?

A: While I was teaching, I learned how to reflect on my practice and had to videotape myself teaching a few times. As I reviewed those taped lessons, I realized that what I said didn’t necessarily “translate” into what students heard.

I learned I needed to listen to more of their thinking to better identify their misconceptions and get to the “root of the problem.” It is so easy as an educator to want success for students but yet not give them enough time to “get there” on their own by allowing productive struggle.

Also, as a math teacher, I strived to include real world connections to the math content I was teaching. I was learning to fly and had a strong interest in space while in the classroom, so these were areas where I frequently looked for answers to the age-old question, “When are we ever going to use this?”

While learning to fly, I met another student pilot who happened to be a University of Michigan engineering professor and conducted research on Mars for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. I invited him to speak to my classroom of statistics students, and they were riveted by his presentation. I think helping students see the potential use of their STEM learning is very motivating and inspiring.

Q: What did you learn from your repeated applications to the U.S. astronaut program?

A: I learned that it was important to keep trying; quitting was not an option for me. I wanted to set a good example for my students and be sure that I would have no regrets – that I had left everything on the table.

As a result of trying to improve my skills and experiences to better my chances, I traveled to Japan three times to improve my understanding of Japanese culture (Japanese astronauts were hired the first time I applied); I gained my SCUBA certification (needed for spacewalking); took two courses in Japanese and two courses in Russian; and earned my pilot certificate.

I gained so much more than I lost from my five “failed attempts” that I never think of them as failures. They were examples of “rejection” turned into “redirection.” Because I wanted to become an astronaut, I became a pilot, which has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. This opened a large door to me into the aviation community, and now I help lead a high school girls aviation camp, which I have done for more than 10 years.

Q: As a member of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program, you worked in Washington, D.C., at the National Science Foundation (NSF) to help shape policy for the benefit of math and science teachers. How did that experience influence your views on government’s role in STEM education?

A: In my first year as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow, I supported the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching program that NSF manages on behalf of the White House. I greatly enjoyed my work in the program because this award meant so much to me when I received it in 2005, and it also provided the funding I needed to complete my private pilot certificate.

In my second year as an Einstein Fellow, my role shifted to supporting the assistant director of education and human resources at NSF in her work across the federal STEM education landscape. At the time, the Committee on STEM Education had been tasked with creating a federal STEM education strategic plan. I was able to support this interagency effort across several federal agencies, attended Federal Coordination in STEM Education subcommittee meetings with my supervisor and joined smaller groups tasked with writing sections of the strategic plan.

This was a wonderful experience for me and gave me a strong foundation in my role at the Office of Science and Technology Policy that came seven years later.

Q: You also worked as a senior director of high school aviation initiatives at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. What did that involve, and how did your previous experiences influence your projects there?

A: I was the initial leader of the High School Aviation Initiative at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the world’s largest aviation community. The initiative had only begun in thought when I started work, and I built the program almost from scratch.

This included developing a flight training scholarship program for high school students to learn to fly, leading development of high school aviation STEM curriculum (completely funded by donors and free to schools) that is now used in hundreds of schools across the country as full-year courses, often found in career and technical education programs; and organized an annual symposium for high school educators to learn about high school aviation programs and resources.

Prior to my role at AOPA, I led STEM initiatives for the Maryland State Department of Education. This role gave me a much better understanding of career and technical education (CTE) and its role in STEM. I believe this awareness spurred the concept of building aviation STEM curriculum that could be packaged as a CTE pathway.

Offering aviation curriculum during the school day led to a much more diverse student population involved in aviation than current aviation workforce numbers indicate. This result of achieving a more diverse population of students becoming involved in aviation made me realize that accessibility is a key issue in STEM engagement.

Q: Your other stint in Washington, D.C., involved a position at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. What did you learn from this job – about public policy, education, STEM, etc.

A: I served as assistant director and senior policy advisor for STEM education at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for 1 ½ years. In this position, I worked very closely with other federal agencies that had STEM education investments to coordinate efforts, implement the federal STEM education strategic plan and track and report our progress to Congress.

In this role, I learned that there is a significant amount of collaboration and hard work across federal agencies to coordinate and leverage efforts to promote STEM education. Additionally, I worked with external stakeholders to learn about their efforts and share federal STEM resources with them.

It was always helpful to hear what was going on in schools, communities and states so that I had real examples to share when appropriate.

Q: Of all the projects you have been involved with at the classroom, state and national level, which are you the most proud of and which have had the most lasting impact, and why?

A: I believe I am most proud of my work at AOPA in building aviation STEM curriculum that is free to schools and its future impact on the field of aviation. We do have a shortage of pilots in this country, and there is a severe lack of diversity.

When we originally started developing this curriculum, I did not know how well it would be received by schools, or how hard we would have to work to get schools on board, but it has been a huge success, and teachers have done an amazing job of implementing the curriculum and giving students access to aviation who never had it before. I still receive notes from educators sharing the success occurring in their classrooms, and their stories still brings tears to my eyes.

Q: Describe your work with NASA CONNECTS and how this new platform can help STEM educators. How can they become involved?

A: NASA CONNECTS (Connecting Our NASA Network of Educators for Collaborating Together in STEM) is a new online platform that will serve as a community of practice for educators. This platform enables educators to collaborate with one another and engage in NASA content. There will be opportunities for professional learning for CONNECTS members exclusively.

Educators can join CONNECTS through an application process on this site, https://nasacentral.force.com/cop/s/ .

Currently, we are recruiting educators to join a large beta test that will run from January through the end of April. We would welcome educators to join the community, check out its features, engage in discussions and provide us with innovative ideas to be considered for future development.

We will host a kick-off event on Jan. 27, from 5 to 5:30 p.m., to demo the site, answer questions and inspire educators to join.

For more information on how to join this event, please check out https://www.nasa.gov/stem-ed-resources/nasa-needs-stem-educators-join-the-beta-test-for-nasas-new-online-community-of-practice.html

Q: What are NASA’s future goals for STEM education? What do you think is the future of STEM education in the United States?

A: I can’t really speak to NASA’s future goals; I’ve only worked there for four months. I can share that equity and access to high-quality STEM education resources are on all of our minds, so we are strategically looking at how we can better reach educators in areas where NASA maybe hasn’t reached before.

In terms of the future of education in the United States, I think the pandemic has given us a chance to conduct a “giant beta test” in education generally. We have an unexpected opportunity right now to reflect on what worked in the shift to remote learning – what worked well and what areas need to improve.

I think there may be much more flexibility in education in the future than we have had in recent years. We need to find strategies to better connect secondary education to what knowledge and skills students will need in their future employment. We need to continue to share with students and their parents the various options they have to prepare for their futures – community colleges, vocational training, higher education, work-based learning, etc.

Q: Looking back at your STEM journey, is there anything you wish you could have done differently? What advice would you give STEM educators, based on your varied job experiences?

A: I’m sure there will always be things I look back on and wish I had done differently – I’m a reflective type of person. Given what I learned during my years as an Einstein Fellow, I think if I had gone back to the classroom following that experience, I would have been a much better teacher. Instead, I chose to pursue a career in STEM education leadership and policy, and I do not regret my decision.

My advice would be to continue to seek learning opportunities and have a growth mindset. Other educators can be fantastic partners, and they don’t have to be located at your school. Join a community of practice that focuses on STEM teaching and learning. It’s not only inspiring to learn from others, it also can help us to think differently and motivate us to try new innovative approaches in teaching and learning.

IF/THEN Collection and Ambassadors showcase diversity in STEM

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 18:14:28 GMT

If a girl sees a photo of a STEM professional who looks a bit like her, then will that girl be inspired to pursue a STEM career? That’s the hope of the IF/THEN ^® initiative , which seeks to advance women in STEM by empowering current innovators and opening young girls’ eyes to STEM professions. As part of the national IF/THEN ^® initiative, 125 female STEM innovators were selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Lyda Hill Philanthropies ^® to be AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors , who will serve as high-profile role models for girls. To find out more about the IF/THEN ^® Initiative and the Ambassadors, STEMx contacted Jessica Hay, marketing and partnership manager at the National Girls Collaborative Project . Hay also provided information on the IF/THEN ^® Collection, which calls itself the largest free resource of its kind dedicated to increasing access to authentic and relatable images of real women in STEM while also offering high-quality STEM educational content. The IF/THEN ^® Collection is managed by the National Girls Collaborative Project and the Association of Science and Technology Centers . Hay answers our questions below:

Q: Give us some insight into the IF/THEN® Ambassadors program.

A: In 2019, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) worked with IF/THEN® to create the AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors program. IF/THEN® selected 125 women – out of 600-plus applications – as Ambassadors, representing diverse racial, cultural, disciplinary and career backgrounds. These women serve as high-profile role models for middle school girls, engaging in opportunities to share their stories via media and educational programming.

Q: In general, who are the women participating in the program? What areas of STEM and other fields do they represent?

A: These talented female STEM professionals want to inspire the next generation of girls to consider STEM careers. They represent a variety of fields, from climate change research to sports science to cancer immunology. You can learn more about them by browsing the site – AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors .

Q: What will these women do to further the cause of STEM for all?

A: In addition to their inclusion in the IF/THEN® Collection , the AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors have been featured on the CBS Saturday morning series Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove, in Marie Claire magazine, in AdCouncil PSAs and as part of the Camp GoldieBlox multi-platform series. The women are regularly provided with invitations and opportunities to share their stories with young girls.

All AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors have profiles on the IF/THEN® Collection website that include their contact information. If you wish to connect with any of the AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors, you can also email AAAS directly.

Q: Tell us about the IF/THEN® Collection: What is it, what is it used for, and can educators have access to it?

A: Finding high-quality STEM content for classrooms and programs can be tough. Finding content that shows the diversity of STEM professionals and careers can be even tougher. Built and managed by the National Girls Collaborative Project, the IF/THEN® Collection is the largest free resource of its kind.

In this digital library you will find thousands of photos, videos, activity sheets and other assets that present authentic and relatable real women in STEM. The content features careers as diverse as shark tagging, fashion design and training Olympic athletes, all in an effort to shift cultural perceptions of who works in STEM.

One of the main purposes of the collection is to provide educators, museums, nonprofit organizations, parents and students with high-quality STEM content for use free of charge. The assets are meant to make lasting change to the materials and media in the visual world around us.

Representation matters in our physical spaces as well. The “This is What a Scientist Looks Like” poster bundle makes a great addition to classrooms and programs.

Check out the activity sheets from IF/THEN® coalition partner talkSTEM. These include an educator guide and activity page for students. Not only that, but they also are aligned with learning standards such as Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core.

Another great resource for your STEM learning programs are the Curiosity Camp assets. These include videos featuring IF/THEN® Ambassadors and activity sheets. Want to learn about satellites and then create your own DIY satellite? Check out the Curiosity Camp video and activity sheet featuring AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassador Sydney Hamilton.

Are you looking to do career exploration with your students? Check out the Next Gen STEM workbooks that the Eugene Science Center created. These workbooks feature five AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors and will help students see themselves in these different career fields.

All the assets in the IF/THEN® Collection are available for download. To request download, just click on the contact button at the bottom of the page. Then follow the instructions for downloading assets and use the access code STEMx2021. You can request as many assets as you would like. The requests take up to seven business days to process.

Q: How does being an IF/THEN® Ambassador benefit the women participating?

A: AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors receive professional development opportunities. They are learning from experts about media engagement, science policy, social media, career planning and more. AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors have received more than $1 million in funding for 95 projects that will engage students through STEM.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about the IF/THEN® initiative and/or the Ambassadors program?

A: Finding and connecting with Ambassadors is as easy as checking out their profile in the IF/THEN® Collection. Just click on the AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassador Profile Featured Category . Each profile includes a biography, contact information and a link to all the assets featuring that Ambassador.

Looking for more information about the IF/THEN® Collection and how to use the resources? Reach out to us at info@ifthencollection.org . We are always adding new content to the IF/THEN Collection, so keep checking in for updates.

Member profile: Lee Meadows of the Alabama STEM Council

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 14:17:57 GMT

New STEMx director announced

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 19:17:59 GMT

Note from Wes Hall, Vice President of Philanthropy and Education at Battelle: While leading the Ohio STEM Learning Network, Heather fostered a diverse community of voices to help drive STEM education in the state to a new level. I'm very excited for the passion, experience, and talent she'll bring to STEMx.

Use creativity and STEM to honor veterans in new challenge from the U.S. Army

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 16:38:31 GMT

View from DC: The Fiscal Year is Ending. What's Next?

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 13:28:28 GMT

Q: To clarify, in addition to the bipartisan infrastructure bill, there’s another massive spending package moving simultaneously?

A: Yes! There’s actually two other moving pieces in play: reconciliation, which we’ve spent some time covering in the past, and the “regular” spending Congress controls through appropriations. And it’s the latter which is currently complicating matters for Congressional leaders. Since the end of the Fiscal Year is this Thursday, September 30 ^th , Congress must take action to pass some form of regular spending in order to avert a government shutdown. It is widely expected that Congress will pass yet another CR; the question is, until when? Because the U.S. debt limit is also set to expire in early October, Democrats in Congress would like to add a provision to the CR extending the debt limit; however, there’s no Republican in Congress who wants to vote for such an action; they’d prefer to play “pin our ballooning debt on the Donkey,” so that they have coverage with their base in the 2022 midterms.

To that end, there are a couple options in play. Congress could either pass a CR through December 3 ^rd with a provision extending the debt limit, or a shorter, 2-3 week CR with no such provision, to give Congressional Democrats time to negotiate the extension with Republicans. Either way, we won’t have a full picture of FY22 funding until much later this year.

Don’t forget: while making these CR considerations, Congressional leadership is also trying to advance the truly massive $3.5 Trillion reconciliation package (one reason an extension of the debt limit is critical to move forward) as well as the aforementioned BIB. Getting all factions in both parties to agree on the best path forward is a bit like solving a Rubik’s cube: just when you finally get everything lined up on one side, you have to move one piece to get everything lined up on another side, et cetera, et cetera, ad infinitum.

Q: Speaking of reconciliation, are there any provisions of note for STEM educators?

A: There are a number of broad provisions in the reconciliation package that can have a specific STEM impact. For instance, the Build Back Better Act invests $111 Billion to lower the cost of higher education. That’s a huge amount of money, and it’s spread across a number of high priority needs. A substantial portion is directed to grant programs to train new teachers, addressing the growing teacher shortage, particularly in “high-need” subjects. It also focuses on the administration’s goals around diversity, equity, and inclusion, with targeted investments to make degrees more affordable at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other Minority-Serving Institutions, while also provides funding to improve research and technology infrastructure at those same institutions.

Another example of a large investment that will have specific STEM applications is the $82 Billion which is allocated for America’s public-school infrastructure. The bill allows school districts to repair, modernize, and rebuild crumbling and outdated school infrastructure, with funding allocated according to the Title 1 formula. Notably, there’s a provision within that larger block of funding for the improvement of “instructional or outdoor public school facilities relating to early learning, special education, science, technology, career and technical education , physical education, the arts, literacy (including library programs), or community-based partnerships .”

Q: If this STEM spaces element makes it through the legislative process, who would schools look to for accessing the funds?

A: These funds will be distributed as federal grants to State Education Agencies (SEAs) for further distribution to LEAs as part of the Rebuild Americas Schools Grant program. These grants and subgrants will be distributed from FY22-FY24; however, the amount appropriated for FY22 is only $1.27 Billion, and the FY22 grants are for “public schools facilities inventory efforts,” as well as a “state facilities plan” whereas the grants in FY23-FY24 come from a larger pot of money, $39.64 Billion, to be used for actual construction and improvement efforts. As with the FY22 funds, eligible LEAs must apply for these funds from the State, and the LEA must certify that they will use subgrant funds for projects that prioritize the improvement of facilities that serve the highest numbers or percentages of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. For those interested in reading more about this program, the language can be found on pages 53-69 here .

Q: Any other notable actions to report on from the Biden White House or executive agencies?

Just under two weeks ago, the Senate confirmed James Kvaal to be the Under Secretary of Education . Additionally, shortly after my last blog post, President Bident nominated Amy Loyd to serve as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. Finally, in news that many of you have likely seen, our friend Cindy Hasselbring has moved from her role at NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate, and joined the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA, working on Next Gen STEM!

What the Department of Defense STEM plan seeks

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 15:30:06 GMT

For many years, STEM educators have been told by private industry leaders in the technical fields about the nationwide need for workers trained to handle STEM-related jobs. That need is felt by branches of the U.S. military, too. The Department of Defense has a keen interest in building the technical workforce of tomorrow, some of whom might enter the military or take civilian defense jobs, all helping to protect our nation. The Department of Defense STEM Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2021-2025 outlines the department’s efforts to ensure a STEM-educated employee pool exists into America’s future. We asked Louie R. Lopez, director of the Department of Defense STEM, for details:

Q: How does the DoD plan to support each goal?

A: The department intends to release an implementation plan sometime in fiscal year 2022 that will illustrate how the various DoD STEM programs will support the strategic goals and objectives over the next five years.

This implementation plan is intended to evolve over the next five years and allow us to collectively monitor our progress in supporting the goals and objectives of the DoD STEM Strategic Plan.

Q: What are some exemplary programs under the DoD that are aligned to the strategic plan?

A: DoD STEM offers a plethora of STEM educational and career development opportunities, programs, scholarships, internships, apprenticeships, events, competitions and more for students of all ages, educators and current workforce throughout the pre-K to workforce development pathway.

Some exemplary DoD STEM programs that are aligned to the strategic plan include (but are not limited to):

SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program.
Work experiential programs across the department (internships/fellowships/apprenticeships).
Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) portfolio of STEM opportunities.
Naval STEM activities.
LEGACY program by the Air Force.
Joint Science and Technology Institute by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
National Security Agency’s GenCyber program.
STARBASE program.
DoDEA Educational Partnerships.
Tri-service (Army, Navy and Air Force) Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.

Please refer to our website in the “Participate in DoD STEM” section located at https://dodstem.us/participate/ for a comprehensive list of DoD STEM programs that support the strategic plan.

These opportunities are, in part, provided by DoD STEM’s network of partners from academia, industry, not-for-profit organizations, local government and federal government agencies, including the DoD.

For a summary of the impact of DoD STEM programs, please refer to the DoD STEM Education and Outreach Portfolio Overview: Descriptive Analysis for Fiscal Year 2017-2018, located on “Our Impact” section at https://dodstem.us/about/impact/ .

Report on fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2020 will be forthcoming.

Q: Each branch of the military runs programs, such as the Army/AEOP or the Navy’s MEEP program – what does this plan say about those efforts?

A: The fiscal year 2021-fiscal year 2025 DoD STEM Strategic Plan was developed in collaboration with support from STEM leadership across the department and DoD components, who comprise DoD Services, including the Army via AEOP, the Navy/Marine Corps via Naval STEM and the Air Force via Air Force STEM, as well as DoD agencies, such as the National Security Agency, Missile Defense Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Department of Defense Education Activity and more.

To learn more about DoD STEM’s partners across the department, please refer to https://dodstem.us/about/partners/ .

The plan was developed together with leadership, stakeholders and staff who are responsible for, and directly invested in, the execution and success of STEM programs across the department.

Note of clarification: the MEEP program is a congressionally funded effort under NDEP. It is a DoD-wide program in which program solicitation and awards are executed through the Navy’s Office of Naval Research.

Q: How does the DOD’s STEM plan mesh with other STEM plans, such as the federal STEM plan, for example?

A: The 2018 Federal STEM Education 5-Year Strategic Plan presents a vision for a future where all Americans have lifelong access to high-quality STEM education and America will be the global leader in STEM literacy, innovation and employment.

As a participating member of CoSTEM (the federal Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education) and FC-STEM (Federal Coordination in STEM Education), DoD is invested in supporting the alignment of its STEM education efforts to the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan. Accordingly, the fiscal year 2021-25 DoD STEM Strategic Plan aligns to the federal strategy’s aspirational goals and educational pathways.

Q: How can STEM Network Leaders support the DOD STEM plan in their home states?

A: DoD’s primary mission of defending and ensuring that our nation remains safe depends heavily on the support of its research, engineering and technology development/innovation.

Ensuring that our nation remains at the top in global technology competition, the department works and collaborates closely with partners from academia and industry. Just as we depend on these partners in technology development, we must also work hand-in-hand in developing STEM talent to ensure that the nation has enduring access to technical talent.

I believe STEM Network Leaders play an integral role in ensuring that their communities, schools, teachers, parents and students within their respective states are aware of the many STEM opportunities that DoD STEM has to offer within their respective states and nationally.

Forging strategic partnerships with STEM Network Leaders, state educational agencies, other state/national networks and other federal agencies is vital to the DoD STEM mission.

Applications Open for K-12 STEM Education Grants from TVA

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 17:40:26 GMT

The Tennessee STEM Innovation Network and STEMx network, managed by Battelle, are pleased to announce the 2021-22 K-12 classroom STEM grant program sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated (a TVA retiree organization).

The grant application is open now at www.tsin.org and will remain open until October 18, 2021. Eligible applicants are K-12 teachers or school administrators in public or private schools that receive power from a TVA distributor.

Last year’s program awarded $800,000 in grants to schools across the Tennessee Valley. The competitive grant program provides teachers the opportunity to apply for funding up to $5,000 for STEM projects with preference given to grant applications that explore TVA’s primary area of focus: environment, energy, economic and career development, and community problem solving.

Apply here: https://www.tsin.org/classroom-grants

Focusing on a “kindergarten to jobs” philosophy, the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network is developing high-quality STEM programming to further ensure Tennessee students are college and career ready upon graduation. The Network utilizes STEM Platform Schools and Regional STEM Innovation Hubs located across the state to increase student interest and participation in STEM fields. The Network is committed to helping the State of Tennessee inspire and train the next generation of innovative leaders and is operated as a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education and Battelle Education. For more information about the Network, please visit www.TSIN.org .

Launched in 2012, the STEMx network is a nationwide coalition of state STEM networks. Through the STEMx network, organizations can share opportunities and solutions for addressing some of education’s greatest obstacles. To learn more, visit www.stemx.us/join .

For more details, see the press release from TVA below.

Applications Open for K-12 STEM Education Grants

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Valley Authority’s STEM Classroom Grant Program for science, technology, engineering and math learning is now open for applications through Oct. 18.

The program funds STEM learning projects in classrooms and schools in TVA’s seven-state service area and is sponsored by TVA in partnership with the TVA retiree organization Bicentennial Volunteers Inc.

“TVA is proud to support educators and students to pursue excellence in STEM subjects,” said Jeannette Mills, TVA executive vice president and chief external relations officer. “We are building the energy system of the future, and our region’s future workforce must be prepared to continue innovating for the decades ahead.”

Last year’s program awarded $800,000 in grants to schools across the Tennessee Valley. Teachers can apply for funding up to $5,000 for STEM projects with preference given to applications that explore TVA’s primary area of focus: environment, energy, economic and career development, and community problem-solving.

Eligible applicants are teachers or school administrators in public or private schools, grades K-12. Schools must be in the TVA service area and receive electricity from a local power distributor served by TVA.

Visit the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network website to learn more about grant requirements, see examples of previously funded projects, and apply for funding.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation, and land management for the Tennessee River system, and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.

# # #

Media Contact: Ashley Walker, Knoxville, 865-474-0339

TVA Media Relations, Knoxville, 865-632-6000

www.tva.com/news

Follow TVA news on Facebook and Twitter

(Distributed: Sept. 2, 2021)

View from DC: Roadmap through recess, reconciliation, and regular appropriations

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 14:20:40 GMT

A federal perspective on public policy from our desk in Washington provided by Thomas Phillips, Sr. Congressional Affairs Specialist at Battelle.

Q: That is a lot to unpack. Let's start with the bipartisan infrastructure deal. What's the overall scope of the package? Any impacts on STEM education?

A: The Bipartisan Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act includes about $550 billion of new federal investment in America’s traditional “physical” infrastructure (roads, bridges, broadband, etc.) with a significant focus on creating union jobs, aiming to add 2 million jobs per year for the next decade. The bill includes a number of superlatives, with the single largest investments in public transit, passenger rail, and water infrastructure ever. Unfortunately, as this infrastructure package has been negotiated down from its original scope, the original $100 billion proposal for direct grants to overhaul school facilities was eliminated. That’s not to say there aren’t impacts for education or for STEM more broadly; in fact, the bill’s investment in broadband is a significant win for educators and students alike. With $65 billion to expand broadband access, an investment that builds on the dollars provided in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the administration’s goal is to ensure high-speed internet access for every American. Since it is estimated that 30 million Americans currently live in areas with no broadband infrastructure, this investment has been likened to the federal government’s effort to electrify the nation nearly a century ago.

Q: What about the budget resolution and reconciliation package?

A: Where the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act focuses on America’s “physical” infrastructure, the reconciliation package being pulled together by Senator Bernie Sanders focuses on America’s “human” infrastructure. Senator Sanders chairs the Senate Budget committee, and in that role, he oversees the passage of the Senate’s budget resolution, a unique and important legislative vehicle that can pass with the vote of a simple majority in a process called reconciliation. (If this sounds familiar, it’s because I addressed it back in January ). As mentioned previously, this unprecedented package is $3.5 trillion (with a T) and invests heavily in a number of progressive priorities, including:

expanding Medicare,
extending the child tax credit,
establishing the first U.S. family and medical leave policy,
investing in affordable housing,
providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and
creating a new “Civilian Climate Corps.”

There could also be opportunities for investment in school construction that was cut from the infrastructure deal. The ambitious package comes with a hefty price tag, and will likely rely on significant individual and corporate tax increases for America’s top earners, while also closing certain tax loopholes benefiting the ultra-rich. The passage of the resolution hinges on the support of every Democrat in the Senate – something that is not yet guaranteed, with more conservative members of the caucus, like Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), expressing concerns about some of the bill’s language on climate issues. It will also need to pass the House, where there is only a three-vote margin.

Q: What will be the focus when Congress returns from recess?

A: When Congress gets back in mid-September, they will have one priority: passing regular appropriations bills. Both chambers will have just under two-full weeks in session together before the end of the fiscal year, and they will be rushing to fulfill their duty to exercise their “power of the purse” before October 1 ^st . The more appropriations bills they can finish before that deadline, the less work they will have to complete under the CR that they’re expected to pass. If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know that CRs are part of a new normal for Congress. The question will be, how much time will they give themselves to finish the job? In years past, the work has been pushed into December, or even the new calendar year, as a result of mid-term elections, or long-lasting disagreements on significant spending bills (e.g. Defense, Homeland Security). Those two bills are likely to stand as the biggest roadblocks to bipartisan agreement moving forward, as questions on the topline number for Defense continue to rattle around the Senate, and immigration and border issues have caused the House’s Homeland Security measure to advance without the support of a single Republican.

While we wait for the Senate to act on their spending bills, please see the table below, which includes the FY22 House marks for STEM-relevant programs (the House passed their Labor-HHS-Education bill as part of a “minibus” on July 29 ^th ). With the exception of one account (NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate) the House met or exceeded the funding levels requested by the administration. Each account also saw an increase as compared to FY21’s enacted level.

Table provided by the STEM Education Coalition and updated by Thomas Phillips

Please plan to join our next STEMx Members Roundtable in September, during which I’ll be providing a brief appropriations update with the numbers we see from the Senate. In the meantime, don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Maryland organization bridges business and educational communities

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 23:08:31 GMT

Q: Tell us about your organization: Why it was created; who, in general, make up its membership; whom do you serve; and what is your mission?

A: The Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT) is a 501(c)(3) organization created in 1992 to serve as a non-profit bridge between the employer and educator communities in Maryland. Members over the years have included leading corporations, small businesses and manufacturers, universities and community colleges and like-minded associations or similar non-profits.

Q: How, if at all, has your mission changed through the years and why? What other ways has the organization, its membership and service area changed and/or grown?

A: Though the heart of our mission – ensuring a successful future for employers and students – remains unchanged from our founding, the nature of our work has evolved in large part due to the change in priorities and focus of several significant partners over the years.

For example, during Race to the Top legislation (~2010-2014), federal support provided MBRT with substantial resources to advocate for high academic standards, convene partners around critical educational topics, and provide services to local school districts.

A more recent state program, Next Generation Scholars, allows us to target districts with the greatest need with direct student support to help them discover a variety of college- and career-ready pathways. Its latest report can be found here .

Q: How do you carry out your mission?

A: Two groups of talented professionals allow us to fulfill our mission. One involves a trained, volunteer workforce of several hundred dedicated employees who represent their companies while visiting (or virtually connecting with) thousands of middle and high school students throughout Maryland.

The second team is our own staff of approximately a dozen career educators and non-profit professionals: half work from a headquarter office near Baltimore to accomplish the day-to-day tasks of running a non-profit, while the other half serve as local school coordinators and live and work in more rural areas of our state, positioned daily in one or two school buildings in their districts.

Q: Tell us about your programs, including Maryland Scholars and Next Generation Scholars Program and others, and your publications.

A: The mobile application, Way to Be, is a companion to our print resource of the same name. Both resources provide college and career guidance, but the app was created to provide a unique and engaging digital experience for those digital-first middle and high school students.

Our Next Gen program is best summarized in the report link provided above.

Q: What have been your organization’s most impactful advocacy achievements? What have you learned from your successes – and missteps?

A: MBRT during its first two decades was instrumental in pushing for and securing state school board votes specific to rigorous standards, curriculum, instruction and assessments. In addition, our executives and board members have served key roles on more than a dozen state workgroups or commissions. Typically, each success or experience has broadened our network and strengthened our staff’s knowledge and skills, and those partners engaged in these important initiatives.

Q: What advice would you give other groups that have similar missions?

A: Three suggestions:

Pilot ideas before enacting full-scale, statewide projects.
Delegate and seek sub-allocation funding for partners who can enhance and soften the workload of a large grant or commitment.
Seek and secure more significant funding for the communication and marketing aspects of statewide work, as telling the story requires sustained planning and professional staff who can remain visible externally while an organization ensures the day-to-day work is getting done.

Q: Tell us about STEMnet and your organization’s involvement in this network.

A: In 2009, the Governor's STEM Task Force, co-chaired by then-University System of Maryland Chancellor William Kirwan and June Streckfus, who founded the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education, released their final report.

One of the recommendations pointed to the creation of a STEM Innovation Network (STEMnet) to enhance communications across all stakeholders; build the state’s capacity to maximize the effects of existing programs and policies; and facilitate the review and revision of Maryland’s strategy for its STEM education, research and workplace.

As a result, in 2011, MBRT launched the STEMnet platform that featured a library of STEM lesson plans and challenges created by master teachers while also providing educators with the ability to call upon a vast group of STEM volunteers who were trained to join them in classrooms and help students connect classwork and the real world.

Q: What role do businesses and volunteers play in your programs?

A: They are essential, as referenced above. Students have provided us with anecdotal and quantitative data for many years that capture the very positive impressions and impact our employer community makes when it dedicates its time, talent and treasure in support of young people and their schools.

Q: How did the pandemic change how you carry out your mission? What lessons did you draw from this experience?

A: As an organization, we were very fortunate. However, the extent of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our students might be felt for generations to come. These unprecedented events represented an opportunity for us to reaffirm our mission and demonstrate the urgency of supporting Maryland’s community of learners and their families, especially during the past year.

Our staff, volunteers and partners represented a lifeline helping to keep those at-risk students on track and prepared for life after graduation for those communities with the greatest need.

Traditionally, the execution of our programs has relied on our ability to deploy volunteers directly into classrooms throughout the state. However, like most organizations these days, we have had to rely on tech solutions to virtually get in front of students. We also shifted to developing more video content that students could consume on their own devices and at their own pace.

As an organization, we learned many valuable lessons during the past year that will continue to shape our work throughout Maryland. Embracing change and pivoting quickly both helped us work through major issues and identify pathways where our work could still be relevant to students struggling with virtual learning.

We also communicated early and often with all our funders, partners, school officials and students/families – both to inform them of our needs and limitations and to explore ways that MBRT might be able to assist them with their own COVID-related challenges.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about the MBRT?

A: This organization looks forward to aligning with other states in an effort to advance STEM education in our country.

Free COVID-19 testing program launching for K-12 and others

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 19:24:14 GMT

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, schools across the Midwest can enroll in a free COVID-19 testing program.

National funding for afterschool STEM arrives at critical time

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 18:54:23 GMT

Q: Tell us about the Afterschool Alliance – what is it, why was it created, what does it do and how does it benefit those involved with afterschool programs?

A: The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit established in 2000 to support and expand afterschool and summer learning opportunities nationwide. We’re based in Washington, D.C., so much of our advocacy work is focused at the federal level and typically involves working with Congress.

Our organization supports increased investment in afterschool through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, works with partner organizations and stakeholders to craft legislation to support the field, and works with agencies such as the department of Education and Labor and the National Science Foundation to represent the interests of afterschool programs and ensure they can operate effectively.

We see our role as elevating the voices of the afterschool field to Congress, the administration and federal agency partners so they can succeed in supporting youth.

Q: Why are afterschool programs so important now, especially with the effects of the pandemic on regular schooling? How can afterschool programs ease the effects of virtual and hybrid learning on students or help enhance students’ learning?

A: Afterschool programs provide a safe place for young people to go after the school day ends. We’ve seen through our research ( America After 3PM ) how much parents value having a place for their kids to go after school, and that afterschool programs not only offer young people a safe place that can support their academic, social and emotional needs but also provide parents peace of mind while they’re at work.

Afterschool programs also let students try new things in an environment that’s free from the pressure of the classroom. They can try to build and program a robot without fear of failing or being graded poorly on their performance. The pressure that often discourages students from trying new things isn’t there in afterschool, and that means opportunities to get your hands dirty, or build or design that can spark a passion and long-term interest in a new area.

The pandemic has placed an incredible strain on young people and impacted their ability to participate in many of hands-on learning opportunities. But throughout the pandemic we heard great stories of afterschool programs stepping up to support students and their communities by delivering meals and school supplies, distributing STEM kits or producing PPE with 3D printers that the programs had access to.

Many programs also provided in-person opportunities through community learning hubs to support students whose schooling went virtual, offering access to the internet and computers, helping students get logged in and set up, and feeding them at program sites.

So much screen time due to virtual schooling also meant that basic human connections limited, and that is at the heart of the positive youth development principles employed in afterschool.

But as we emerge from the pandemic, and schools return to in-person learning in the fall, there’s an even greater opportunity for afterschool to support young people and re-engage students in their learning.

“Re-engage” probably will become the word of 2021, as “pivot” was for 2020. Students learn best when they have an interest in what’s being taught, and providing opportunities for students to tackle engineering challenges or computer coding projects, and provide real-world connections to future careers and fields of study, is what afterschool programs do best.

Q: How do afterschool programs help to bridge the education gap for children in underserved areas?

A: The cost of afterschool programs, summer camps or child care often drives inequities, but many federal, state and local programs support children from underserved or under-resourced communities with access to afterschool and summer learning programs.

Federal programs such as the 21st Century Community Learning Centers and the Child Care and Development Block Grant support afterschool and summer programs serving low-income students, and many states (17 at our last count) have funding streams to support afterschool in their states.

Additionally, school districts can use Title I funds to support afterschool programs, and cities and parks and recreation departments often run, or fund community partners to run, afterschool programs.

But an incredible demand for programs exists. For every child in an afterschool program, three are waiting to get in. Costs of a program, followed by transportation, are the most common barriers to attending afterschool programming, and additional funding from the federal government and state and local governments could make a huge difference in addressing these inequities.

Q: How, especially, can afterschool programs help bolster STEM learning during the pandemic?

A: One of the most critical actions schools and partners will need to take is to re-engage students in their learning. Whether students have been learning in-person, virtually or in a hybrid environment, they’ve all experienced added stress during the past year.

Research shows that students learn better when they can connect with what’s being taught and see the relevance and real-world connections to their lives. What better way to re-engage students than to let them get their hands dirty through hands-on STEM learning!

The hands-on STEM learning in afterschool is a perfect complement to the school day, especially as students have had limited experience with STEM in virtual and hybrid schooling. There’s a huge opportunity starting this summer and into the fall with supporting young people with STEM learning opportunities that support their social and emotional development and allow young people to see themselves succeeding in STEM.

The project-based learning in afterschool STEM allows students to work with their friends and classmates on challenges and projects that are fun and help them develop teamwork and communication skills.

As schools are looking for ways to support students, especially this summer and into next school year, community-based organizations such as afterschool and summer learning programs have the experience to provide these additional opportunities.

Q: With afterschool programs being more important than ever, is there federal pandemic funding available to help pay for them, especially STEM programs?

A: We’ve seen a windfall of funding from the federal government though the various relief bills passed by Congress. States have utilized funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in March 2020 to support efforts such as community learning hubs, in-person and virtual youth programming, and child care.

Governors have also used some of their Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funding to support afterschool throughout the pandemic as well through various programs and grant opportunities to community partners.

But passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) in March provided dedicated funding at the state level for afterschool and summer learning programming, and afterschool is also an allowable use of funding that school districts will receive. ARP provided $123 billion in funding for K-12 education and $39 billion of funding for child care, with about $30 billion of that eligible to support afterschool and summer learning.

Additionally, specific set asides of $1.22 billion for afterschool and $1.22 billion for summer enrichment were created, and that funding must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2023. This provides at least two school years and three summers, including 2021, to support expanded programming.

Local school districts (or local educational agencies or LEAs) also have $22 billion in funding for learning recovering efforts, which include comprehensive afterschool and summer enrichment. And it’s important to note that LEA funds can be utilized for any activities currently allowable under the Every Student Succeeds Act, including afterschool STEM.

We’ve included a number of resources to help folks see how much money their states and districts are receiving in ARP funds, as well as timelines and ways to reach out to districts and other stakeholders to partner in these efforts. Visit HelpKidsRecover.org to find that information, including key info on state and school district funding.

Q: How would educators who run afterschool programs apply for this funding? Is there a deadline? How might educators find out more?

A: This will vary depending on the state, because there’s flexibility provided to states in the federal relief bills. The best way to understand how to access funds from your state is to reach out to your statewide afterschool network .

The ARP funds are required to be obligated by states and LEAs by the end of September 2023, so there is still time to connect and partner. Additionally, funding through 21st Century Community Learning Centers often has new rounds of grant competitions every few years, so new programs can apply for support to run an afterschool or summer learning program.

Finally, as mentioned before, school districts that receive Title I funding have the flexibility to use those funds to support afterschool programs, so that’s another option that could exist, depending on your school district and the relationships you have established.

Q: Finally, in general, how can afterschool programs benefit a community and its workforce?

A: We believe afterschool programs are a key piece of a community. In today’s world – and this became especially clear during the pandemic – parents often struggle to balance the needs of their families, careers and other duties. Providing a place for their kids to go after the school day ends benefits more than just those students who have access to hands-on learning, mentorship and healthful meals.

Businesses benefit from their employees having access to afterschool programs, as it allows parents to work. Public safety benefits, as the hours of 2-6 p.m. have the highest rates of juvenile crime . Finally, connections between businesses and afterschool programs that result in programs focused on career awareness, work-based learning or apprenticeships and internships allow those businesses to help prepare their future workforce.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about afterschool programs?

A: If you’re an afterschool program provider and want to get more involved with state advocacy efforts, or receive training and professional development for your staff, connect with your statewide afterschool network .

I’ll also make a plug for our Special Report on STEM that we’ll be releasing as part of our America After 3PM report in mid-August. I would be happy to share more about that with the STEMx network when it’s released.

View from DC: A “Second Dose” of Relief? The American Jobs Plan, Innovation and Competition Act, and President’s Budget

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 16:02:31 GMT

Q: Speaking of the President, what’s been happening with respect to the Administration?

A: To begin on the nominations front, Cindy Marten, the administration’s pick for Deputy Secretary at the Department of Education was confirmed by the Senate on May 11 ^th . James Kvaal, their pick for Undersecretary at the Department was reported favorably out of the HELP Committee on April 21 ^st and is awaiting a vote in the full Senate.

Additionally, back in April, we saw the “skinny” budget request released by the administration. It outlined top-level propositions and priorities across the federal government, but lacked significant programmatic details. After a number of delays, those details were finally released at the end of May, and give us a better understanding of the administration’s specific priorities (see the table below). The other major policy proposals we saw floated by the administration are the American Jobs Plan (a $2 Trillion infrastructure package) and American Families Plan (a $1 Trillion investment in America’s children), introduced together as a follow-up to the American Recovery Plan.

Q: Within the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan, what investments seem most applicable to educators?

A: The American Jobs Plan (AJP) and American Families Plan (AFP) establish an ambitious framework to invest in America and rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. As an example, public schools in America need significant re-investment and revitalization. The AJP would invest $100 billion to upgrade and build new public schools, “ through $50 billion in direct grants and an additional $50 billion leveraged through bonds .” The funds will be used primarily to ensure that schools are safe and healthy places of learning, but will also be used to invest in the technology and laboratory spaces that will help educators prepare students to be productive workers. The AJP also calls for $12 billion to be directed to community college infrastructure, not only for their physical and technological needs, but to help address education deserts, particularly in rural areas.

Additionally, recent details from the budget request outlined that the AFP would provide $1.6 billion in one-time, mandatory funding for the “ Answer the Call—Supporting In-Demand Credentials for Teachers program .” This funding would provide grants from the Department of Education for public school teachers to “obtain additional certifications at no-cost in high-demand subject areas” such as STEM education, as well as “other certifications associated with greater teacher effectiveness.”

Q: What's the timeline for the American Jobs Plan to move forward? Are you expecting major changes as it moves through these processes?

A: While the administration would like to be bold and advance this plan quickly, because of the massive scope of the plan, as it moves through Congress, it is likely to slow down. We’ve seen some examples of the back-and-forth as Congress and the administration negotiate down the top-line dollar figure for the plan. President Biden’s initial proposal was $2.25 Trillion. Congressional Republicans countered with their own proposal of only $586 Billion. The administration came back with a counterproposal of $1.7 Trillion, which reportedly drops planned R&D spending, as well as advanced manufacturing, and other items that didn't fit the definition of "traditional infrastructure." Their hope is that some of those cut priorities could be carried in other legislation, like the recently passed USICA.

As the plan moves forward, I will provide updates on its progress and major changes.

Q: Whether or not we get an infrastructure bill, you indicated that the budget and appropriations cycle is well underway. For educators, are there any standout observations from the release of the administration’s full budget request?

A: Yes! The process is finally moving and catching up to the regular order of things that I outlined in my presentation to STEMx earlier this year. The full budget request is always slightly delayed the year after a Presidential election, which in turn slows down Congress’ own work. Luckily, the details we just saw from the administration bode well for the Department of Education, and the other agencies doing critical STEM education work. Per the table below, each of the accounts we have been regularly tracking over the last 5 years is either fully funded at its level from last year, or sees modest increases – none saw any cuts or elimination!

Army STEM program seeks new partners

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 17:06:18 GMT

Does your organization reach underserved students or those connected to the military? The Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) is seeking new partners in STEM to reach more students with current AEOP programs. Through AEOP's cooperative agreement with Battelle, the program will accept proposals from organizations that can extend the reach of AEOP's portfolio.

"Learning loss" is a misnomer, bilingual education a must, and more from NM teacher of the year

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 27 May 2021 16:37:20 GMT

Q: Tell us about your school.

A: I teach first grade at New Mexico International School , a public charter school located in Albuquerque. We aim to provide students from kindergarten through middle school with immersive opportunities for language acquisition, as well as transdisciplinary and inquiry-based learning experiences in the context of social and emotional development for achieving international-mindedness.

Our school currently serves about 240 students as we continue to grow. As a school of choice, our population includes students from across our metro area. Our focus on language immersion in Spanish and Arabic within the framework of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme makes our curricula unique in how it weaves together content standards, skills and student identity.

Q: How has the pandemic affected your school in general and your own teaching in particular? What do you most look forward to in getting students back in the classroom full-time?

A: Language immersion depends highly on sustained interpersonal interaction and relationships, and the pandemic had a direct impact on our ability to provide that as our time together was limited and many of the spontaneous and tailored moments we usually share together were inhibited.

For our STEM-related learning in particular, teachers spent personal time and funds to prepare science kits for students to use at home for project-based learning. We often depend on parent volunteers and family contributions to make those learning experiences come together, so the necessary distancing measures placed a lot of this community-based work back onto the teachers.

However, it also gave a number of teachers the impetus needed to reach out to organizations such as the local Water Authority for materials and remote learning resources, and community ties were formed and reinforced that way.

My own teaching has benefitted from this work during a pandemic. Engaging young students with transdisciplinary learning in a second language is always a tall order, and remote learning necessitated an intense focus on maximizing time together while providing families and students with the context, information and materials needed to bring a new learning context to life.

I am especially grateful for the opportunity to have expanded ways to connect and develop relationships with students regardless of our locations.

Many of my students are now back in the classroom with me full-time, and, as I anticipated, I experience joy on a daily basis in hearing students use their newly learned academic vocabulary in a typically ebullient classroom environment.

The social interactions among peers and the way their learning plays off each other’s ideas and perspectives flows more easily without a screen. I am also delighted by how my online students remain an integral and important part of our blended classroom community.

Q: Could you recap some of the key points you made on a recent STEMx webinar about learning loss and the pandemic? How do you think education will change short- and long-term as a result of the pandemic?

A: One of the primary discoveries that I and my colleagues have made is that learning loss is something of a misnomer in relation to the pandemic, and the lived experience of many students and educators has been more of a learning shift.

Given the inequities related to educational access that became more apparent, such as internet access, adult supervision and overall support that varied among students’ situations, a focus on design process and connections among STEM applications surfaced more quickly than it likely would have if our context hadn’t changed so abruptly.

The flexibility of timing, materials and projects resulted in more student engagement, agency and reflection and greater overall ownership of learning.

In order to maintain these levels of learning, however, educators often dipped into their personal budgets to ensure students had access to materials, and while connections with some community organizations helped alleviate that to some extent, another point that is key in this conversation is the need for additional funding and more streamlined processes to utilize it.

Schools can find themselves using operational money to pay for STEM-related professional development needs that might have been unforeseen, and given the strictures of use for Title II funds, it can hinder access to training needed to provide our students with better, more relevant learning experiences.

I suspect that education in the short-term will see more changes that include access to internet services and technological devices. The need for innovative teachers and teachers of color is as urgent as ever, and my hope is that teacher preparation programs and incentives for professional development will experience an increase in both funding and visibility.

In the long-term, I imagine that education will continue to depend more heavily on technology even for our youngest learners, and the increased access to the products will likely also increase students’ involvement in technological development and innovation.

Flexibility in teaching modalities is also a long-term outcome that I anticipate resulting from this pandemic, though it should also be tied to increased recognition and remuneration of teachers for their expertise and broad variety of specialized skills.

Q: Your first-grade curriculum is taught mostly in Spanish. What are the benefits of this, and also of bringing the arts into the classroom?

A: There is an ever-increasing body of research that shows the long-term benefits of multilingualism, ranging from cognitive flexibility and creativity to life expectancy and overall health. In addition to the cognitive benefits of learning in more than one language, the experience of learning content in a space of some discomfort provides students with the opportunity to gain empathy and compassion for others, as well as an understanding that working together can often be more fruitful than trying to do everything by oneself.

As we have seen with the design process in our STEM learning this year, art is a part of each discipline. From scientific sketches to engineering designs to musical annotation, art is often a common through line, and teaching it as an integral part of the curriculum increases artistic sensibility while fostering feelings of success in students whose primary strengths are artistic.

Q: Tell us about the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme that you helped to develop at your school. What does it consist of, and why is it important?

A: The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme offers an interconnected set of guidelines for developing a living curricula. It also provides the entire school community with a lens through which members can view and explore the world.

Our Programme of Inquiry consists of a vertically-aligned sequence of learning based on six universal transdisciplinary themes that each student in grades K-5 explores from a different angle each year. These themes are Who We Are, Where We Are in Place and Time, How We Organize Ourselves, How We Express Ourselves, How the World Works and Sharing the Planet.

Each theme is taught through a central idea and various lines of inquiry, which combine content standards from all subject areas in authentic explorations of ideas, information and skill development. I see how important it is through the holistic academic and social development of my students.

Outside of the classroom, there are few – if any – hard lines that separate what we think of as subjects, human traits and goals for progress. Teaching these things in an interconnected way prepares students to be members of society who can be at once knowledgeable inquirers and caring communicators.

Q: Are there STEM-based aspects to your school’s overall curriculum and your first-grade curriculum? If so, what are they, and why do you think they are important? Do you think emphasis on learning a second language has STEM connections?

A: STEM is infused in some way in each of our transdisciplinary unit themes at every grade level. The standards that we work with are connected to our units’ central ideas, and though some units lend themselves more easily to STEM-based lines of inquiry, we strive each year to make our units increasingly more inclusive of as many STEM-related concepts as possible.

For example, our unit theme of Who We Are blends biology and anatomy in an exploration of health science with an introduction into engineering and architectural ideas through dream home design.

I believe that it is important to have STEM as an integral part of any curriculum instead of subjects taught discreetly, because as we have seen in real-time evolution of STEM in contemporary society, they are inextricably linked to nearly everything else in our daily lives.

We see STEM connections with language learning from the most basic cognates in academic terminology to the most international opportunities for collaboration. A number of our older students participate in the Model UN program, and their language learning in English, Spanish and Arabic expands their perspectives on cultural connections as well as solution-based teamwork skills to meet human needs such as access to clean water and the development of renewable energy infrastructure.

Q: Finally, can you share any insights you have gleaned so far from being named Teacher of the Year?

A: Being named Teacher of the Year has connected me with educators from across the country, and having a glimpse into their professional and personal worlds has shown me how fundamentally important it is for teachers to examine each other’s wealth of wisdom, expertise and perspectives.

Our country and its territories span a vast geographic area, and there is a beautifully symbiotic relationship between physical geography, cultural diversity and world views. While it can certainly highlight some of the significant differences in approaches to learning, it is a deeply enriching experience to establish connections with fellow educators of all disciplines.

Networking with other educational professionals in a structured but flexible cohort is a transformative experience that I think all educators should have access to at some point, and both the public and private sectors can organize, fund and facilitate these opportunities for teachers, to the benefit of society as a whole.

Students create "Medical Marvels" in New York

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 11 May 2021 19:48:12 GMT

Q: Tell us about the Medical Marvels Research Competition.

A: Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research was interested in working with the Long Island (LI) STEM Hub to introduce students to careers in medical research. As co-steward of the LI STEM Hub, and as employees of Northwell Health, we realized the synergy that could be created by working together to introduce students to the scope of exciting STEM careers available in medical research.

While there are multiple science competitions for 11th- and 12th-graders, there are few for ninth and 10th grade. By offering the program to this younger audience, we hope to engage them earlier on and empower them to enter competitions in 11th and 12th grades. In addition, we were looking to level the playing field and give research experiences to those low/middle income schools that do not have research programs.

Q: How are the student competitors judged and by whom?
A: The student work is judged by approximately 30 Feinstein Institute researchers and employees who are subject matter experts in the topic. The students are judged according to their creativity, innovation, and adherence to the National Institute of Health (NIH) guidelines.

Q: How has the pandemic changed the competition?

A: The pandemic necessitated that we transition to a virtual environment, allowing us to expand the reach of student involvement, including schools that might not have previously had a budget for busing to and from the event.

Q: How and why was this year’s theme – gun violence – chosen? What particular issues did the students research, and how did they present their findings and recommendations?

A: Each year we look to engage students in topics that are relevant to their community and their lives. Past topics included vaping, substance abuse and immunizations, to name a few.

Gun violence continues to be a national health crisis across our country. We are assaulted with mass school shootings, attacks on religious institutions and on individuals. Behavioral health concerns, especially during a pandemic, lead to high numbers of suicides by guns.

Our CEO, Michael Dowling, is leading a national initiative addressing these concerns and hosted the 2019 and 2020 Gun Violence Prevention Conference. This led to the creation of the Center for Gun Violence Prevention – an initiative that calls for the critical need to implement evidence-based firearm injury and mortality prevention strategies in health care, especially within at-risk communities.

Students were given a hypothetical challenge: They are a legislator chairing a task force addressing behavioral/mental health of gun buyers and were tasked with answering multiple questions ( see included brochure ).

Prior to the pandemic, students submitted and presented their research papers and posters in-person to a team of researchers and business professionals. In 2020, the students videotaped a 3-minute presentation that was viewed and judged.

Q: What student teams were chosen as the winners and why?
A: Awards are given for first-, second- and third-place winners. Students must adhere to all the competition criteria. The top award goes to the team who demonstrated teamwork, presented a detailed response in an innovative way and properly followed NIH guidelines.

This year, the first-place team was all female and from a low/middle income community. As a result of their enthusiasm, we will be partnering with the school to create a Student Ambassador program, promulgating this information throughout the school and community. Students have given a presentation to classmates, who also wanted to become Ambassadors.

The ninth- and 10th-graders proposed revamping gun laws by requiring:

Mental health and drug tests with a maximum of 20 questions.
Background checks that make sure the gun purchaser is not linked to extremist groups.
The more dangerous the gun, the more you need to do to get it.
Safety courses and tests with a minimum 90% passing grade.
States have their own say on how they want to administer these laws as long as they are followed.

Q: What skills – in particular, what STEM-related skills – have participating students developed by entering this competition?

A: Students have a greater understanding of science research, how to use technology to address/communicate issues, help solve community issues and presentations skills in communicating their findings. The teams are limited to three to six students per team, to emulate the experience of working as part of a research team. They also learn that medical research extends beyond “the bench,” with multiple career options.

Q: How have you refined the competition based on experiences over the years, and what advice would you give other STEM educators who might want to stage a similar contest?

A: Interest in this program has grown exponentially. To engage the widest audience possible, we encourage schools to host this competition internally, in turn, sending their top team to our event. It is important to choose a topic that is relevant and engages the students.

We added workshops on the topic to expand their knowledge base and had students present their research to the judges and students from other schools. This helped students gain an understanding of what constitutes an effective presentation, in addition to assessing the quality of work from their peers.

Q: Is there anything else you could share about this competition?

A: We are excited to create a Student Ambassador program to keep the conversation moving forward. This would include joint presentations and activities with students and Northwell Health team members.

We have interest from our Suffolk County Commissioner of Labor and look to continue to expand the conversation. We would look to have students develop leadership skills, have an interest in health-care careers and become influencers in their community.

Learning from Our 2020 Challenge Grantees

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 14:07:56 GMT

Last October, we announced $30,000 in funding for new programs to expand high-quality STEM education . Through the 2020 STEMx Challenge Grants, leading organizations in three states invested in growing new, promising practices.

Today, they share what they learned. Brief summaries of all three grantees and their reports are included below.

2020 STEMx Challenge Grant Reports

Idaho - Download Challenge Grant Report

Project plan: Idaho STEM Action Center will collaborate with Idaho STEM lending library network to expand the regional STEM lending libraries throughout the state. These lending libraries will house critical hands-on learning resources like such as Ozobots, 3D printers, and drones. The STEMx funding leverages previous grants by other organizations that expanded library inventory and created standards-aligned, instructional videos/curriculum for Idaho educators. Under the STEMx Challenge Grant, the Idaho STEM Action Center will launch a new online cataloging system and awareness campaign. These efforts will dramatically expand access to high-quality STEM experiences for local learners.

Indiana - Download Challenge Grant Report

Project plan: Under a previous award, the Indiana STEM Ecosystem developed a series digital tools to advance STEM learning. These include a statewide digital asset mapping tool and an Indiana STEM needs assessment.

This year, the organization will refine and test these tools and provide five virtual convenings/training sessions. In total, these efforts will grow the capacity and effectiveness of Indiana STEM educators, laying the groundwork for student success.

North Carolina - Download Challenge Grant Report

Project plan: With support from the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center , the regional STEM East Network will launch a museums@home program. Students in the program will connect with regional museums having specific areas of expertise such as the Aurora Fossil Museum and Sylvan Heights Bird Park . Each museums@home implementation includes: 1) a pre-activity live museum/classroom chat, 2) a student-managed STEM classroom activity, 3) a post-activity museum/classroom follow-up and 4) a virtual Family STEM Night session to celebrate and share the student activities.

Fostering STEM schools by building STEM leaders in Nevada

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 18:20:32 GMT

Q: Tell us about the work of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology and your role there.

A: OSIT is the statewide STEM office responsible for growing high-quality STEM education throughout Nevada. We work in K-12 and postsecondary education, formal and informal education and workforce development. I serve as the office’s director.

Q: Now tell us about the state's STEM Leaders Academy: Why was it created, what are its goals and how does it work to accomplish those goals?

A: We created the Governor’s STEM School Designation to define high-quality STEM, recognize schools that met the criteria for the designation and help families interested in a high-quality STEM education know where they could find one. There are three tiers within the designation: Developing, Established and Model.

After a few years of designating schools, I realized we needed a way to help schools that were interested in STEM but did not meet the criteria for designation to be able to achieve it. Likewise, we also wanted a way to help our Developing and Established schools elevate to the Model school status. Thus, we created the STEM Leaders Academy .

The goal of the academy is to help schools develop a site-specific strategic plan and roadmap for improving STEM education and achieving the Governor’s STEM School Designation.

Q: How does the academy work?

A: The academy is open to any K-12 school in Nevada. The academy takes places over five to six workshops during the course of the school year with site visits and individualized support built in between. We require the school to designate a team to attend the academy consisting of the principal and four to seven other teachers from varying grade levels and subject areas.

During the workshops, we help schools understand what high-quality STEM is in relation to the following three levels outlined in the Nevada STEM Framework : the classroom, the school and the community.

The framework was developed based on a synthesis of academic research and the great work done by other states. The topics included in the framework are ones that we have identified as being important aspects of high-quality STEM schools.

The following topics, among others, are investigated during the academy:

3D Learning
Career Connections
Engineering Design Process
Equity
Inquiry
Integration
Leadership
Logic Models
Nevada STEM Framework
Phenomena
Real-World Problem Solving
Science and Engineering Practices
Stakeholder Engagement
Teamwork and Collaboration
What is STEM?

As schools come to understand what high-quality STEM is, we also help them self-evaluate to understand where they are and then chart a course to get to where they want to be. We also connect schools to high-quality STEM resources they’ll need along the way.

The academy concludes with schools completing their long-term strategic plan. We provide schools with a small grant at the end of the program to begin to implement their strategic plans.

Q: What do you look for when choosing presenters to lead the academy’s sessions?

A: We invite presenters with specific expertise in the topics above. We also have presenters from Model STEM schools talk about their journeys to where they are and offer advice for schools just starting out. We also have employer and postsecondary presenters discuss topics such as career-connected learning, community engagement and real-world problem solving.

Q: Why is it important to build a community among academy participants? How does this community help them implement STEM education in their buildings?

A: It is very important to build a community among academy participants. Each team brings expertise and experiences that are valuable for the group. We also seek to build a community among the broader group of STEM schools. Many of our participating schools continue to seek each other out for advice and to visit each other’s schools after the academy has concluded.

Q: Does your program include site visits to successful STEM schools – either in-person or virtually – and why?

A: Yes, site visits prior to the pandemic and virtual visits this year are a key part of the academy. Sometimes it is easier to understand STEM if it is observed rather than having someone tell you about it.

There is no one right way to build a STEM school, and we include visits and presentations from a variety of STEM schools so that our academy schools can take the aspects of each that are most relevant and helpful to them at their unique school.

Q: What kind of follow-up does the program have after educators have completed it?

A: OSIT staff members continue to follow up with schools following the academy with site visits and technical assistance. We know the journey to becoming a STEM school is not completed overnight, and we want to ensure we are there to help schools all along the way.

Q: How has this program evolved – what have you added or discarded and why?

A: Each year, we tweak the academy workshops based on our own internal evaluations and feedback from schools. Since our first year, we have adjusted the strategic planning process to put even more emphasis on the long-term vision and whole-staff buy-in.

We have also built in more personalized coaching opportunities for each school team, to both build a better relationship with each school and to ensure successful strategic planning.

Q: How has the pandemic affected the academy?

A: This year, the academy is all virtual as opposed to being in-person. However, the pandemic has allowed us to have a regionally diverse academy this year. Nevada is a large state, so, in the past, we have had schools gather for the workshops within their region. This year, instead of regionally based groups, we have groups that are cross-regional, which has been good for the urban/rural idea sharing.

Q: What changes, if any, do you anticipate making in the STEM Leaders Academy going forward, and why?

A: As our network of high-quality STEM schools grows, our vision is to match schools participating in the academy with already-designated mentor schools. Mentor schools can offer support and insight from their experience developing and launching a strategic plan. After this year’s virtual academy, we are also finding new ways to engage and support rural schools interested in STEM.

View from DC: The American Rescue Plan and What’s Next

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 18:50:01 GMT

Q: For educators, and STEM educators in particular, can you remind us about the key provisions?

Luckily, ARPA shares a number of similarities with the past two relief bills; namely, it distributes a significant number of grant dollars to state and local education agencies through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund . Of the $170 billion allocated to the Department of Education in ARPA, $125.8 billion is dedicated to ESSER , to be distributed according to each state’s share of FY21 Title I funding. Of the ESSER dollars that make it to the states, 90% must be further distributed to LEAs, including charter schools, to be spent on a whole host of previously authorized activities and services from education laws on the books. As with the last relief bill, remaining funds can also be used to buy education technology and connectivity solutions, in addition to other services and improvements that will aid in the return to school.

Notably, LEAs must allocate 20% of the grant funds to tackle “learning loss” through “evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended school year programs.”1 Additionally, LEAs must “ensure that such interventions respond to students’ academic, social, and emotional needs and address the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on the student subgroups.”2 Of the money left to the SEAs , each state must allocate no less than 5% of their funding (approximately $6.25 billion nationally) towards the same activities. SEAs must also set aside at least 1% for the implementation of evidence-based summer enrichment programs, and at least 1% for the implementation of evidence-based comprehensive after school programs.

If you’re curious about how much funding will be coming to your state, Table 3 in this Congressional Research Service (CRS) report (page 5), has a great breakdown, including the percentage breakdown for SEAs & LEAs by activity.

Finally, outside of the funding given to the Department of Education, ARPA includes $7.27 billion for the Emergency Connectivity Fund , through the FCC’s E-Rate program to allow eligible schools and libraries to invest in eligible services and devices including: Wi-Fi hotspots, Modems, Routers, and “connected devices” such as laptops and tablets.

Q: Is there any additional legislation on the horizon?

Yes! In the House, a bill on Rural STEM has been reintroduced by Congressman Frank Lucas, Ranking Member of the House Science Committee: H.R. 210 - the Rural STEM Education Research Act . It’s nearly identical to the bill introduced last Congress and passed by the House, and includes a pilot program at NSF based on the Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative run by our partners in the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network !

Additionally, H.R. 204 – the STEM Opportunities Act has been re-introduced by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, Chair of the House Science Committee. Based on her bill which also passed the House last Congress, the STEM Opportunities Act provides guidance and grant opportunities for groups historically underrepresented in STEM at institutes of higher education and within federal science agencies.

Given the bipartisan support that these bills saw in the last Congress, I’m hopeful that they can be taken up quickly and passed out of both chambers.

Q: Outside of those STEM policy bills and the relief package, what else has been happening on the Hill?

With the impeachment trial over and the stimulus now passed, the Senate has returned to confirming the president’s cabinet nominees and other appointees in earnest. On Wednesday, March 10th, both Marcia Fudge, a Congresswoman from Cleveland, Ohio, and Merrick Garland, former Supreme Court Nominee, were confirmed to their posts as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Attorney General, respectively.

The Senate has also taken up the nominations for the Deputy Secretary of Education, Cindy Marten, who comes from her post as Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, and the Undersecretary at the Department of Education, James Kvaal, president of the Institute for College Access and Success, and former deputy White House domestic policy adviser to President Obama. They are both awaiting their hearings in the Senate HELP Committee. No other nominees for the Department of Education have been announced.

Q: Any insight into the new Secretary's thoughts and priorities around STEM education?

Secretary Cardona released a letter to parents and students the day after his confirmation as Secretary. If you have not read it yet, I encourage you to do so – if only to feel inspired about the days to come.

While he does not specifically call out STEM education in the letter, the priorities he lays out are well-aligned with those of the STEM community. For instance, after listing the first priority of returning to in-person learning, the very next thing he mentions is “building better career pathways.” He also prioritized ensuring that all students have access to balanced, high quality coursework including the arts and sciences, as well as career and technical education.

As more names are announced for key posts within the Department of Education, I’ll be sure to update this community, with a focus on STEM impacts.

Q: Regarding education policy, where should we look now for the best insight into what's coming next?

If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably got a little bit of “policy wonk” in you; as such, I encourage you to keep an eye on this appointee tracker , published by the Washington Post in collaboration with the Partnership for Public Service. It provides real-time updates on nominations and confirmations across the federal government, and there’s a helpful feature that allows you to sort by department or agency.

Reminder of Policy Panel: STEMx members should have received an invitation to participate in a webinar co-hosted by STEMx and the STEM Education Coalition on Wednesday, March 17th at 2:00 PM EST. The diverse and knowledgeable members of that panel will be speaking to an audience of Congressional staff on the impacts of “learning-loss,” how they’ve seen it play out at the state, district, school, and network levels, and how they’ve been able to respond to and address it with the help of recent federal relief grants. It’s my hope that the congressional staff engaged in that webinar will ask timely and relevant questions, and potentially tip their hand regarding legislation and policy measures to come.

As always, if you have a specific question or want to learn more about anything in this post, or that I left out, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Webinar for policymakers: COVID Learning Loss in the STEM Subjects

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 18:44:56 GMT

In partnership with the STEM Education Coalition , STEMx announces a special policy-focused conversation with education leaders from around the United States.

COVID Learning Loss in the STEM Subjects: What Do We Know and What Can We Do About It?

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

2:00 – 3:15 pm EST

Watch the YouTube livestream

Over the past year, as schools and communities have grappled with the COVID pandemic, learning in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects has been impacted in a number of acute and critically concerning ways. The loss of hands-on and experiential learning, together with a generalized narrowing of the curriculum has presented a myriad of challenges to STEM educators at every level across the country. This webinar, co-hosted by the STEM Education Coalition Policy Forum and STEMx, will cover how each level is addressing “learning loss” and how local and state leaders are leveraging federal resources that have been directed to that end. Is “learning loss” even the best way to describe today’s reality? The Zoom webinar will be open to interested Congressional and federal agency staff as participants and will be watchable via YouTube simulcast to the general public.

Speakers:

Vince Stewart – Executive Director, California STEM Network
Alisa Cooper de Uribe – 2021 New Mexico Teacher of the Year
Dr. Anthony Jackson – Superintendent, Vance County (NC) School System
Dr. Penny Schwinn – Tennessee Education Commissioner
Dr. Tracey Brown, Director of Guidance, Counseling, & College Readiness, Irving (TX) Independent School District
James Brown, Executive Director, STEM Education Coalition

Virtual conferences done right

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 19:18:31 GMT

Q: Tell us about your work at the West Virginia Department of Education.

A: I coordinate STEM, computer science and the geographical information system for the West Virginia Department of Education. This involves statewide cooperation among public, private and higher education institutions. It’s an exciting time!

Q: In 2020, you took part in planning the fall virtual conference of the West Virginia Science Teachers Association (WVSTA). What aspects were you involved with?

A: The 2020 WVSTA Conference ended my two-year term as president of that organization. Our board planned the conference together. I must give a shout out to our new president, Josh Revels, who took on much of the vendor organization and logistics. It was a truly collaborative project driven by a group that plans a large, in-person conference every year.

Our goal was to create a one-day experience that could support our educators with the challenges they were facing at the time, namely remote learning. Much information about our virtual conference can be found here: https://www.wvsta.org/

Q: As mentioned above, the conference was held virtually and included speakers, breakout sessions and sponsors. How was each aspect of the conference handled/presented?

A: We approached our virtual conference in the same manner that we approach our in-person conference. We created four “rooms” for concurrent sessions, as well as larger “rooms” for our large meeting and our keynote presentation.

Our approach was to create an accessible online event that didn’t create Zoom fatigue. Each room was a Zoom meeting that we kept open for the entire day. Each room had two hosts. Just like our in-person conference, we did a call for sessions, and we divided the sessions up into rooms that had similar themes.

We had 45-minute sessions, starting on the hour for six hours with a social and informational session first thing in the morning, a lunchtime keynote and a closing business meeting. The schedule can be found here: https://www.wvsta.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WVSTA_Sessions_nolinks.pdf .

We still produced our program but added the Zoom links to our regular “session matrix,” which became the schedule linked above.

Participants registered ahead of time, and in the days prior to our conference were sent a schedule with links to each room. Participants moved from room to room as they needed.

Registration was $25 and included a T-shirt (a yearly tradition) as well as a mask and a pen. Additionally, our vendors sent materials to be shared with participants. All of our materials to be sent to participants were collected by one board member, who then packed, with some volunteer assistance, envelopes for every participant.

A local company graciously offered to do our mailing as a donation, so our costs for registration needed to cover only the actual items in the envelope and the shipping materials. The envelopes were mailed out about three weeks after the conference to allow for last-minute registrations. Everyone was excited to receive their special envelope full of goodies.

Many presenters had items to share, so we created Google drives to allow for materials to be shared with the participants. This link was shared with all participants, and presenters shared materials even after the conference.

Vendors registered for $50. For their registration they received the ability to mail us material to be sent to our participants; they were able to submit a video demonstrating their product or resource; and they received a list of those who wanted to be added to vendor mailing lists.

We created a vendor scavenger hunt that could be completed by watching each vendor video. Those who completed the scavenger hunt were entered into a drawing to receive a full registration at next year’s conference (this is also a yearly tradition).

Q: What did you learn from participating in this event that would inform you on planning for a future virtual conference?

A: I believe that what brought us the most success was the simplicity with which everything was planned. Participants knew where to go and how to navigate to the sessions. We provided 15-minute breaks between sessions to allow everyone to stretch their legs.

Our goal was to connect our members to timely resources, not to completely replicate our usual three-day conference in a virtual environment. I believe we were successful.

Q: What advice would you give to others who are confronted with conference planning at this difficult time?

A: I would keep it simple and be mindful of your audience. We knew that our members could not give more than one day, and we knew that the one day couldn’t go late into the night. We planned enough content to engage, but not so much as to wear anyone out.

Q: Is there anything else you can tell us about virtual conference planning – or attending?

A: I have attended many conferences now where I needed to stay on screen for many hours a day. That doesn’t work. We need to take breaks, and, if in our homes, attend to the goings-on of a home.

Please look at our website and let me know if you need additional information, or if I can answer any questions. It was a very successful event and a great way to close out my presidency.

View from DC: Nominations and Budget Outlook

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:16:17 GMT

A federal perspective on public policy from our desk in Washington provided by Thomas Phillips, Congressional Affairs Specialist at Battelle.

Q: With a focus on education policy, where should we look now for the best insight into what's coming next?

Q: What did we learn from those hearings?

On the Department of Education front, we learned a bit more about Dr. Cardona’s stances on STEM education. He spoke specifically to the need for better integration of STEM in the core curriculum, as well as the importance of demonstrating the role of STEM in workplace to help increase participation in STEM and computer science. We also heard from him on some broader, more contentious topics, such as reopening schools, standardized testing, and accountability measures in the face of the ongoing pandemic. Regarding reopening, he indicated that schools would need to take sufficient health precautions and have surveillance testing protocols in place. On the issue of testing, he said that he was not in favor of a “one size fits all” approach on waivers, and that assessments are necessary to provide targeted resources and support, while maintaining that states will have the opportunity to weigh in on implementation. While his answers didn’t please all Republicans on the committee, we can expect that his nomination will advance to the full Senate with bipartisan support.

On the Labor front, Marty Walsh’s hearing went over smoothly, also earning bipartisan support. He committed to advancing Democrats’ priorities on worker protections while maintaining his openness to crossing the aisle and working with Republicans on employer concerns. Importantly, Walsh called out an area of concern to both parties, noting that “each and every one” of the Senators spoke about the need for job training and preparing workers for the economy of the future. To that end, Walsh indicated his support for expanded job training and re-skilling efforts. We can expect that his nomination will also advance to the full Senate.

Q: Another key milestone will be the release of the administration's budget request. Can you briefly remind folks how the federal budget is created?

Ideally, the budget process looks something like this flowchart. (And remember, this is just the first half of the Budget & Appropriations cycle; we’ll go through the appropriations process in more detail in a future post).

First, the Administration proposes their budget request for the upcoming fiscal year to Congress. Then, the House and Senate Budget Committees draft and amend their own budget resolutions. When that’s done, the resolutions are voted out of committee, and “sent to the floor” to be passed by each chamber. Once both resolutions have passed, a conference committee resolves the differences between the two resolutions, and the final product is once again voted on by the full House and Senate. At that point, the budget is set, and the Appropriations committee (and its 12 subcommittees) receive their allocations for the coming fiscal year.

Q: Where are we in that process now?

Because we’re entering a new Administration, this process is slightly delayed, but don’t fret – it happens every four years. Right now, we’re still waiting to see the Administration’s budget request. We’ll likely get a “skinny budget” in March, which includes most topline dollar figures, but not much programmatic spending details. Those details will come later in the spring, and will be released as they’re available from each Department. Remember that this is all for the upcoming fiscal year, FY22, set to begin October 1 ^st .

Q: What are likely areas of significant debate or agreement?

Right now, we’re seeing major debate play out on pandemic relief, as Congressional Democrats have leveraged the mechanism of reconciliation through FY21’s budget resolution to advance the substantial legislative package I mentioned above. Depending on how the rest of that debate plays out, and what level of relief is ultimately passed, additional relief could be at the forefront of the debates around FY22’s budget resolution. That said, we can also expect to see Democrats act decisively on climate change, a stated priority of the current administration, which will certainly cause a stir. However, in order to try and win some bipartisan support, there will likely be significant outlays for infrastructure investments – a Congressional priority for the last few years.

When it comes to education, the debate around when and how to open schools is likely to dominate the conversation. There is bipartisan consensus that schools need to reopen, but Republicans and Democrats are struggling to find agreement on what investments are necessary to make it happen, and safely. Luckily, there is significant bipartisan agreement around the need for STEM, and for broadening participation by increasing equity and access. Hopefully, we’ll see strong STEM support in the administration’s budget request; it will send the message that Congress needs to continue increasing its investment in STEM opportunities.

I’ll be presenting on the Budget and Appropriations process during the February STEMx Members’ Roundtable on 2/25. In the meantime, if you have any questions about STEM policy or advocacy, please don't hesitate to reach out to me via email (phillipstd at battelle.org) or phone.

Coding coalition inspires Idaho students

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 12:38:24 GMT

Q: Tell us about the work done at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). What are its areas of research and its mission?

A: INL is the nation’s leading laboratory for nuclear energy research, development, demonstration and deployment, and we are engaged in the mission of ensuring the nation’s energy security with safe, competitive and sustainable energy systems and unique national and homeland security capabilities.

Q: Now tell us about your job at INL. Your office deals with student outreach, teacher professional development and family engagement, to name a few areas. How did you conduct these missions both pre-COVID and now, with the pandemic restrictions?

A: The mission of INL’s K-12 Education Enrichment Programs is to inspire Idaho’s future STEM workforce; impact students, teachers and families by integrating best practices in STEM education; and empower employees to become STEM mentors to transform K-12 Education Enrichment into a driver for innovation.

Pre-COVID, our team and other employee volunteers spent a lot of time visiting schools, attending conferences and hosting events to help meet these goals. With new restrictions, we have pivoted much of our outreach to be held in a virtual environment.

In spring 2020, we quickly generated a suite of at-home lessons that we published on our website and through social media for parents and educators to help students learn at home. We have also held webinars and events online, and we continue to participate in outreach at virtual conferences.

Other important elements of our program, such as our grant opportunities, are still open to Idaho educators through our website. We consistently look for creative ways to continue to have an impact in our area while keeping safety as our top priority.

Q: And, in the midst of the pandemic, you are going forward with your Coding Coalition. What is the coalition, what is its mission, how does it work and whom does it benefit?

A: In its third year, INL's Coding Coalition lends itself to virtual learning and collaboration through an online platform and competition. The coalition is available to Idaho educators leading extracurricular computer science clubs interested in cybersecurity. This year, we also expanded the coalition to include clubs in Texas through our San Antonio office.

To become part of the Coding Coalition, teachers commit to serving as an adviser to a team or individual competing in a CyberStart America program to receive $1,500 in funding to support adviser stipends, equipment or supplies and access to an INL professional who serves as a cyber guide for the team. Students learn cybersecurity basics through a series of challenges of increasing difficulty using four programming languages, puzzles and cryptography skills in a competition/gaming environment.

This program is designed to help students explore a passion for cybersecurity or computer science, win recognition for their schools and qualify to win prizes and scholarship money. No prior experience is required, just an interest in problem-solving, puzzles or basic coding. To be eligible, schools just need to assemble a team willing to participate and then register for INL support.

Q: You mentioned CyberStart America. What is this extracurricular cybersecurity competition, and how does the coalition assist participants?

A: Sponsored by the SANS Institute and the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation, CyberStart America is an innovative, free cybersecurity competition designed to help students explore a passion for cybersecurity or computer science, win recognition for their schools and qualify to win prizes and scholarship money.

The program targets female students specifically to recruit them to explore cybersecurity and computer science education and career pathways. Student teams work to solve a series of online challenges and puzzles that teach basic coding and cybersecurity skills. Any student team that completes the first five challenges will be invited to join the national competition for a chance to win prizes and scholarships.

INL’s Coding Coalition provides $1,500 in grant funding, resources and INL employee support to the first 30 eligible advisers who assemble an extracurricular club that has committed to participating in a CyberStart America program.

Q: The INL pairs an employee with each extracurricular high school club that qualifies for the Coding Coalition. What does the INL employee do to assist the club members and advisers? How did you recruit INL employees to participate?

A: The INL employees work with the advisers and clubs they are paired with to determine their involvement, but they are often available to attend meetings, answer student questions and share their experience with computer science or coding.

To recruit INL employees, we ask for volunteers from across the laboratory through an internal memo. We also work closely with our National & Homeland Security and Information Management groups to recruit, as employees from these groups are most likely to have a background in computer science or coding.

Q: Why is it important for the INL to participate in the Coding Coalition? What skills are developed in high school cybersecurity competitions that might benefit youth participants down the road, and the laboratory? What evidence do you have of a positive impact from this program?

A: It’s important for us to engage with and support programs such as CyberStart America that align with INL’s mission and education program goals. Students learn basic cybersecurity and coding skills and also have the chance to explore subjects and passions they might not get to in their normal school classes.

For our lab, it’s a great way to build a talent pipeline right here in Idaho and inspire the next generation in STEM. We have seen positive results from the program; for example, a team from one Idaho high school that participated in last year’s Coding Coalition finished 29th nationally in the final competition, out of about 300 participating teams.

Q: What advice would you give institutions similar to yours that might want to participate in community outreach programs, especially during the pandemic?

A: We’ve had to look at outreach in entirely new ways during the pandemic, but if you’re adaptable and look for new opportunities to engage, they certainly exist.

We know that students are spending a lot more time learning online, sometimes logging 10 or more hours of screen time in a day, so we have also focused on generating “unplugged” learning including home STEM projects and enrichment activities. These are designed by STEM teachers and use materials and supplies commonly found around the home and aligned to education standards. We now have a library of nearly 60 downloadable STEM projects.

STEMx's View from DC: STEM and the new administration

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 16:41:50 GMT

Q: Before we look ahead to 2021 with a new Congress and Administration, what were the most essential policy moments for STEM education in 2020?

A: Because of the pandemic, Congress spent more time on relief and spending issues than on new STEM policy in 2020. Notably, the CARES Act, which passed back in the spring, established a new “Education Stabilization Fund.”

Fortunately, the Omnibus bill which passed at the end of 2020, and finalized spending for Fiscal Year 2021, also extended the date by which state and local governments must spend the dollars in that fund until December 31 ^st , 2021. It also injected an additional $82 Billion into that fund to be allocated as follows:

$4.1 billion for the Governors Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund;
$54.3 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund; and
$22.7 billion for the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) Fund;
$819 million for the Bureau of Indian Education and outlying areas.

Additionally, funding for Career and Technical Education (CTE) saw an increase for the fourth straight year, with an additional $52.25 Million being added for the Perkins Basic State Grants, for an overall total of $1.334 Billion for CTE broadly.

The one policy-oriented legislative victory of note was the passage of the bipartisan Rural STEM Education Act (H.R. 4979) by the House of Representatives in September. Originally introduced in 2019, at the end the first year of the 116 ^th Congress, it achieved broad bipartisan support – enough to be passed out of the House. In a regular year, it likely would have seen passage by the Senate, but 2020 was anything but regular. The bill’s sponsors are confident that upon reintroduction in the 117 ^th Congress, it will receive the same level of support and, this time, make it to the President’s desk.

Q: Last week was the Georgia Senate Runoff. Can you explain what the results mean for day-to-day operations of the Senate, and comment on broader implications for Congressional action in 2021?

A: This is a fairly unique scenario for the Senate. The runoff resulted in two seats “flipping” from Republican to Democratic control, causing a 50-50 split, and neither party having an outright majority—without the Vice President’s tiebreaking vote. The last time this happened was in 2001, with Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Tom Daschle (D-SD) sharing resources and control. Even though Lott had the majority with the Vice President’s vote, he allowed equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans to sit on committees, instead of granting his “majority” party more seats, as is allowed. Although all of their decisions were not necessarily popular, their cooperation and collaboration allowed the Senate to pass significant legislation.

It should be noted that while the precedent of Lott and Daschle’s power-sharing agreement exists, it is not in any way binding. To avoid partisan gridlock, our current Senate Leaders, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, will need clear and open lines of communication as well as mutual respect for party differences to achieve the needed 60-vote threshold to pass issues of importance in “regular order.”

The other option on the table, and one that is being discussed by Democrats, is that of “reconciliation,” which leverages budget legislation as a vehicle for certain policy priorities, and which only requires 50 votes to pass (subject to certain restraints). Such reconciliation packages are what Senate Republicans used to attempt Healthcare reform in 2017 (which failed) and tax reform in 2018 (which passed).

Each fiscal year typically presents one opportunity for such a package, so we can expect two, (perhaps three) reconciliation bills before the end of the 117 ^th Congress in 2022. The priorities currently being discussed by Senate Democrats for such packages are broad and likely to be combined into “omnibus” reconciliation bills including issues such as additional stimulus, tax reform, infrastructure, energy, and climate change.

Q: We're just days away from Joe Biden's inauguration as President. Beyond the ceremony, what happens next week?

A: Well, for one thing, the ceremony itself is going to look significantly different than it has in years past; this is partially due to the ongoing pandemic, but also because of the recent attack on the Capitol, and credible threats to disrupt the process.

That stated, on Inauguration day, President Biden's transition team will hand off their work to an initial set of administration appointees within federal agencies. These early appointees will be political and not require confirmation by the Senate. All Cabinet secretaries and their assistants will require Senate confirmation. Immediate priorities for the Biden Administration will be to confirm the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, Treasury, and State and those nomination hearings are already scheduled for next week. In the meantime, the President will be able to nominate “acting” heads of those agencies, and a member of his transition team said that he will be relying on senior career officials to temporarily lead most agencies while awaiting confirmation of his picks.

We can expect to see a more detailed plan for the first 100 days of the administration, and some specific actions outlined around the four priorities he laid out shortly after the election: COVID-19, Economic Recovery, Racial Equality, and Climate Change. Quick action on these priorities, as well as a few “Day One” executive orders will set the tone of his administration for the next four years. He has said that many of those orders are to scale back or entirely reverse certain policies of the Trump Administration. What remains to be seen is how he plans to temper such large-scale policy shifts with his calls for national unity, as many Republicans will balk at such orders as executive overreach.

Finally, and most notably, after the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris, the Vice President will officially be named the President of the Senate and can serve as the tiebreaker to vote Senator Chuck Schumer to be the Senate Majority Leader. As I mentioned above, Senators Schumer and McConnell are still working out their plan for sharing power in a 50-50 Senate, but beginning next week, Senator Schumer will have the title and powers of the Majority Leader.

Q: What do we know about the Biden administration’s plans for STEM education?

A: At the moment, we have little details about the administration’s STEM plan. However, we have more knowledge about their broader plan for education, and know who Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Education will be – Dr. Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s education commissioner. We also have seen his recently proposed COVID-19 stimulus package, which includes robust education funding. With this information, we can outline a few expectations, as well as infer some other likely policies based on the administration’s broader priorities.

In the education space, we know that administration plans to leverage Federal resources to scale-up successful state and local initiatives, as well as bolster investments in human capital. We also know that diversity, specifically in the STEM pipeline and in higher education, is high on their priority list. As a result, we can expect to see incentives for innovative practices in these areas, as well as resources from the Department of Education directed toward evidence-based research that supports such strategies.

Regarding the nomination of Dr. Cardona to head up the Department of Education, we can look at his work in Connecticut to get a better understanding of how he will lead the agency. To begin with, he has experience as an educator and an administrator, having served as a fourth-grade teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and commissioner. In addition to his first-hand experience from the classroom, he has his masters in bilingual/bicultural education, and his doctorate in education from the University of Connecticut, which is to say he brings a wealth of knowledge to the role.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Cardona’s leadership as commissioner made Connecticut the first state in the nation to ensure every public-school student had a laptop and high-speed internet connection to engage in remote learning. We can be hopeful that as Secretary of Education, he will make bold plans to ensure such opportunity and access for students across America.

Finally, President-elect Biden released the details for his proposed COVID-19 stimulus package late last week. It’s $1.9 Trillion – more than double the amount in the bipartisan package from December, and only slightly less than the CARES Act. The education provisions in the package place an emphasis on getting back to school safely, allocating $130 Billion to K-12 schools for measures that help with reopening. These funds can be used to pay for “virus mitigation efforts” including improved building ventilation or purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE). Additionally, the money could be spent on equipment and materials to facilitate remote learning.

Q: Do any of these priorities overlap with existing priorities of the new Congress?

A: Because there will be a “unified” government, with Democratic leadership of the executive branch and both chambers of Congress, there will be significant overlap in what the administration sets out to accomplish, and what policies Congress is able to pass into law. A lot of this alignment will come when looking at budget priorities, and the appropriations bills that Congress eventually passes. We can expect to see significant outlays in the domestic policy space, with boons for education and workforce funding, as part of the administration’s economic recovery plans.

It is also important to note that this will be the first year that Congressional spending is not limited by the self-imposed sequestration and budget caps that have been in place since 2013. This should allow the administration and Congress to be a bit bolder in establishing their funding priorities, and to find areas of common ground.

Q: Any advice for STEM education advocates during this first 100 days?

A: Right now, Battelle and the STEMx network are building relationships with incoming members of the new administration and Congress, letting them know of our deep roster of diverse STEM leaders who can help inform large-scale policy efforts, such as the Federal STEM strategic plan we helped to inform with OSTP. Below are my top three suggestions for STEM advocates to kick of 2021:

At the start of a new term, advocates should become familiar with the priorities being set by the administration and identify areas of alignment within their own efforts. Nearly all of the work being done by STEMx is at the state level, and new appointees and staff will be looking for scalable solutions to the biggest challenges.

Communication with incoming officials is key, but stakeholders should be careful not to overwhelm them with early requests. Instead, advocates should focus on providing relevant and useful information backed up with data and results.

One opportunity to submit such proposals is through the Day One Project , an initiative of the Federation of American Scientists. While not formally connected to the administration, most members of their team are former S&T officials with the know-who and know-how to move policy forward. If you’re interested in submitting a proposal memo , the Day One Project will be accepting them through the first 100 days of the administration. Their template is a useful one to follow and hold onto, even if you choose not to submit this time around.

To that end, it is important to be recognized as a trusted resource for the broader community. The more advocates focus solely on their own needs, the less effective they will be. Successful advocates cast a wide net, generating support and coalescing with diverse partners to achieve the greatest good.

If you have any questions about policy or advocacy, please don't hesitate to reach out to me via email or phone.

Experiments, competitions, STEM story time and more at the National Renewable Energy Lab

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 21:21:00 GMT

Q: Tell us about the work that takes place at the various sites of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

A: NREL staff members are engaged in pursuing solutions to transform the way we generate, consume, store and distribute energy. NREL provides leadership in energy efficiency and renewable energy science and technology with a focus on creating the technical foundation to support the continued evolution of an advanced energy ecosystem. Researching energy systems and technologies – and the science behind them – for a future powered by advanced integrated systems is what the lab is known for and what we do best.

Q: Now tell us, in general, about the community outreach efforts at the lab and how and why these came about.

A: Part of NREL’s mission from the lab’s inception in 1977 has been to help prepare the next generation for the jobs of the future. Through a wide variety of education and outreach programs , NREL has sought to inspire students to explore the world around them through authentic connections to NREL people, research and facilities. Our programs have helped spark the interest of underrepresented students in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines through culturally relevant learning opportunities with positive NREL role models.

NREL’s education programs are designed to promote excellence in teaching and learning and are intended to improve critical elements of the STEM education system. Partnerships and collaborations with education organizations support school improvement locally, regionally and nationally.

Our community outreach efforts are developed with a goal of preparing a diverse and capable workforce for the laboratory, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the nation. As part of that effort, we provide mentored research internships and fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students.

NREL’s education partnerships forged with business, colleges and universities are intended to strengthen academic contributions to DOE/NREL research and to build capacity for educational excellence in academic institutions. NREL engages partners in joint research projects, development of education programs and student internships.

Q: You have STEM-based educational programs for students, including a story time for K-3, a Virtual Experiment Series for fourth- through eighth-graders and a planned High School Summit Program (9-12). Can you tell us about these programs?

A: We have traditionally struggled to deliver accessible and age-appropriate energy-related science content to our community’s youngest students. We viewed the transition to a virtual programming format as an opportunity to address this gap. Twice a week, we invite students in grades K-3 to join an NREL staff member for a reading of a science-based children’s book, followed by an engaging and related art activity. Through their participation in “Virtual Story Time,” even the youngest students are introduced to NREL, our staff and our research.

By choosing stories that represent a wide variety of communities and individuals, children have the opportunity to see available pathways to a variety of STEM careers.

For our late elementary and middle school audiences, we provide more rigorous science and engineering content through our four-part Virtual Experiment Series. Students in grades 4-8 are introduced to using biomass batteries (using potatoes), assembling series and parallel circuits and combining energy sources to build their own electrical grid.

Teachers and students can join individual sessions, or they can sign up for the full, four-part program. We provide a limited number of kits, which contain all the materials required to participate in the program, for local schools with high percentages of students underrepresented in the STEM fields.

For high school students, we will begin offering (in early 2021) a new, collaborative opportunity to participate in our NREL Summits. Multiple classes, from different schools, will receive a research paper about a problem NREL researchers are working to solve. Students will then conduct their own background research on the topic, approaching the problem from different perspectives.

Students will hear additional details about the topic from a panel of NREL scientists and engineers who are involved in the research, and then can ask related questions. Students will break out into groups to brainstorm and propose possible solutions to the problem. After the group discussion, students will work to design and create engineering prototypes and develop plans toward additional research. The groups will then present their ideas to the experts, receive feedback and discuss ways to improve their designs and concepts.

By choosing stories that represent a wide variety of communities and individuals, children have the opportunity to see available pathways to a variety of STEM careers.

Q: Do you have any other STEM-based events or programs for students now? What is on the drawing board?

A: NREL coordinates a number of competitions, challenges and industry prizes on behalf of the DOE that support the next generation of scientists and entrepreneurs. The year 2021 marks the 31st year of the Colorado Regional High School Science Bowl, which is a fun, fast-paced academic tournament that tests the brainpower of high school student teams on science and math topics. The annual science bowl allows Colorado’s top student teams to face off in a timed, question-and-answer format to test students’ knowledge in a range of science disciplines.

NREL also hosts an annual car competition for student-built solar- and battery-powered model vehicles. Each spring, teams of middle schoolers compete for the title of fastest car and best design in a fun event that reinforces some of NREL’s core principles. Teams work together to build cars with guidance from a parent, teacher or coach to compete in race and design categories.

In addition to these traditional competitions, we are researching other competitive events that represent the latest in DOE technology development, such as autonomous vehicles and cybersecurity.

NREL provides one-on-one mentors for the Northeast Early College (Denver) Coach Mentoring Program, which provides significant employee engagement and development opportunities. The year-long program matches sophomores and juniors with an NREL professional in their field of study.

Students and mentors follow a structured set of activities to help the students envision potential educational and professional paths. Underrepresented minority students make up 94% of Northeast Early College students. The Coach Mentoring Program includes school site visits as well as an NREL site visit, during which students shadow coaches and meet team members, conduct informational interviews and tour NREL laboratories and facilities.

We have a working group formed of individuals across the lab who are assessing the potential to host students on-campus as part of a high school research program. We have learned lessons from similar existing programs at other national labs and hope to have a program that meets a specific need in our local community. Along with various career panel discussions and job shadow programs, these kinds of opportunities connect students with STEM professionals and expose them to viable academic and career pathways.

Q: How has the pandemic affected your STEM-based programs and how have you altered your approach to meet these COVID-imposed challenges?

A: NREL has always created and delivered high-quality STEM education programs and has a proven track record of reaching students through a variety of programs and media. In a typical year, NREL hosts more than 2,000 students on field trips with their classmates and teachers. NREL staff members also customarily deliver energy-related content to schools through outreach programs and with booths at conferences and community events. We have continued to respond to the demand for these community-based programs through our participation in virtual events.

To continue to deliver high-quality, engaging programming, we transformed our most high-impact programs to virtual formats and developed a new program to reach even the youngest of aspiring scientists and engineers. By using innovative approaches to delivering hands-on science and engineering content, we continue to build and reinforce the reputation of NREL as a responsible community partner and a valuable corporate citizen. We also promote NREL’s scientific expertise and research impacts by engaging staff in presenting STEM education activities, which carries with it the added benefit of boosting staff morale when many in the NREL community are seeking such civic engagement.

Q: What kind of feedback have you received on your STEM programs from students and educators?

A: Students are often surprised by the breadth of the research conducted at NREL. They are impressed by the number of staff members who work in STEM-support and STEM-adjacent roles – those who make the NREL community run smoothly and operate similar to a small town. By providing unique access to NREL staff members and research, we can show students that they can be involved in a critical STEM-focused mission in a close-to-home community with international impacts.

Educators view NREL and our STEM programs as a valuable asset to the community. They realize not only that NREL is contributing cutting-edge research to the scientific community, but also that NREL is a valuable economic engine, creating good-paying jobs and generating funding for the state.

Through our programs, teachers realize that NREL provides research-based information, is home to world-class facilities and is engaged in a variety of partnerships, agreements and business development programs, as well as technology transfer, licensing and entrepreneurship endeavors.

Q: Why is NREL a good place to offer these events and programs to the public?

A: NREL is a living laboratory, where we not only “talk the talk” of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, but also, through investments in onsite design and building development, we “walk the walk.” Many of the high-performance buildings on NREL’s main campus have achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and/or net-zero energy status.

Our Research Support Facility is one of the world’s largest energy-efficient office buildings, and lessons learned from its operation have been applied to more than 50 new buildings across the United States.

Colorado is the perfect home for the cost-effective design approaches that maximize the use of renewable energy technologies across a campus that serves as a model for energy use and sustainability. NREL’s main South Table Mountain campus is nestled into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and is centrally located within the burgeoning Front Range communities, where the bulk of the state’s population resides.

Q: What advice would you give facilities like yours that might want to offer similar programs once pandemic restrictions are eased? What kind of programming would you suggest, and how might staff members get started?

A: My advice would be to start by forming partnerships with local schools and community organizations that share similar goals. Assessing the status of existing programs and identifying where gaps exist allow for the creation of programs that audiences truly need and value. The programs you offer will enable organizations to achieve their objectives and be integral to their success.

Assess the needs of your community, decide what niche you can fill to meet those needs and become the reliable, go-to expert for that content. Identify your unique strengths within the community and how you can best connect your target audience with those strengths.

Q: Is there anything else you want to share about NREL’s outreach offerings?

A: As part of the NREL community, our education team has direct access to the world’s preeminent renewable energy research base. We see our role as bridging the divide between a K-12 STEM population that desperately wants access to the knowledge generated by our research and the technologies that enable it. By serving as a conduit between these communities, who have a mutual interest in meeting each other’s needs, we provide a space where our researchers can contribute to opening up new pathways for the next generation of NREL employees.

Bring NASA lessons into your classroom with Space from a Distance

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 17:24:42 GMT

The STEMx network proudly announces a new collaboration between science non-profit Battelle and NASA — Next Gen STEM: Space from a Distance. At https://nextgenstem.battelle.org , explore NASA’s standards-aligned, hands-on STEM activities and then join us for an informational webinar on 12/9/2020 to learn how to qualify for a free STEM crate with supplies for 30 students.

Starting next year on February 1 ^st , https://nextgenstem.battelle.org will feature standards-aligned design challenges designed for K-12 by NASA professionals. Each week will focus on a different piece of NASA’s mission – STEM on Station, Moon to Mars, Commercial Crew, and Aeronaut-X – providing accessible resources to you and your students in person or virtually. Each week, we’ll help you guide your students through the engineering design process, participate in hands-on-STEM activities, and learn about NASA careers from the professionals themselves.

Each day of the week is themed after a step in the design cycle, starting with #NASAMakerMonday and #NASATestItTuesday , and culminating in #NASAFeedbackFriday . Students will complete a prototype on Monday, iterate on their design, learn about careers at NASA from NASA’s own STEM Stars, then submit their designs.

NASA professionals designed these activities to demonstrate out-of-this-world concepts with everyday materials – explore the website to see for yourself !

Join us for an informational webinar about NASA Next Gen STEM: Space from a Distance on Wednesday, December 9 ^th . During this session, you will learn about the program, how to implement it into your classroom (in-person or virtual), and find out how to receive one of 100 supply crates to help you implement hands-on STEM with 30 students.

Skype a Scientist program in Indiana STEM

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 17:50:00 GMT

Q: Give us a brief history of the I-STEM Resource Network, its vision, whom it serves and its impact.

A: The I-STEM Resource Network, www.istemnetwork.org , originally was a partnership of public and private higher education institutions, K-12 schools, businesses and government, and hosted by Purdue University. I-STEM was started in 2006 as a collaboration among 18 institutions of higher education in 10 regions throughout Indiana.

In 2019, I-STEM shifted its focus to supporting the Indiana STEM Ecosystem. I-STEM supports K–12 teachers and education leaders working to implement high academic standards toward STEM literacy for all students. It also provides Indiana education leaders with new knowledge about teaching and learning.

Q: What is the Indiana Science Initiative (ISI), and how has it shaped your work at the I-STEM Resource Network?

A: ISI, www.indianascience.org , is a K-8 program that provides a hands-on, research-developed science curriculum to school districts in Indiana. We provide professional development for teachers to help them improve their instructional practice in science. ISI is the focal point of our work and has resulted in several spinoff projects, most recently a project in which we support mentoring of STEM teachers in 12 school districts. To date, we have mentored more than 150 teachers.

We have also worked with 100Kin10 in addressing the nation’s STEM teacher shortage, leading a project team in which we developed a tool kit for schools, districts and states to develop their own STEM mentoring program.

Q: One program you have introduced to schools in Indiana during the pandemic is Skype a Scientist. Tell us about this program, how it works, why you recommend it and what its impact has been in your state.

A: I introduced Skype a Scientist in June, during our virtual professional development (PD) for mentees and mentors, and it was a hit. I contacted Skype a Scientist, and they set me up with a scientist who studies Hawaiian monk seals. The teachers gave overwhelming praise for that one. There is a nominal fee, $10, to connect with a scientist.

In August, I lined up four scientists to speak to teachers; one was a Purdue archaeologist. We also had a microbiologist from Georgia Tech, and she was great.

I schedule the webinar on Zoom, host it, record it and then make the recording available for teachers in our mentoring program. Anecdotally, they have told me that they really enjoy meeting the scientist and learning about what scientists really do.

Q: How can schools in other states get started with Skype a Scientist?

A: They would just go to the website: https://www.skypeascientist.com/

Q: What other programs has the I-STEM Resource Network been involved with to help students continue to learn during the pandemic?

A: ISI has shipped curriculum to all member schools, and offered webinars on distance learning resources.

Q: What have you learned from other educators, parents, students and other STEM professionals about how to carry out effective in-class and virtual learning during this difficult time?

A: The Council of State Science Supervisors and the Smithsonian Science Education Center responded early on with resources, and we passed those along.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about STEM education during a pandemic?

A: #keepteachingscience

2020 Challenge Grant Awards and Our New Look

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 19:34:54 GMT

Members win new funding to create, share best practices plus our new website

We're proud to announce $30,000 in funding for new programs to expand high-quality STEM education. Through the 2020 STEMx Challenge Grants, leading organizations in three states will invest in new, promising practices. Then, they'll share plans, resources, and lessons learned with our complete national network of 24 organizations in 19 states. Click here to read some of the lessons from last year's STEMx Challenge Grants .

Brief summaries of all three grantees and their plans are included below.

You'll also notice we've revamped our website. In addition to refreshed look and feel, be sure to check out the first three weeks of content published to our new STEAM Resource Hub . This hub will release a total of six weeks of high quality STEAM lessons with detailed instructions for teachers or parents. Be sure to sign up for our announcements as new weeks of educational supports are released.

2020 STEMx Challenge Grant Awardees

Idaho

Idaho STEM Action Center will collaborate with Idaho STEM lending library network to expand the regional STEM lending libraries throughout the state. These lending libraries will house critical hands-on learning resources like such as Ozobots, 3D printers, and drones. The STEMx funding leverages previous grants by other organizations that expanded library inventory and created standards-aligned, instructional videos/curriculum for Idaho educators. Under the STEMx Challenge Grant, the Idaho STEM Action Center will launch a new online cataloging system and awareness campaign. These efforts will dramatically expand access to high-quality STEM experiences for local learners.

Indiana

Under a previous award, the Indiana STEM Ecosystem developed a series digital tools to advance STEM learning. These include a statewide digital asset mapping tool and an Indiana STEM needs assessment.

North Carolina

With support from the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center , the regional STEM East Network will launch a museums@home program. Students in the program will connect with regional museums having specific areas of expertise such as the Aurora Fossil Museum and Sylvan Heights Bird Park . Each museums@home implementation includes: 1) a pre-activity live museum/classroom chat, 2) a student-managed STEM classroom activity, 3) a post-activity museum/classroom follow-up and 4) a virtual Family STEM Night session to celebrate and share the student activities.

Teachers can apply now to create lessons, work in Army science labs

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 16:45:02 GMT

The RESET program allows teachers to conduct research in a real lab with professional mentoring and take the knowledge they gain back to the classroom. RESET, or Research Experiences for STEM Educators and Teachers, offers 60 hours of online summer learning to a select group of teachers and then places some of them in an Army lab to work for a month.

Applications are open now . To find out more about the program, we contacted its director, Dr. Jennifer Meadows, Assistant Professor in STEM and Mathematics education at Tennessee Technological University.

Q: Why partner with the Army and Department of Defense scientists?

A: The RESET program recognizes the strengths of direct mentorship for teachers working alongside Army and Department of Defense (DoD) scientists and engineers. By spending four weeks at an Army research lab, the RESET cohort members (Level II status) directly experience how research is conducted on a daily basis.

Joining in all aspects of research work, from initial ideas and brainstorming through project planning and development of data collection and analysis, provides real contexts for the RESET cohort members to take back to the classroom. The Army and DoD scientists and engineers as mentors offer RESET participants a chance to develop their understanding of what careers in STEM research look like and how they are achieved.

The direct interaction with mentors provides a more personal and accessible “story” for students to comprehend, because their teachers will have narratives to share from their RESET time in the Army research lab. At the same time, the mentors gain insights into how teachers are engaging their students with important STEM learning objectives. Enriching what the mentors know about how students learn, this can benefit other STEM outreach work these mentors might be doing, for example, in other AEOP program initiatives such as GEMS (Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science) or eCybermission (a STEM-based competition).

Q: How is the RESET program linked to classroom learning?

A: The RESET cohort members create lesson(s) and/or units of lessons inspired by the research work that the Level II cohort members have conducted with the mentors at Army research labs. These lessons are developed over 30 hours of online time during Module 3 by teams of cohort members using the 5E format to generate project-based learning challenges that place students at the center of their own learning.

Q: The collaborative element seems to be a big part of the RESET program. Why is this factor so important?

A: The RESET program can support a limited number of teachers for the four weeks at a research lab. These cohort members are referred to as Level II status. To strengthen the reach and impact of the RESET program, a larger number of teachers are supported with online learning time.

The cohort approach fosters immediate results for the RESET participants, who might be selected from all over the United States or worldwide in the case of STEM educators participating from DoD schools. Meeting together in the virtual learning space and responding to the same learning challenge create a shared experience. Throughout the RESET program, the cohort members are sharing a wealth of teaching experiences with one another. This process mimics the collaborative nature of research teams, where scientists and engineers work together in pursuit of new knowledge or the creation and development of designs.

Q: What other important takeaways do participants gain?

A: Each of the RESET cohort members, Level I and Level II, expands his or her professional network of peers in STEM education through a shared experiential learning opportunity. The RESET program is designed to welcome participants from across the United States, and this creates a wonderful venue for teachers to share best practices from diverse settings.

The Level II teachers make lasting connections with Army and DoD scientist and engineer mentors working with exciting research projects within the Army research labs.

The RESET program encourages individuals to become a community of STEM educators committed to providing rigorous learning experiences for their students through relevant contexts, inspired by the research being conducted in Army labs. The RESET lesson plans are not only available to each member of the cohort, but also, over time, these lessons, developed by teachers for teachers, will be shared with a broader audience of STEM educators for open source use.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about this program?

A: RESET seeks to empower K-12 STEM educators to incorporate research-based best practices in STEM education by immersing educators in real-world research at Army research laboratories, while leveraging unique Army resources and the mentorship of world-class Army Scientists & Engineers. We strive to increase educator awareness of and interest in STEM careers across the DoD. Our program promotes collaboration and problem-solving in a team environment, and supports educators as they create effective STEM research curricula based on their real-world research experiences. Ultimately, we endeavor to increase students’ awareness and interest in STEM content and in STEM careers in the DoD using authentic real-world context drawn from their teacher’s experiences with research at Army research laboratories.

H ere is our timeline for the 2021 RESET cohort:

Level I Application period ends – October 2
Module 1: Research & 5E Overview – October 12–November 13
Level II Application period begins – November 16
Army Scientists and Engineers Discussions – January, February, and March
Level II Application period ends – February 15
Module 2: Level II Onsite Research Experience – June–July
Module 3: STEM Lesson Creation – July–August
Lesson Plan Presentations/ End of Program Cycle – August

For ongoing information, visit: http://www.usaeop.com/programs/stem-enrichment-activities/reset/

Lessons from the latest STEMx Challenge Grants

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 16:37:24 GMT

Last October, the STEMx network issued $15,000 grants to five states . The "STEMx Challenge Grants" offered $75,000 in funding for states to advance STEM and share lessons learned with the national STEM community. Below, read the detailed reports submitted by each of the five winning states.

Idaho: New strategic plan and regional hubs planned to enhance statewide STEM access - Download report

Project plan: Facing projections of a 26 percent increase in the number of STEM jobs in Idaho by 2024, the Idaho STEM Action Center looks to expand into a full-fledged statewide STEM ecosystem. The Idaho STEM Action Center will bring partners together and formalize a state STEM network with shared vision, mission, and goals. This new strategic plan will include a series of regional STEM hubs. The project will be led by the Idaho STEM Action Center, a government agency under the Executive Office of the Governor.

Insights: To lay the foundation for their STEM ecosystem, Idaho sat down with key stakeholders. In this meeting, the team identified 5 key priorities and divided into groups for each priorities. These groups have continued to meet, through today. The Action Center also reports that being a member of the STEMx network connects this effort to additional resources, guidance and connections. Continuing challenges include regional hubs cohesive and clearly defining infrastructure components such as funding sources, strategic planning expectations, and data reporting methods. The Action Center plans a follow-up conversation in September 2020.

Indiana: Community sessions culminate in state convening on rural STEM education - Download report

The Indiana STEM Ecosystem will host a spring 2020 STEM Ecosystem Convening to gather businesses, PK-12 education and out of school programs. Attendees will identify key local challenges to expanding STEM partnerships to reach students in rural communities. Planning for the convening will include open sessions in Indianapolis, Northern Indiana and Southern Indiana. The Indiana STEM Ecosystem was established as the I-STEM Network in 2006 by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Eli Lilly and Company, the Lilly Endowment and Purdue University. For this grant, the Indiana STEM Ecosystem will partner with the Indiana Afterschool Network, ISTEM Resource Network at Purdue University, and the Rolls Royce Corporation.

Insights: Under the STEMx funding, Indiana incubated new ideas to grown equity & access to STEM opportunities in rural communities. The key next priorities are: A STEM needs assessment , a digital asset mapping tool, a digital STEM "hub," and support for local ecosystems. This work will help even the most rural areas of Indiana to identify challenges & solutions while working to fully develop a local/regional STEM ecosystem.

North Carolina: Seven county rural region will select and achieve three key actions to expand rural STEM education - Download report

STEM West rallied the seven-county region of rural western NC around STEM education. A full day event was hosted in western North Carolina at the Isothermal Community College in Spindale on January 30th. It highlighted local STEM programs and helped identify programming gaps. Participants identified three key future action items. Following the event, sub-meetings will begin to drive completion of these three action items in time to report back to STEMx in June. STEM West is a non-profit based in Catawba County Schools and is supported by the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (SMT) Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Insights: North Carolina's STEM West hub successfully executed a convening representing all seven school systems, multiple universities, community colleges, non-profits, businesses & foundations in the region. The network was strengthened with a new partnership & grant writing partners were established with local science museums. The agenda and presentations from the gathering are shared in North Carolina's report.

South Carolina: Local feedback session and new rural STEM effort - Download report

South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science hosted a localized feedback session focused on rural STEM education with an emphasis on whole community engagement. Building off the Coalition’s prior success with the Grand Challenges format, the session was interactive. It drove toward the creation of at least one rural STEM education effort to increase knowledge and sustain community support. Through a previous STEMx Challenge Grant, the state identified five Grand Challenges for STEM in South Carolina. These included building awareness about STEM and engaging more people in STEM advocacy. This follow-on funding will enhance current efforts toward these ends. South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science led the program.

Insights: South Carolina hosted a rural STEM convening. An extensive preparation strategy included defining critical questions, selecting 175 key participants, and contacting participants with key guiding information including trends in STEM. The conference included: "heat maps" of existing rural STEM resources, deep dive sessions into five "Grand Challenges," and commitments for May. South Carolina observed it was important for rural communities to hear & know about existing assets to continue making gains, not just gaps. Participants appreciated that they were not portrayed or perceived as “have nots” in the broader STEM ecosystem.

Virginia: As foundation state network grows, meetings in rural regions - Download report

To ensure the Virginia statewide STEM plan meets its goal of increasing equity and access in STEM education, state leaders felt it was important to hear directly from community members. This challenge grant will give citizens a voice and role in the development of this plan. With these supporting funds the Virginia STEM Coordinator, Chuck English, and the Virginia Department of Education STEM Director, Dr. Tina Manglicmot, sought to visit five rural regions and host sessions where stakeholders will have the opportunity to learn about the development of the plan and add their perspectives. This would build the communications network to foster future Virginia STEM developments.

Insights: Following a detailed outline, Virginia conducted a series of meetings in rural communities. From these meetings, transportation emerged as a key barrier. State STEM representatives did manage to visit five planned locations, but an additional six events were canceled under the COVID-19 pandemic. However, communications continued in virtual formats. This work, and other efforts, have continued progress toward full release and implementation of the statewide Virginia STEM Plan. Updates on this progress are linked in Virginia's full report.

New summit, plan and more building STEM network in Virginia

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 28 May 2020 19:11:00 GMT

In July 2019, the governor of Virginia established a STEM Education Commission for the state, with the goal of eventually launching a statewide STEM network. Having such a network, proponents said, would provide a united vision for Virginia’s many STEM programs, which had been developed in isolation. A network could aid communication and sharing of best practices to use and pitfalls to avoid, while setting goals and common terms. We chatted with Dr. Tina Manglicmot, Director of STEM for the Virginia Department of Education, about the state’s plan in September 2019 .

Efforts to establish a STEM network in Virginia have made progress, though these efforts have slowed in the past few months thanks to the hurdles imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. To check on the work done so far in Virginia, including a State STEM Summit held last fall and ongoing development of a State STEM Plan, we contacted Chuck English, Virginia STEM coordinator:

Q: Tell us about your role as Virginia STEM coordinator and how have you been involved in the creation of a STEM network in the state.

The state is doing great things in the name of STEM, from pre-K through higher education and workforce development. It is unfortunate that, at times in the past, we have competed for the same dollars, time and effort. One of the things I want to emphasize is the collaborative impacts across the state when we work together. When our work is aligned, we can help everyone see the potential in STEM as well as improve the state both educationally and economically.

Q: Why and how did efforts arise to create a STEM network?

A: Virginia has focused additional resources on STEM a few times. There were a couple of previous people in my role who laid some excellent groundwork in terms of connecting people and ideas. Many of these connections even started some networking efforts that never took off due to the lack of critical mass, but their ideas, initiatives and work are what we are using to build upon today.

Earlier partners include people from schools, universities and regional businesses. What we needed this time was to push the effort to the next level with governor’s office support. It helped that we were asking for a STEM Education Commission while we were getting high marks for STEM job growth, small business development and education outcomes at the same time.

The search by Amazon for a second headquarters solidified a need to formalize our STEM efforts and to create a plan that helped the entire commonwealth, not only select areas within Virginia. It was a time to see that our efforts are growing, but growing in a variety of directions without some state-level aspirational goals and definitions to help solidify a common language with our work.

I have worked with a couple of groups, including a collaborative effort of Virginia universities , that helped pull together a STEM Summit and draft a white paper that helped direct some of the State STEM Plan efforts.

Q: How has development of the network progressed? What role did the Virginia STEM Summit play in your efforts?

A: The State STEM Plan efforts were growing quickly until COVID-19 changed the dynamics of our meetings and our ability to collect voices and perspectives around the commonwealth. The STEM Education Commission met several times and, in the meetings between August and February, created our vision, mission and basic definitions for our work.

The efforts were quick given that the commission was a group of nearly 40 people representing all of the Department of Education’s superintendent’s regions across Virginia and from many different stakeholder sectors. It was fantastic seeing educators, business leaders, non-profits and students work together to build a State STEM Plan.

STEMx provided a grant that allowed me and Dr. Manglicmot to visit five rural areas of the state. Our goal was to share our ideas and thoughts about the State STEM Plan with them and provide a platform to collect their opinions, experiences and perspectives to add to the document.

The State STEM Summit, held in the fall of 2019, helped us identify the areas that felt underrepresented. Some of the attendees helped us pinpoint locations and local leaders to host many of our open community meetings. The summit also started a dialogue that helped us develop the questions we needed to ask and to create a baseline for us to identify some of the differences in how people perceive STEM education, literacy and work across the state.

As a result, we also attended nearly a half dozen educator and business conferences to share similar information, collect more perspectives and ensure that this plan will be mindful of all Virginia.

Q: Where do things stand now?

A: The STEM Commission and State STEM Plan draft are the first steps. If you had asked me about three months ago, I believe I had a personal idea of where we may go next, but now I am going to reserve my thoughts while I rethink our priorities and how to best serve a changing educational landscape due to COVID-19.

I have read and asked STEM Education Commission members to read a wide variety of State STEM Plans. It has helped to look at other models and interview other leaders about the pros and cons of their models. They have all helped to let us know highlights as well as pitfalls to avoid. Now it is a time to see what fits into our culture.

The plan will need to reach a wide range of audiences, from urban and tech-oriented to rural with limited broadband access. We have research sectors and substantial manufacturing facilities. The plan we end up with will need to be flexible enough to help each region make STEM relevant for themselves and the students within it. I suspect we will end up with a hybrid model, including the foundations and experiences from several states’ initiatives.

Q: What is the timetable?

A: The timetable has to be fluid, given the changes brought about by COVID-19. Honestly, it was flexible before the pandemic. The State STEM Plan was due in June; however, we slowed the process to ensure we included everyone’s voice in the document. Our current plan is to have the first State STEM Plan draft on the governor’s desk by the end of the summer. The plan, in its current draft, includes some immediate grassroots efforts we can implement this fall. Other aspects will take additional fundraising efforts and will likely be delayed unless we find a novel way to collaborate with other partners.

The STEM Education Commission is keeping the vision and mission pretty aspirational. We are currently working on areas of strength and concern to identify potential solutions and pathways to encourage continued growth in Virginia’s STEM literacy and employability.

Q: Has the current pandemic affected your efforts in other ways?

A: The pandemic is shifting a lot in terms of the culture of education, workforce training and methods in which we engage audiences in promoting STEM. COVID-19 will have an immediate as well as a long-term impact. One concern I have is making sure we maintain relevance when it is easy to pick other priorities, especially in the school setting. STEM is vital. STEM literacy is what will help us as a society better understand the decisions being made in terms of new behaviors, norms and expectations.

The COVID-19 disruption also gives us the chance to look at ways we may be able to influence institutional change. Can we take some of the time and help create an effective and efficient model for integrated STEM? Can we dovetail that into reading in the content areas? Can we build a model for education that helps students better identify how the skills and content they learn fit together to answer life’s challenges?

I believe that the circumstances we find ourselves in also create breaks in our routines and may create the inroads needed to help develop new patterns of behavior.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about this effort?

A: The state’s timetable has changed for the State STEM Plan. It is hard to know any of the details or identify dates on a calendar when so much is still in transition. We can always continue our work moving forward, keeping the STEM Education Commission’s momentum and, we hope, enlisting more people as we all see how STEM is now part of our everyday lives.

It is hard not to see STEM in the news, from PPE design and development in makerspaces to understanding the numbers and factors of influence, such as social distancing. It is a time to take this new variable in our lives and use it as a catalyst for productive change – to help people see how STEM impacts their everyday lives.

Army consortium for STEM seeks eCYBERMISSION promotion partner

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 08 May 2020 15:32:00 GMT

The Army Education Outreach Program , or AEOP, is the Army’s platform for advancing STEM education and literacy. AEOP includes a portfolio experiences, internships and competitions. AEOP, through its cooperative agreement with Battelle , has opened a formal Request for Proposals.

Battelle will accept proposals from businesses, organizations and associations with a history of operating initiatives focused on STEM education competitions with a proven track-record of delivering measurable results. It is our intent that the selected business, organization or association will use/promote the materials developed by NSTA for the eCYBERMISSION program. Moreover, the proposal should detail multiple access points (email, social channels or established connections) that can specifically target underserved populations and military dependents in support of the AEOP eCYBERMISSION.

Proposals are due by May 22, 2020 and should be emailed to knisley@battelle.org . The complete RFP posted here . Proposing organizations must also read and adhere to the following documents.

Tennessee network focused on “kindergarten to jobs” pipeline

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 15:11:00 GMT

Since its creation in 2010, the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network has worked to develop high-quality STEM programming for the state’s students in support of the focus of “kindergarten to jobs.” From its Regional STEM Innovation Hubs and STEM Designated Schools program to its professional development efforts, the network has strived to help Tennessee students be prepared for success in college, career and beyond. Brandi Stroecker is director of the network, which is based in Nashville and managed by Battelle . Brandi takes us through how her organization works and its many programs:

Q: Tell us about the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network – how did it come about, and what is its mission? Has that mission changed through the years?

Q: How would you describe your role at the TSIN?

A: I’m incredibly fortunate to work with a dedicated and passionate team that is willing to work hard to do what’s best for students in Tennessee. My role is to ensure the network offers equitable programming and wraparound services to diverse educators and schools across the state. Strategic planning and assessing the network’s current and future needs are always top of mind.

Q: Your network has been very active in creating resources for students and educators impacted by the COVID-19 school closures. Can you explain the initiatives you’ve undertaken?

The network has taken a two-pronged approach to providing support for educators, students, and parents during this period of school closures with the primary goal being to ensure that learning and professional growth continue during this uncertain time. Our team has developed targeted at home learning resources for teachers and students that keep kids engaged and excited about exploring the world around them. To continue teacher growth and exploration of STEM and computer science, we are transitioning our professional development sessions from in-person workshops to virtual learning experiences.

The network’s COVID-19 STEAM Resource Hub has been incredibly beneficial to teachers and students looking for ways to build critical thinking and problem-solving skills at home. The Resource Hub is a portfolio of hands-on, STEAM focused activities available for teachers to incorporate into their virtual learning plans or for parents and children to explore on their own. The learning topics are centered around three critical components of STEM education: design thinking, STEAM career awareness, and exploration of STEM habits of mind. Currently, there is content built out for every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through the end of the school year.

Mondays – #MakerMondayTN is focused on the use of design thinking. There are targeted design challenge tasks for students that allow them to use common objects found in their homes to solve a challenge facing our world. Students, parents, or teachers are encouraged to share their designs using # MakerMondayTN .

Wednesdays – #WonderWednesdayTN is focused on exploring STEM Habits of Mind and provide students with resources and activities to think critically about the world around them. Examples of activities include researching and responding to essay prompts, examining data and drawing conclusions, and designing an experiment to answer a question. Students, parents, or teachers are encouraged to share what they’ve learned exploring the STEM Habits of Mind using #WonderWednesdayTN .

Fridays – #FutureFridayTN is focused on providing students with virtual resources to explore STEAM careers. Examples of resources include virtual tours of STEAM workplaces and video interviews with professionals sharing about their interesting STEAM careers. Students, parents, or teachers are encouraged to share reactions to these resources or questions about career pathways using #FutureFridayTN .

These are unprecedented times in the history of education, our team is looking for novel ways to be flexible and creative, which are the key to successfully navigating this new (and hopefully short-lived) normal.

Q: Describe your organization’s approach to business and industry involvement in STEM education in Tennessee. How has the TSIN worked to foster greater participation of the private sector in STEM education?

A: STEM professionals are needed within nearly every field, many with strong job-growth prospects in Tennessee – including health care, engineering, computer science and manufacturing. We knew we needed to engage Tennessee’s top STEM leaders from prominent industries and employers. Our STEM Executive Council is composed of executive leaders who advise our work and align our programming to workforce development trends.

A: Our Regional STEM Innovation Hubs are incredible. They have the unique ability to leverage statewide impact by collaborating and sharing projects that have shown promising results through the network. The hubs represent a formal partnership among school districts, post-secondary institutions, STEM businesses and community organizations that are committed to amplifying and accelerating the impact of STEM programs in their regions.

Through the support of an array of STEM stakeholders and partners, hubs across the state create effective educational programs, such as teacher professional development or after-school programming for students, to address the needs of partnering schools, students and teachers at the local level.

Q: What role does the TSIN play in STEM school designation in your state? How does this designation benefit a school, and has the process to gain the designation changed over the years?

A: The Tennessee STEM School Designation process was a collaborative effort between the state Department of Education and the network with many stakeholders providing feedback throughout its development.

The process was designed to provide a “road map” for schools to successfully implement a STEM education plan at the local level. The tools and resources created define the attributes necessary for a school to create a comprehensive STEM learning environment for its students.

STEM Designated schools display an excitement for STEM learning experiences and serve as mentors to schools interested in the process within their regions. Our team has worked to cultivate a sense of community among our STEM schools that share resources, demonstrate promising practices and convene regularly to learn from one another and build leadership capacity across the state.

Q: Your professional development opportunities include the Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative. Tell us about its mission, how it works to achieve it and its impact. What other TSIN professional development programs have you found to be most popular/effective?

The program’s mission is to expand leadership capacity for rural educators and bring positive change to their communities through STEM experiences. Each teacher designs a place-based STEM project that addresses one of three focus areas: community partnerships, transdisciplinary STEM instruction or family engagement.

The evaluation reports show that this experience increases teachers’ confidence and efficacy in embedding STEM practices into their instruction while developing students’ identity as STEM learners.

The Innovative Leaders Institute (ILI) is another program that principals and educational leaders are excited about. The ILI provides participants opportunities to network with other building-level leaders from across the state, visit innovative Tennessee STEM Designated Schools to examine different models of STEM integration and share best practices and resources with the expectation of having an immediate impact on leader practice and preparedness for STEM School Designation.

Q: What has been the interest in, and impact of, your Manufacturing and Engineering Externship Program (MEEP) for STEM teachers?

A: Teachers are overwhelmingly interested in the MEEP program. We received nearly 200 applications for 50 openings. This program is uniquely designed to expose teachers to the tools and technologies used in the rapidly evolving manufacturing and engineering industries. Teachers have expressed how eye-opening this program has been for them.

Participants spend three to five days on site at a local manufacturing or engineering organization, develop an inquiry-based unit around their experience and then implement the new learning with their students. This not only increases teacher capacity but also introduces students to local STEM careers that are right next door!

Teachers receive targeted training in project/problem-based learning and design thinking with network staff, and our team provides feedback on their PBL units identifying ways local community partners can enhance the learning experience.

Q: What about direct financial support for classrooms?

Q: How do you help students see the connections between the skills they are developing today and the STEM careers of tomorrow?

The network is pleased to provide two, free supplemental STEM career awareness programs available to every middle school students across the state, regardless of geographic location – Endeavor by Everfi and Learning Blade.

Endeavor by Everfi incorporates interactive activities that reinforce critical STEM topics and introduce them to emerging STEM industries such as sports data analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT). Students have access to a self-interest quiz and guidebook that provide insight into student skills, interests and aptitudes and how they might connect to exciting STEM careers in high school and beyond.

Learning Blade highlights STEM professions and the technologies used in a variety of STEM fields. Students explore real-world examples of STEM careers and how those careers use math and ELA skills in practical situations. Learning Blade also provides hands on challenges that teachers can use to support collaboration and problem-solving skills development. Both are very different approaches to getting students excited about STEM careers and raise awareness of the possibilities available to them in high school and throughout their postsecondary experience.

Q: Your future priorities include the expansion of computer science education, rural STEM education and STEM designated schools in your state. How will you tackle each priority?

A: Each priority requires a different approach. We are grateful to our partners for the hard work and effort they provide to assist in giving students learning experiences that shape their dreams for the future.

Specifically, our partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education and Code.org has led to a regional model that removes geographic barriers for districts and teachers interested in offering computer science (CS) courses. This June, the network plans to host three weeks of consecutive professional development that focuses on the new K-8 Digital Readiness Standards and Code.org curriculum.

The goal of this concerted CS effort is to make connections across all grade levels and content areas to enhance learning and inspire students’ interest and exposure to computer science. This work will greatly increase the number of Tennessee teachers highly qualified to teach CS across K-12 classrooms.

Currently, 49 percent of school districts in Tennessee are in rural communities, which is why building a STEM ecosystem for rural educators and communities is vital. The Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative was cited as a program exemplar in H.R. 4979, Rural STEM Education Act, which informs how the National Science Foundation will support rural STEM outreach nationally. This is exciting news, as we’ve seen tremendous success in this program’s impact on students’ learning experiences during the past two years.

The network also continues to provide rigorous support through the seven Regional STEM Innovation Hubs to meet needs of educators and districts at the local level. Strong STEM teaching and learning experiences rest on inquiry, technology integration, work-based learning and project/problem-based learning strategies that are tied to the real world. It is a diverse, transdisciplinary approach where students are the drivers of their learning.

The STEM School Designation process is a road map that creates the systems and structures to build a strong STEM culture at the local level. The network has developed supports for schools and districts interested in pursuing STEM Designation including a mentorship model with current designated schools among other opportunities. We are looking forward to seeing the number of STEM Designated Schools continue to grow in 2020!

Q: Is there anything more you wish to share about the TSIN and its work?

A: Our team feels incredibly fortunate to be in the position to invest in the growth and development of the next generation. Tennessee students that apply STEM habits today will create the world changing innovations and inventions of tomorrow. This drives our team to continually assess statewide needs to inform the wraparound services and supports the network offers educational communities. While we’ve made great progress during the past year, there is more work to be done. Expanding equitable access to STEM education across the state is our key priority for 2020.

Tennessee educators produce thousands of protective face shields to help local medical workers

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 17:54:00 GMT

As U.S. health-care workers struggle to treat the growing number of COVID-19 patients, they’re also struggling with a lack of personal protective equipment on the job. Aware of medical workers’ critical need for facial protection against the coronavirus, a team of educators in southeastern Tennessee sprang into action to help. The group, bolstered by local experts and 3D-printing technology, is quickly producing thousands of plastic face shields to distribute to local health workers and first responders in the Chattanooga area.

Two participants in this broad-based effort – Jill Levine of Tennessee’s Hamilton County Schools and Michael Stone of the Public Education Foundation – agreed to share how they are accomplishing it.The Public Education Foundation is a regional hub of the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network , a member of the STEMx network. Michael and Jill collaborated on these answers to our questions:

Q: Tell us about your roles in the Hamilton County Schools and at the Public Education Foundation.

Among those initiatives, he led the development of the Volkswagen eLabs, the world’s largest network of K-12 Fab Labs, where students engage with advanced technology such as 3D printing, laser cutting and micro-computing to solve authentic problems.

A: On March 19, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan retweeted a story about a group of makers in Europe who were 3D printing prototypes for N95 respirators (close-fitting personal protective equipment “masks” to cover the mouth and nose). Jill, who served as a principal ambassador fellow under Secretary Duncan from 2013 to 2015, saw the tweet and immediately began thinking of how we could activate our local network of Volkswagen eLabs and Fab Labs.

Jill shared the tweet with Michael and a few teachers that evening and asked what we could do with all of our equipment to help address the growing personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage in our local medical community. By the next morning, the team had three prototypes printed and ready for testing.

Michael had developed a base model for a reusable N95 respirator, and Red Bank High School teacher Matthew Craig had produced a variation of a face shield circulated by 3D printer designer Josef Prusa . The team posted photos of the early prototypes to social media and quickly realized the need was critical as medical professionals reached out to assist and ask how they could help. We activated our network of teachers and quickly collected 3D printers early the next week as we got the prototypes to officials at local hospitals.

After gathering feedback on the original designs, we shared the N95 mask work with a group of engineers and material scientists from the community who continue to develop acceptable solutions.

This freed our team to focus on meeting the most immediate need of producing face shields. With approval from the local hospitals in place, we began procuring bulk materials and launched scaled production and assembly at STEM School Chattanooga on March 26, one week after the initial idea.

Q: Tell us about your 3D lab where the face shields are produced.

A: HCS is home to the largest education-based Fab Lab network in the world. Built around the model from STEM School Chattanooga, the district has opened nearly 20 school-based labs since the Volkswagen eLabs initiative began in 2017.

As schools closed due to the impact of COVID-19, we realized that we had a large supply of 3D printers we could collect from these labs to create a 3D printer farm at STEM School Chattanooga where we could help produce PPE for health-care providers. In a span of three days, we collected more than 73 printers from at least two dozen schools, developed a prototype face shield and got it approved for medical use by local authorities.

Now, we are running the farm at full capacity as we 3D print headbands, laser cut foam inserts, attach elastic banding and fit the front with plastic shielding. Jill and Michael oversee the operation and have been working to secure materials and the necessary funding to meet the demand, while a team of more than 20 HCS teachers including Kristin Burrus, David Vanzant, Jim David and Matthew Craig manage and work the farm.

Q: How much time is required to make one shield? How many do you hope to create?

We have already distributed nearly 1,000 shields. The goal is to provide relief for the serious demand until traditional manufacturers can catch up in the midst of this unprecedented pandemic event.

Q: Is anyone else helping with this project, and how do you ensure that social distancing is maintained in the printer farm?

A: The team of teachers working directly on the farm fervently practices social distancing. STEM School Chattanooga is built in a warehouse that was repurposed to house the school, so it provides the ideal setting to maintain proper distancing. Additionally, the team wears appropriate PPE while assembling, sterilizing and packaging the shields.

While teachers and district personnel are the only people allowed to work the farm due to safety restrictions, this effort represents a significant contribution from a large group in our community. Andrew Rogers, a local technologist with a background in manufacturing, has been instrumental in navigating supply chains and logistic services. Local non-profits such as PEF have provided financial management services and expertise in design and delivery.

Additionally, a growing group of about 25 community members with expertise including rapid prototyping, material science, engineering and medical supply have rallied around this effort to attempt to relieve the growing concerns around the shortage of N95 masks. We are actively working with members of the philanthropic community to raise funds for materials and supplies, and we launched a GoFundMe campaign to help offset costs as well.

Q: Are you charging for the face shields?

A: Rather than selling the shields, we are working to raise funds so that we can donate the masks to the front-line workers who need them most. To help with the funding, hospitals are pitching in as well as community organizations.

Q: Is this project something that other schools with 3D labs could attempt? If so, what advice would you give to them?

3D printing usually is not a viable solution for manufacturing because of the slow output of product, but when you can assemble a large farm of printers, you can mitigate the speed by printing in bulk.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about this project?

A: This project is an excellent example of how Hamilton County Schools, the Public Education Foundation and our community have come together to use innovative strategies to address a critical issue.

Announcing the “Start a Smile” challenge

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 20:51:00 GMT

Within the school community, everyone is adjusting to new roles. Parents navigate new work situations. Educators find ways to continue learning beyond the classroom walls. What can students do?

Following on the incredible success of the “Name the Rover” essay contest , the STEMx network proudly presents a new opportunity for K-12 students, in partnership with Future Engineers . The “ Start a Smile ” challenge will highlight the creativity and commitment of young people.

Students, your challenge is :

INVENT A WAY TO HELP SOMEONE SMILE WHILE IN ISOLATION

ENTRIES DUE: June 1, 2020 | 6:00 PM PST

Submit your solutions here

Submit a photo and short essay (150 words or less) of your solution and be sure to follow the student privacy rules of NO FACES or NAMES in your photo or essay. Your invention could be physical, digital, visual, audible, low tech, or high tech, but it should only use items found around your home.

Downloadable version of the design cycle.

Entries will be taken through a new Future Engineers portal. This event is made possible by support from Battelle , the nonprofit research and development company which manages the STEMx network.

Parents, this could be a great opportunity to educate children on how the design cycle works. STEM workers like engineers use the design cycle to create new inventions.

Once your entry is finished, help other people find the contest by tweeting about the problem you addressed to #startasmile .

We can’t wait to see what you create!

STEMx Parent’s Guide to STEM and school closure resources

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 09:19:00 GMT

As parents across the country find themselves managing unprecedented new challenges with the closure of most schools, we are proud to announce the release of the STEMx Parent’s Guide to STEM.

Download the guide here . Please feel free to share with credit to the STEMx network.

Finally, all our readers supported this launch. Below, you’ll find a list of supplements to the parent’s guide, submitted by our readers.

The STEMx Parent’s Guide to STEM and these resources offer a long term resource. But what about parents looking for ways to support learning during temporary schools closures?

Battelle’s education team , which manages the STEMx network, has pulled together a list of some of our favorite online learning tools or special promotions created to help out during the COVID-19 crisis. Know a great school closure resource? Submit it in the comments below with a link and a one to two sentence description.

One special resource just launched. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has coordinated with American technology companies to create TechforLearners.org . The site provides a searchable online database of education technology tools for online classrooms and teaching, allowing educators to search for free and discounted tools and services by grade level, product type, and subject matter.

Supplements to the STEMx Parent’s Guide to STEM

School closure resources

Resource collections

After 28,000 student essays, NASA’s next Mars rover has a name

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 19:16:00 GMT

All last year, you read about the NASA’s effort to find a new name worthy of the space agency’s next rover. STEMx followers passed this contest onto schools in their states or served as one of the 3,000 judges.

Today, NASA revealed the winning essay and name. Middle school student Alex Mather’s name, Perseverance, has been carved onto the rover body and will travel to Mars. Read Battelle’s release for all the details and learn more about the rover here .

NASA Names Next Mars Rover Following Year-Long Student Essay Contest with Battelle, Future Engineers

Columbus, OH – NASA’s next Mars rover has a new name – Perseverance. The name was selected as the culmination of a year-long competition organized by the space agency, Battelle and Future Engineers .

Battelle’s portfolio of STEM schools and STEM networks promoted the contest, along with partners including the Conrad Foundation , National Science Teaching Association , the Association of Science-Technology Centers , and the STEM Next Opportunity Fund . Battelle and partners promoted the event through conference presentations, webinars for educators, social media and other challenges. NASA chose Battelle and Future Engineers to manage the naming contest through a competitive request for proposals in 2019.

“Through this contest, we saw the incredible creativity, passion, and intellect of the young leaders who will form America’s next generation of innovators,” said Wes Hall, Vice President of Education and Philanthropy at Battelle. “We commend today’s winner and every student who looked up at the sky and imagined this rover’s place in history.”

The name was announced Thursday by Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, during a celebration at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia. Zurbuchen was at the school to congratulate seventh grader Alexander Mather, who submitted the winning entry to the agency’s “ Name the Rover ” essay contest, which received 28,000 entries from K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory.

“Alex’s entry captured the spirit of exploration,” said Zurbuchen. “Like every exploration mission before, our rover is going to face challenges, and it’s going to make amazing discoveries. It’s already surmounted many obstacles to get us to the point where we are today – processing for launch. Alex and his classmates are the Artemis Generation, and they’re going to be taking the next steps into space that lead to Mars. That inspiring work will always require perseverance. We can’t wait to see that nameplate on Mars.”

The contest that resulted in Alex’s winning entry of Perseverance began Aug. 28, 2019. Nearly 4,700 volunteer judges – educators, professionals and space enthusiasts from around the country – reviewed submissions to help narrow the pool down to 155 semifinalists . Once that group was whittled down to nine finalists , the public had five days to weigh in on their favorites, logging more than 770,000 votes online, with the results submitted to NASA for consideration. The nine finalists also talked with a panel of experts, including Lori Glaze , director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division; NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins ; rover driver Nick Wiltsie at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California; and Clara Ma , who, as a sixth grade student in 2009, named Curiosity.

Along with forever being associated with the mission, Mather will also receive an invitation to travel with his family to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to witness the rover begin its journey when it launches this summer.

“This was a chance to help the agency that put humans on the Moon and will soon do it again,” said Mather. “This Mars rover will help pave the way for human presence there and I wanted to try and help in any way I could. Refusal of the challenge was not an option.”

NASA’s Perseverance rover is a robotic scientist weighing just under 2,300 pounds (1,043 kilograms). Managed for the agency by JPL, the rover’s astrobiology mission includes searching for signs of past microbial life. It also will characterize the planet’s climate and geology, and collect samples of Martian rocks and dust for a future Mars Sample Return mission to Earth, while paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.

Perseverance currently is undergoing final assembly and checkout at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It’s targeted to land on Mars’ Jezero Crater a little after 3:40 p.m. EST (12:40 p.m. PST) Feb. 18, 2021.

For more information about the mission, go to: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle makes the world better by commercializing technology, giving back to our communities, and supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. For more information, visit www.battelle.org.

Media Contacts

For more information contact Katy Delaney at (614) 424-7208 or at delaneyk@battelle.org or contact T.R. Massey at (614) 424-5544 or at masseytr@battelle.org .

Call for resources: Parents Guide to STEM released soon

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 21:25:00 GMT

March 26, we’ll issue the first edition of the Parents Guide to STEM, published in partnership with the Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative.

Before we publish, we’re giving our readers a chance to submit any resource you feel deserves sharing. After some internal review, we’ll publish the best of these submissions alongside the publication of the Parents Guide.

Just want to make sure you get a copy? Sign up for the release of the guide at www.stemx.us/sign-up .

Member profile: How industry, parents and educators come together in South Carolina

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 17:57:00 GMT

Activity is busting out all over at South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science (SCCMS). From the upcoming STEM Education Month to the iMAGINE STEAM community festivals and S ² TEM Centers SC professional development, myriad events and projects are being sponsored by the coalition to make sure educators and students across the state are busy exploring, discovering and learning. Keeping all these plates spinning is the coalition’s executive director, Tom Peters, who gave us the scoop on what’s happening at the SCCMS, based at Clemson University Research Park in Anderson, South Carolina:

Q: Tell us about South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics and Science – when and why did it come about, and what is its mission?

DuPont, Michelin North America and Progress Energy (now Duke Energy) – had been working together to impact K-8 science education across the state with the assistance of the South Carolina Department of Education as part of the National Science Resources Center’s (now the Smithsonian Science Education Center) Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) initiative.

These forward-thinking companies recognized the need for a consistent and apolitical voice for quality STEM education across our state, and thus, South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science was launched. Our tag line, “Achievement By Design,” says a lot about our intentions.

Readers will note that our name does not include engineering, technology, the arts or other STEM, STEAM, STREAM disciplines. SCCMS precedes the “all things STEM” era and pays homage to our long association with the National Science Foundation’s Statewide Systemic Initiative in Mathematics and Science (1993-2003). We have not seen fit to change our name. What we do to change the STEM ecosystem matters more.

Q: How have industries, including BMW, DuPont, Michelin and Duke Energy, helped to get your organization started and keep your efforts going?

A: There is no question that SCCMS would not have launched without these partners. They provided energy, credibility, cash and intellectual capital in our startup years. Three of the four still do today. While we lost DuPont to plant closures and mergers, we have gained partners too numerous to mention, and not just in the business/industry sector.

We partner with: city governments to create STEM festivals; a heating, ventilation and air conditioning company on goal-setting strategies; the state’s Department of Commerce in creating a workforce dictionary; and so on. To be seen as the state’s “go to” organization in STEM education without the status of affiliation with a government agency keeps our efforts going toward interesting and impactful work.

Q: SCCMS has won two STEMx Challenge Grants, and both have helped fund meetings about the future of STEM in your state. Can you share the takeaways from those sessions, including the Grand Challenges, Systems Map and ideas on rural STEM education, and how they have guided your work going forward?

A: I believe we’ve been successful in earning STEMx Challenge grants because we have a storyline that is guiding our work around Grand Challenges in SC STEM Education. The Grand Challenges idea is not new, nor is it confined to education. It was, however, put into play in a very intriguing way by our friends, and now partners, at 100Kin10. The idea of identifying a few keystone challenges upon which to focus effort seemed a whole lot more actionable than a traditional strategic plan that might entail hundreds of things to do.

In our first effort, we brought the 100Kin10 challenge maps to a key group of thought and action leaders. As we had hoped, a few interrelated themes emerged, all centered around the value and perception of STEM teaching. Identifying these challenges and seeing them reinforced by participants in our recent Rural STEM convening have served to guide our resource utilization decisions toward these kinds of actions. You’ll see this focus on increasing the value and perception of STEM teaching in our lineup of STEM Education Month activities.

Q: South Carolina’s STEM Education Month is indeed coming up (March 14-April 11). Share a bit about all the events planned, including the STEM Educator of the Year award and STEM Education Day at the Capitol (March 26). What is the aim of these events?

A: I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out to state Rep. Sylleste Davis. STEM Education Day, which has now evolved to STEM Education Month, is her brainchild. The aim of the Month, Day and STEM Educator of the Year is simply to draw attention to success. As a state, South Carolina often gets a bad rap for its education system. Yet, our STEM ecosystem is filled with stories of impactful and honorable teachers, engaged students and amazing programs. These stories deserve attention from our legislators, our partners, and the community at large. Y’all come and see for yourselves on March 26.

Q: Give us some details about other events your organization sponsors, including the iMAGINE STEAM Festivals. How do these events further your mission?

A: Early on, our focus was almost exclusively teachers and schools. By happenstance, we stumbled into a community’s call for something that would engage parents, guardians and kids in early STEM career exploration in a fun environment. That something evolved into one, then two, and now three community STEAM festivals. These are street fairs in every sense of the word. They are engaging and entertaining while informing community members of STEM learning and career opportunities that are literally in their own backyards. And, the food is good, too!

What is best, I think, in terms of our mission is that the festivals connect kids directly with STEM professionals.

Q: Tell us about your programs inside South Carolina’s schools and for educators’ professional development. For the latter, is this where the S ² TEM Centers SC come in?

A: S ² TEM Centers SC is the continuation of the statewide professional development network formed by the aforementioned National Science Foundation’s Statewide Systemic Initiative. As an initiative of SCCMS, the S ² TEM Centers SC team offers teachers and schools direct, face-to-face connection with expert STEM education specialists located within their region. Having this strong ground game means we know our schools firsthand. We know school leaders, communities and other factors that impact STEM education. This allows us to deliver professional development that is tailored to the needs of each client-teacher, school or district.

Our team has a vast array of expertise and experience. We’ve delivered professional learning experiences to educators in everything from computational thinking to classroom management for inquiry.

Q: What is the mission of the Upstate STEM Collaborative? What tasks does it tackle, and what programs does it offer?

A: The Upstate STEM Collaborative came into being as a result of broad community interest in supporting STEM engagement opportunities that positively impact the culture and future economic success in and around Greenville, South Carolina. Greenville is home to many STEM-based employers including AFL, Bosch, Fluor, GE, JTEKT, Lockheed Martin and ScanSource. Together with schools, city government and community groups, the collaborative brings about the iMAGINE Upstate STEAM Festival, promotes STEM volunteerism, educates audiences including guidance counselors about topics relevant to STEM workforce development, and connects people with programs through asset mapping.

Q: Are you still involved as a principal investigator (PI) on research to enhance student learning in middle school math and science? Can you give us details about the research and what you have discovered? How has this research enhanced the work of the SCCMS?

A: In my role as executive director, I have had the opportunity to be involved as PI or Co-PI on numerous grants. We have done quite a lot of research in middle grades, thanks in large part to our friends at Boeing SC.

We have studied the integration of disciplinary literacy strategies and computational thinking strategies into middle grades math and science classrooms. With the support of instructional coaching, the success rate for implementation among willing teachers is high.

Q: What are your primary sources of funding to offer all of these events, programs and services?

A: Our core funding is allocated by the South Carolina General Assembly. This makes up a bit less than two-thirds of our operating budget, and it is critical to our ability to leverage additional funds from business/industry, foundations and others. Thanks to the support of the General Assembly, we are able to offer many services to teachers and schools at no cost, or at a cost well below market price. Our community outreach activities, such as iMAGINE, depend on sponsorships, and we are blessed with many amazing sponsors.

We have also been successful in pursuing and partnering in grants. And, of course, we appreciate the in-kind support provided by host organizations including Clemson University, Lander University, Berkeley County School District and Spartanburg School District 7.

Q: What are the future initiatives still on the drawing board – or on your wish list – for the SCCMS?

A: We thrive on making wishes come true. Right now we are combining two wish list items by developing a STEM teacher retention strategy that engages entire communities and applying that strategy in a largely rural school district.

Naturally, we’ll wish bigger and seek to scale up this work in other rural settings across our state.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about the work done at the SCCMS?

A: I was looking over some data recently for an upcoming presentation. The data are numbers such as the 38,000 people who attended our community events in 2018-19. And, the 1,670 educators who participated in professional learning experiences during that same fiscal year. And, the nearly 200 people who served the coalition in advisory-action roles. And, the 26.5 FTEs that make up the SCCMS team.

It is easy to report numbers. It is less easy to properly express gratitude to all who put heart, soul and mind into bringing STEM learning to life for kids and communities. For those who give of themselves so that others can pursue their STEM dreams in South Carolina or anywhere, I am thankful.

Five projects bring data from first-ever National Ecological Observatory Network to students

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 15:01:00 GMT

Adapted from Battelle’s press release .

The inaugural Battelle NEON STEM Grant Program will fund $100,000 worth of student research around the country, enabling five projects to leverage the open data generated by the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON).

A continental-scale ecological observation facility sponsored by the National Science Foundation and managed and operated by Battelle since 2016, NEON collects long-term ecological data from across the United States to better understand how ecosystems are changing. The open access comprehensive data, spatial extent and remote sensing technology provided through the NEON program is enabling a large and diverse user community to tackle important questions at scales not accessible to previous generations of ecologists.

“These grants are indicative of the high importance we place on STEM education and the value of NEON data,” said Battelle Chief Scientist Michael Kuhlman. “Now that NEON is fully operational, we are focused not only on enabling the world’s ecological research community to use it, but also helping the next generation.”

In offering the grants, Battelle received ideas from schools, observatories and other organizations about how students could learn key science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts by working with the data generated by NEON. Five projects were selected through a national competitive request for proposals.

“We are so excited about the funding awarded to Forward Research for our Puerto Rico Neon Data Jam Project!” said Alexis Torres, President of Forward Research, one of the award winners. “At a time when the Island is faced with multiple natural disaster challenges (from hurricanes and earthquakes), promoting investigation and data analysis of real community problems is fundamental.”

A rundown of the funded projects:

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. For more information, visit www.battelle.org .

Media Contacts

For more information contact Katy Delaney at (614) 424-7208 or delaneyk@battelle.org or T.R. Massey at (614) 424-5544 or masseytr@battelle.org .

Semifinalists in each state announced to name NASA’s Mars 2020 Rover

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 14:38:00 GMT

Yesterday afternoon, the top three entries in U.S. territories and states were announced for the “Name the Rover” contest. Read NASA’s feature below for all the details on what’s next. Check out the names and essays for the semifinalists selected from your state here .

NASA’s Mars 2020 Rover Closer to Getting Its Name

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is one step closer to having its own name after 155 students across the U.S. were chosen as semifinalists in the “Name the Rover” essay contest. Just one will be selected to win the grand prize — the exciting honor of naming the rover and an invitation to see the spacecraft launch in July 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The currently unnamed rover is a robotic scientist weighing more than 2,300 pounds (1,000 kilograms). It will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet’s climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.

“This rover is the first leg of a round-trip mission to Mars that will advance understanding in key science fields like astrobiology,” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division. “This contest is a cool way to engage the next generation and encourage careers in all STEM fields. The chosen name will help define this rover’s unique personality among our fleet of Martian spacecraft.”

With more than 28,000 essay submissions received from K-12 students, NASA recruited volunteer contest judges from every U.S. state and territory. Nearly 4,700 eligible judge volunteers were selected from a diverse pool of educators, professionals, and space enthusiasts and were instrumental in selecting the semifinalists.

The next phases of judging will reduce the competition to nine finalists, and the public will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite name online in late January. The results of the poll will be a consideration in the final naming selection.

The nine finalists will talk with a panel of experts, including Glaze , NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins , NASA JPL rover driver Nick Wiltsie and Clara Ma , who proposed the name for the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, as a sixth-grade student in 2009. The grand prize winner will be announced in early March 2020.

For complete contest and prize details, including a full listing of the 155 state/territory semifinalists, visit: https://www.futureengineers.org/nametherover

The naming contest partnership is part of a Space Act Agreement in educational and public outreach efforts between NASA, Battelle of Columbus, Ohio, and Future Engineers of Burbank, California.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages rover development for the agency. The Launch Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for launch management.

Mars 2020 is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration plans .

For more information about the mission, go to: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

For more about NASA’s Moon to Mars plans, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars

Engaging with Candidates

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 14:56:38 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too.

Check the list regularly

Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

Reward yourself

When you succeed in achieving a goal, be it a big one or a small one, make sure to pat yourself on the back.

Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in success. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, remind yourself of things that did.

I started using Recruit for my recruitment needs about three years ago. In that time, we've recruited dozens of tech professionals, more quickly than ever. The staff at Recruit is friendly, efficient and professional.

Chris Avond
CEO Affordable Ltd.

Technology & Hiring

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 14:56:38 GMT

There are so many good reasons to communicate with site visitors.

Tell them about sales and new products or update them with tips and information.

Here are some reasons to make blogging part of your regular routine.

Blogging is an easy way to engage with site visitors.

Writing a blog post is easy once you get the hang of it.

Posts don’t need to be long or complicated.

Just write about what you know, and do your best to write well.

Show customers your personality When you write a blog post, you can really let your personality shine through.

This can be a great tool for showing your distinct personality.

Blogging is a terrific form of communication.

Blogs are a great communication tool.

They tend to be longer than social media posts, which gives you plenty of space for sharing insights, handy tips and more.

It’s a great way to support and boost SEO Search engines like sites that regularly post fresh content, and a blog is a great way of doing this. With relevant metadata for every post so search engines can find your content.

Drive traffic to your site Every time you add a new post, people who have subscribed to it will have a reason to come back to your site.

If the post is a good read, they’ll share it with others, bringing even more traffic!

Blogging is free Maintaining a blog on your site is absolutely free.

You can hire bloggers if you like or assign regularly blogging tasks to everyone in your company.

A natural way to build your brand A blog is a wonderful way to build your brand’s distinct voice.

Write about issues that are related to your industry and your customers.

Promoting Your Brand

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 14:56:38 GMT

Write about something you know. If you don’t know much about a specific topic that will interest your readers, invite an expert to write about it.

Speak to your audience
Take a few moments to plan your post
Don’t forget to add images
Edit carefully before posting

You know your audience better than anyone else, so keep them in mind as you write your blog posts. Write about things they care about. If you have a company Facebook page, look here to find topics to write about

Once you have a great idea for a post, write the first draft. Some people like to start with the title and then work on the paragraphs. Other people like to start with subtitles and go from there. Choose the method that works for you.

Be sure to include a few high-quality images in your blog. Images break up the text and make it more readable. They can also convey emotions or ideas that are hard to put into words.

Once you’re happy with the text, put it aside for a day or two, and then re-read it. You’ll probably find a few things you want to add, and a couple more that you want to remove. Have a friend or colleague look it over to make sure there are no mistakes. When your post is error-free, set it up in your blog and publish.

Educators in six states receive $600,000 in STEM grants

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 20:24:00 GMT

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated (a TVA retiree organization), announced awards today of $600,000 to educators in the Tennessee Valley.

STEM classroom grants funded by the two organizations will allow teachers and other educators to build science labs, create prototyping lessons, and much more. All told, more than 70,000 students will benefit from the program. These resources are targeted to benefit low income schools. Of the 142 different schools awarded funds today, 94 (66%) are Title 1 schools. Title 1 schools meet the federal government’s definition for primarily serving low-income students.

Both the STEMx network and Tennessee STEM Innovation Network recruited applicants for the opportunity, in partnership with TVA and Bicentennial Volunteers. Click here for the list of schools awarded funds . These networks are managed by Battelle , an independent research and development non-profit, as a part of the company’s commitment to inspiring the next generation of innovators.

For all the details on the program and what educators had to say, read the press release from TVA and the Bicentennial Volunteers .

TVA Partnership Awards $600,000 in STEM Grants

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ― The Tennessee Valley Authority, in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated, a TVA retiree organization, announced this week the award of $600,000 in grants to educators in public schools to develop science, technology, engineering, and math education projects all across the Tennessee Valley.

The competitive STEM classroom grant program, operated in partnership with Battelle Education, received more than 290 grant requests from six states across TVA’s service territory.

“This is the second year we offered this program to the entire Valley and we saw a major increase in grant applications this year,” said Community Engagement Senior Program Manager Rachel Crickmar. “There is a demand in the Valley for workforce development through STEM education and I am proud of the way TVA and our retirees are responding to that demand.”

“Thanks to this continued support, students in six states will experience hands-on learning in new and exciting ways,” said Wes Hall, Interim Senior Vice President for Education and Philanthropy at Battelle. “TVA and BVI are growing awareness of STEM education and its importance throughout the Valley.

Among the 142 grant awards is “Aquaponics Workforce” at Mount Juliet High School in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Students will benefit from work-based learning with the aquaponics tanks. “Having funding for this versatile project is a great boost to our agriculture program,” said teacher Lindsay Nicholas. “Students will be setting rations and balances, weighing fish, monitoring nutrition, learning food processing and testing water and pH. Ag classes will also be keeping up with care and maintenance of the fish and water and will be learning to cycle fish manure to use as fertilizer for plants in the greenhouse. It truly is a project that every Ag class can have part in to learn how to manage a whole system.”

Another project that received funding is in rural Byrdstown, Tennessee, where first year math teacher, Maria Holt, is excited to answer the question she is often asked by students, “When will I ever use this math?” “Telling student the benefits of math and showing them are two different things. I’m excited that I will be able to purchase equipment to use for projects where students can see how math is used in some of the careers they might be interested in pursuing. Thanks to TVA and BVI, I now have the tools to increase students’ drive and motivation in mathematics.”

In New Albany, Mississippi, the vision of New Albany School District is “Preparing ALL for Success.” That is what New Albany Middle School will be doing with their grant. The school plans to implement and “IMAGINE STEM Lab” that all students will rotate through on a weekly basis as part of their technology seminar classes. This project will allow all students of all academic abilities to have access to hands-on STEM learning.

Across the valley, educators submitted projects large and small, to further STEM education initiatives in the classroom.

“The projects were all across the STEM spectrum,” said Crickmar. “We had requests for traditional things like science lab and robotics equipment, but we also had projects where students are challenged with designing energy efficient housing and building prototypes of inventions created to assist senior citizens in their communities. We had a great cross-section of applications that were very representative of life in the Valley.”

The competitive grant program provided teachers an opportunity to apply for funding up to $5,000 and preference was given to grant applications that explored TVA’s primary areas of focus: environment, energy, economic and career development and community problem solving. Schools who receive grant funding must receive their power from a TVA distributor.

A full list of the grant recipients can be found at www.tvastem.com .

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.

Awards to educators

VR game Network Collapse takes learners inside computer science concepts

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 14:16:00 GMT

For computer science teachers, helping students conceptualize how information is transmitted and protected on networks can be difficult. But explaining the concept through a game makes it fun. That’s the aim of Network Collapse , a virtual reality STEM app developed by researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. In the game, which won a  Gold Award from the 2019 International Serious Play Awards , players assume the role of a router and must transfer incoming data packets to the correct outgoing pathway without losing too many. While playing the game, students learn about concepts included in the Computer Science Teachers Association K-12 Computer Science Standards . To find out more about the game, we contacted Evangelina Shreeve, director of STEM education at the lab, which is managed and operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy :

Q: Tell us about your job at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and your role in developing this educational video game Network Collapse.

As a national laboratory, we are a distinct organization in the fact that we have STEM subject matter experts and scientists and engineers who can work together to solve a single problem. Recognizing the growing gap of computer science (CS) literacy, and the fact our rural communities don’t have access to hire new CS teachers and sometimes don’t even offer CS courses, I proposed we bring in scientists from our visual analytics group to determine a way to use virtual reality (VR) to accelerate CS literacy as it pertains to CS standards. The project evolved from there.

Q: Where did the idea for Network Collapse come from and what is its educational aim?

A: A team of PNNL VR developers, computer scientists, and STEM educators brainstormed potential ideas for teaching national CS standards using the Oculus Go VR headset. The headset, which had only recently been released, seemed to be a good fit for educational VR activities due to its ease of use and lower price than other available headsets.

The idea for Network Collapse developed out of brainstorming sessions focused on how students could learn about how networks work and some of the cybersecurity measures used to protect data on networks.

Q: Who else on staff was involved in the game development? Did you seek input from educators, and how does the game tie into computer science standards?

Cameron Tynes, Nick Cramer and Russ Burtner from our Visual Analytics group, Ann Wright-Mockler (former classroom teacher) from the Office of STEM Education, and various CS and cybersecurity staff looked at the state CS standards and identified sets of standards they thought could be taught in a fun way using VR.

Initially, standards related to networks and the internet (including cybersecurity) seemed like a good fit for a castle defense or world-builder game. These initial ideas resonated with the team, but they wanted a game that could be played for its learning objectives in 10 to 15 minutes (with additional challenge levels for those who enjoyed it) so that teachers could use it in the classroom.

The game was piloted with local teachers and students, and their feedback helped improve the game. The game addresses network- and cybersecurity-focused CS standards.

Q: Can early elementary, middle school and high school students play? What educational benefit will each grade level gain from playing? How does the game work?

A: Students in elementary will primarily enjoy just playing the game; however, with teacher guidance, they could potentially understand how networks work.

Middle and high school students were the target audience, and data indicate that students at these ages, after playing the game, usually understand the role of a router in a network, that data is moved in data packets and the basic cybersecurity attacks and tools in the game.

In the game, the player takes on the role of a switch or router in a network and must pick up incoming data packets and sort them to the correct color and symbol of the outgoing connection. As the levels advance, network traffic increases, and cybersecurity tools (firewalls and antivirus) become available to help defend the network.

Q: How would a teacher use this game in the classroom? What equipment is required, and how would a student play the game?

A: One possible way a teacher could use this game in the classroom would be at the beginning of a unit on networks and the internet. Students could rotate stations of activities and play the game at one of those stations. This reduces the need to have a class set of VR headsets as only a few students play at a time.

The game is free on the Oculus store and can be played using either the Oculus Go or Samsung Gear VR. It may be accessible on the Oculus Quest later this year.

The student plays by putting on the headset and using the controller to pick up incoming data packets (shaped like boxes). The student places each packet on its matching outgoing connection. Up to five data packets can be held in the “ray gun” for faster sorting.

A teachers’ guide is available with suggestions for other activities to advance student knowledge of networks and the internet.

Q: What has been the reaction of educators to this game?

A: Currently, we have received only positive responses from educators. We anticipate that this will increase as more schools offer CS classes. We have had requests to bring our VR headsets to classes for students to play the game.

In addition, the game has been so well received that our local educational service district asked if we could assist with a proviso on recent climate science standards in the state of Washington. We used the same model and approach to create a climate science app, which garnered great reactions among teachers.

Q: How do educators gain access to the game and equipment?

A: The game is available free on the Oculus store. The headsets can be purchased from Oculus, Samsung, Amazon, Best Buy and similar retailers starting at about $150 each. The only additional need is a smartphone or tablet with Wi-Fi to complete the initial setup.

Q: What more would you like educators to know about this game?

A: We designed this game for authentic student engagement that uses the capabilities of VR. It would be expensive and time-consuming to get the materials needed to run the virtual activity in real life, but by using VR students can engage in a genuine way with the ideas and terms being introduced.

To see what the game play is like, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLvUMCiumJ0

The teachers’ guide can be downloaded free from https://www.pnnl.gov/projects/stemvr/network-collapse .

Five states win STEMx Challenge Grants to expand and share innovations

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 15:16:00 GMT

To address the most important challenges in STEM education, the STEMx network brings together leading organizations. Today, we’re announcing the winners of our latest STEMx Challenge Grants. Read the detailed press release from Battelle for more information about the grant and the commitments made by each state.

STEMx network invests in state innovations, including rural STEM education

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Oct. 24, 2019)—Today, the national STEMx network announced funding for five states to expand quality STEM education programs and add to the national conversation on innovative education.

The 2019 STEMx Challenge Grants funds projects in Idaho, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Four of the five awardees focus specifically on expanding STEM in rural areas, an emerging focus of the STEM education movement today. The fifth includes rural areas as part of a broader coalition building effort.

The STEMx network, a coalition of leading STEM education organizations, selected the winners through a competitive process. Each of the five winning proposals will achieve two goals. First, these programs will catalyze the expansion of quality STEM education in the selected state. Second, every state will document their success and share their expertise through the STEMx network, furthering the national dialogue on expanding access to education.

“The opportunities funded today will position these five networks as leaders in expanding STEM nationally,” said Wes Hall, Interim Senior Vice-President of Education and Philanthropy at Battelle. “The expertise they share will strengthen all states.”

Battelle manages the STEMx network as a part of the institution’s commitment to inspiring the next generation of innovators.

Today’s funding marks the second time the South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science has won a STEMx Challenge Grant.

“Through STEMx and its support of this program, more South Carolina students have experienced the inspiration that a quality STEM education provides,” said Tom Peters, Executive Director of the South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science. “This latest project builds our work and will allow us to expand the reach of STEM to more communities.”

Idaho: New strategic plan and regional hubs planned to enhance statewide STEM access

Facing projections of a 26 percent increase in the number of STEM jobs in Idaho by 2024, the Idaho STEM Action Center looks to expand into a full-fledged statewide STEM ecosystem. The Idaho STEM Action Center will bring partners together and formalize a state STEM network with shared vision, mission, and goals. This new strategic plan will include a series of regional STEM hubs.

The project will be led by the Idaho STEM Action Center, a government agency under the Executive Office of the Governor.

Indiana: Community sessions culminate in state convening on rural STEM education

The Indiana STEM Ecosystem was established as the I-STEM Network in 2006 by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Eli Lilly and Company, the Lilly Endowment and Purdue University. For this grant, the Indiana STEM Ecosystem will partner with the Indiana Afterschool Network, ISTEM Resource Network at Purdue University, and the Rolls Royce Corporation.

North Carolina: Seven county rural region will select and achieve three key actions to expand rural STEM education

STEM West will rally the seven-county region of rural western NC around STEM education. A main event will be hosted in the center of western North Carolina at the Isothermal Community College in Spindale on January 30th (with a snow date of February 12th). That full day event will highlight local STEM programs, identify programming gaps, and select three key future action items. The facilitator for consensus will be Tom Williams, President of Strategic Educational Alliances, Inc. Following the event, sub-meetings will begin to drive completion of these three action items in time to report back to STEMx in June.

STEM West is a non-profit based in Catawba County Schools and is supported by the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (SMT) Center in Durham, North Carolina.

South Carolina: Local feedback session and new rural STEM effort

South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science will host a localized feedback session focused on rural STEM education with an emphasis on whole community engagement. Building off the Coalition’s prior success with the Grand Challenges format, the session will be interactive. It will also drive toward the creation of at least one rural STEM education effort to increase knowledge and sustain community support. The South Carolina team has already begun developing a list of potential organizations and individuals to invite and plans for more than 100 attendees.

Through a previous STEMx Challenge Grant, the state identified five Grand Challenges for STEM in South Carolina. These included building awareness about STEM and engaging more people in STEM advocacy. This follow-on funding will enhance current efforts toward these ends.

South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science will lead the program.

Virginia: As foundation state network grows, meetings in rural regions

To ensure the Virginia statewide STEM plan meets its goal of increasing equity and access in STEM education, state leaders felt it was important to hear directly from community members. This challenge grant will give citizens a voice and role in the development of this plan. With these supporting funds the Virginia STEM Coordinator, Chuck English, and the Virginia Department of Education STEM Director, Dr. Tina Manglicmot, will visit five rural regions and host sessions where stakeholders will have the opportunity to learn about the development of the plan and add their perspectives. It will start the communications network that will help with future Virginia STEM developments.

About STEMx

About Battelle

Battelle also manages a range of successful projects bringing quality STEM education to students including the Ohio STEM Learning Network , Tennessee STEM Innovation Network , and the national STEMx network .

Media Contacts

For more information contact Katy Delaney at (614) 424-7208 or delaneyk@battelle.org or T.R. Massey at (614) 424-5544 or masseytr@battelle.org .

Battelle NEON STEM Grant offers educators a chance to work with national environmental data

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 14:41:00 GMT

In 2016, Battelle began operating the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) under an agreement with the National Science Foundation. NEON provides open, standardized ecological data from across the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Now, to challenge educators to use NEON data in their K-12 STEM programming, Battelle has announced the Battelle NEON STEM Grant .

Educators can submit grant proposals for lessons that would use NEON data for topics ranging from climate change to animal population movements and much more. Final grant proposals are due by 5 p.m. EDT on Oct. 31, with awards announced in December. Technical assistance webinars will be held on October 10 and 22 .

So, what kind of data is on the NEON site and how might teachers incorporate it into their curriculums? For answers, we contacted Kelli Shrewsberry, executive director of the Teaching & Learning Collaborative of Worthington, Ohio, who has examined the NEON web site and has used data with students in her teaching:

Q: Tell us about your background in education and your work at the Teaching & Learning Collaborative. What is the goal of this organization, and what kind of work does it do?

A: I began my teaching career in South-Western City Schools in central Ohio in 1994, however, it was around 1998 that I was a participant in a professional learning experience facilitated by the Science & Math Network of Central Ohio. My passion for science was fueled by the innovative ideas that were part of the learning experience.

I simply asked one day, “How did you get to do this?” and the rest just fell into place. In 1999, I became a Teacher on Loan at the Science & Math Network and began to expand programs and my own leadership and facilitation skills while on staff.

I returned to the classroom for a few years, and, in 2006, the Science & Math Network changed its name, but not its focus. The Teaching & Learning Collaborative (TLC) continued to design and provide professional development programs in mathematics, science and technology through partnerships with universities, corporate foundations, ESCs and districts.

During the past several years, TLC coordinated several Ohio Mathematics Science Partnership (MSP) programs administered by the Ohio Department of Education. Programs such as K-2 IMPACT, a statewide mathematics initiative for Ohio’s K-2 educators, allowed us to research changes in content knowledge, instructional strategies and student achievement. The statewide structure for IMPACT is an effective model for what we want to be able to do as an organization: build networks and partnerships to help us scale programs that work, reaching more educators and students across Ohio and nationwide.

Q: What kind of experience do you have using primary source data such as that available through the NEON project? How have you worked with such data, and how did you begin to use it?

A: We have always tried to find ways to design strong learning experiences for students in mathematics, science and computer science. Including primary source data when we can provides an authentic way to engage student thinking, analysis and discourse.

One of my favorite experiences was during a mathematics and computer science initiative for grades 3-4. The robotics module used shipwreck data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gathered off the coast of Lake Erie. Students used data and images to discover relationships between perimeter and area. Students then deepened the experience by programming an mBot (robot) to travel to the various shipwrecks with given constraints.

In lower grades, we have incorporated the use of photos and images. Images of sea stacks (pillars of rock in the water close to a coastline) taken at the same spot over the course of 50-plus years provided an opportunity to engage students in thinking about erosion.

Images taken over a period of 24 hours (at different locations) helped provide opportunities to think about seasonal changes in sunlight. Couple this with data sets, and you have a powerful learning experience for students.

With those examples, we started with lessons that we already thought were strong and thought: How do we make them stronger? How do we get students thinking about what is happening or making comparisons?

Often, data was the way we could do that. It provided opportunities for analysis and discussion.

Q: Why should educators use NEON data in their classrooms? What are the educational benefits?

A: Visualizing, analyzing and interpreting data can be found in many content standards, not just mathematics and science. NEON provides an opportunity for educators and students to make connections across content standards and for teams of teachers to work collaboratively to create integrated learning opportunities for students.

In thinking about the use of NEON data, one of the most exciting aspects is the opportunity for students to engage in real-world examples. Whether you are looking for Citizen Science project ideas for a classroom learning experience or want to focus on data that is being collected in the field by scientists, there are many opportunities to think creatively about engaging learners using the resources on the NEON site.

Q: How can teachers initially dig into this data source and begin to use it in their curriculum? How do they go about preparing it for student use?

A: The best starting point is really to “dig in.” Set aside some time just to look around the site. Check out the interactive data catalog and just look at some of the data products. When you get to one that makes you think of a lesson or topic, spend some time looking specifically at the related links. Download a data file to see what is there and be sure to check out the README files, which can also spark an idea.

Once you have a lesson or topic, think about ways you can include data. Maybe it’s for the launch of an activity or an “engage phase” of the learning cycle. Think about small ways to start having students organize and analyze data and let it grow from there. There are also some great starter videos on the site .

On the homepage of NEON ( https://www.neonscience.org/ ), read the NEON Updates . There are several updates about projects being conducted, which might give insight to classroom/lesson ideas or ways to connect with scientists in the field.

Q: Can K-12 students benefit from using this database? How can each age group, in general, benefit? Can you give examples of possible ways to use it in various age groups?

Q: What would you tell educators who might be wary of using such data in their classrooms? What would you recommend to those who might be considering applying for a Battelle grant to fund a data-based project?

A: When you get ready to look at the resources on NEON, know going in there is a lot to discover. You’ll definitely have to spend some time exploring the site, getting to know what is there, and manipulating the information. The good news is that you’ll find creative and innovative ways to embed the resources into your classroom. There are some great questions being asked using the NEON data. Wouldn’t it be amazing if your students were investigating those questions, too?

Q: Is there anything else you would want to add on the subject of using data in the classroom?

A: When we as educators give students opportunities to use and analyze data to explore questions, we provide them with experiences designed to use and understand content at higher levels. NEON provides multiple resources that can be used to evaluate, manipulate and combine data to solve problems posed by the classroom teacher or students themselves.

Edited by Patricia Bitler , freelance writer and editor.

Esports coming to schools

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 20:28:00 GMT

Have you heard about esports? If not, you might soon. Esports is competitive videograming, and it’s a wildly popular global phenomenon with a growing professional level.

Among U.S. colleges and universities, many are forming teams, hiring coaches and granting scholarships to the best players, just as they do for athletes in traditional sports. Ohio State University is developing an interdisciplinary curriculum spanning five colleges to focus on video-game studies and esports. The curriculum will include undergraduate and graduate degrees; an elective course in esports content production; online certification programs for specialized credentials; and a gaming speaker series. A state-of-the-art arena is being built on campus to accommodate OSU’s esports teams.

What about high schools? Have esports reached those students, and how are high schools accommodating students’ interest and preparing them to compete on collegiate teams, win scholarships, and take courses that might lead to related careers? To find out more about esports in high schools, we contacted Jeffrey Caranna, who coaches several esports teams for Akron Public Schools and is based at the National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM High School :

Q: Tell us about esports and your involvement?

I’m currently working on expanding my program to include kids with a general interest as well.

Q: How many students participate in esports at the National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM High School? Do they compete among themselves or against students from other schools?

A: I have 23 kids on my team, but they don’t attend only NIHF STEM High School. We have kids from all over Akron Public Schools. Currently, we represent five of the district’s high schools: STEM, Akron Early College, Firestone Community Learning Center, Ellet and Kenmore-Garfield.

Our current practice area is at the University of Akron. The university has given us a practice space to use twice a week after school. We hold practice from 3-6 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.

Our teams compete in a few separate leagues. Our “Overwatch” team competes in the High School Esports League (HSEL) and Esports Ohio; our “League of Legends” team competes in PlayVS; our “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” team competes in HSEL; and our “Rocket League” team competes in HSEL, PlayVS and Esports Ohio.

Q: Are esports a growing field of interest at the high school level?

A: Esports is growing rapidly at the high school level. I sent out a survey to every eighth- through 11th-grader in the Akron Public Schools district and received a large response. We had more than 175 kids express interest about either the varsity team or joining an esports club.

Q: What is involved in an esports competition?

A: Currently, most of the leagues that run high school competitions are done entirely online. Depending on the league, these matches can be streamed online through various websites such as Twitch.tv or YouTube.

There is some groundwork being laid to have an in-person competition for next year. I’m working with Esports Ohio on hosting a state championship next year at the University of Akron.

Q: What can be learned by playing competitive esports?

A: My original intent with the program was to provide an opportunity for students who wouldn’t normally be involved in school extracurricular activities. For most of my kids, this is their only after-school activity.

On top of this, it’s becoming a scholarship opportunity for high school kids. I have two of my kids who are trying out for the University of Akron varsity program and have the possibility of earning scholarship money.

Many things can be learned from participating in esports that also can be learned through traditional sports. Teamwork, collaboration and strategizing are just a few skills that are taught and perfected through competition.

Q: Colleges and universities are launching their own leagues for competitive esports, and the Ohio State University is offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in its comprehensive esports program. Why do you think higher education is interested in this area?

A: I think just the growing popularity has led to the inclusion of esports at the collegiate level. The viewership for professional competitions is massive worldwide. It’s being used as a recruiting tool for a lot of colleges now as well. Many universities see it as a way to recruit and retain students who are interested in playing at a collegiate level. The comparisons here are very similar to what traditional collegiate athletics offer.

Q: With this growing interest at the college level, how do you think high schools could or should be preparing their students in this area?

A: I’m trying to prepare my team in many different ways, from teamwork, to practice habits, to individual play mechanics. I want to provide an opportunity to Akron Public School students to earn scholarship money that they would not otherwise have.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with us about esports and the students who participate in them?

A: Our students are very dedicated to our program. We have students from all over the district who will travel to the University of Akron to practice. This is only growing by the year, and it’s a great motivator for kids to want to do better in school as well.

The friendships formed throughout the year and the bond that our team has created made all of the time after school worth it for me. Our young people would be playing these games online with strangers they will likely never meet, but instead, they now get to play with other kids in their area and create these relationships.

Seven state Tennessee Valley region offered classroom STEM grants

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 00:14:00 GMT

The 2019-2020 TVA STEM Classroom Grant Program is now accepting applications .

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) provides electricity to nearly 10 million people in seven southeastern states. Since 2012, TVA has worked through the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network to provide grant opportunities to help teachers. In partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated , TVA STEM Classroom Grant Program funds STEM learning projects in classrooms and schools in TVA service areas.

This grant is open to more than just teachers in Tennessee. Please review the map below (click to enlarge) or download this PDF of counties served by TVA to see if you teach within the service area of TVA. Regions of Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi are eligible to receive funding.

The window closes on October 20, 2019. Grants may be requested in amounts up to $5,000. Visit the TSIN website to learn more about grant requirements, see examples of previously funded projects, and apply for grant funding!

With such a large area of eligible schools, the diversity of programs which receive funding is vast. Past recipients of this grant have addressed STEM solutions to problems of river quality, energy development, the coding gap, and transportation safety.

TVA STEM Education Manager Rachel Crickmar said, “The Tennessee Valley Authority understands that excellence in education is the key to our future…We want to work directly with teachers to support initiatives that advance STEM activities in the classroom to develop a talent pipeline for TVA and its customers.”

Common questions about the TVA STEM Classroom Grant Program:

Do I have to have the exact pricing for each item on my budget?

No. We understand prices can change over time and vary by store. Just estimate as closely as possible.

How do I know if my school is in a TVA service area and receives power from a TVA distributor?

Grants are open to all teachers or school administrators in public schools, grades K through 12, that are located in the TVA service area and receive power from a TVA distributor. To check to see if your school is in a TVA service area and receives power, follow the links on the right side at the top of this page.

What projects are NOT eligible for a grant?

Funds may not be used for furniture, cash, gift cards, travel, salary, food, general office supplies not related to STEM activities, or sports.

Where can I get help with my W9?

You can read about and download a blank W9 form on the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-9 If you need help filling out the form, please contact your school bookkeeper or district financial office. Battelle Education employees are unable to assist with the W9.

I can’t get the form to work. Can I apply via email?

We’re sorry but all applications must come through the online form. If your school internet or computer blocks typeform, please try applying with a different computer or on a wifi connection from home or a public place outside of your school building.

Can my school apply for more than one grant? Can I apply for more than one grant?

Yes and yes! We cannot guarantee we will be able to fund multiple grants from one school or person, but you are more than welcome to apply with as many ideas as you would like.

A vendor wrote my application for me, is that ok?

If we receive multiple applications with the same language written by a vendor, those applications will be disqualified. Your application should be your own, unique work.

Will I be notified if I receive a grant or not?

Yes, we will notify all grant applicants regarding the status of their application in mid-December 2019.

Hurry and complete your STEM Classroom Grant application today!

Virginia prepares to launch state STEM network

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 13:45:00 GMT

Work is underway in Virginia to create the state’s first STEM network. A coalition, led by the Virginia Department of Education, is bringing together stakeholders to create the STEM plan that will guide the formation of the network.

We talked with Dr. Tina Manglicmot, Director of STEM for the Virginia Department of Education, about the state’s growing progress. If your state is prepared to launch its own network or ready to join Virginia and other high-performing networks, click here to learn more about joining the STEMx network .

Q: What’s Virginia’s vision for STEM?

The commission’s key goals form a foundation of Virginia’s future vision for STEM. Those goals are:

Q: Why a network or statewide approach?

Virginia has developed a myriad of excellent STEM models, as well as programs that need encouragement to grow. These models and practices have been developed in isolation and do not support a larger vision for the State of Virginia.

A State approach will allow us to create a set of aspirational goals and common terms that will help everyone’s efforts to align and help support a higher need to develop a STEM-literate culture and supportive STEM community that will meet the needs of our evolving workforce. It will also help create a communications network where the various efforts, both best practices, and pitfalls to avoid, can be shared in order to create a more efficient and effective STEM program for all Virginians.

Q: Who are the primary players/stakeholders?

They also include the various groups that support the pipeline from business, industry, manufacturing to community programs and fundraisers.

If we are going to build a state model we need to get a large part of the population aware and engaged in STEM at a local or regional level. It is through the community buy-in that we can sustain a movement that will take energy and effort to help direct the general populace to understand the growing needs in STEM and how it impacts our everyday lives.

Q: What are short-term steps or upcoming opportunities that will guide your work?

Short term steps include obtaining the approval of the Governor’s Office on a State STEM Plan and Advisory Commission so that we have a unified set of goals to help organize the various efforts across the Commonwealth. Without a common set of goals, and terms, we will struggle to create alignment in the various programs impacting youth and adults at various points of their own STEM growth.

A close second step will be identifying leadership throughout Virginia that can help build up the efforts, so local voice and perspective is part of the process as we build a statewide effort. With this effort comes the building of more effective communications and relationships between the various parties, leaders, and ideologies.

Q: What are your focus areas?

From a State perspective, our foci are pretty broad in terms of content but tighten around the pedagogical and andragogical concepts of integration/interdisciplinary programming leading to more transdisciplinary programming helping people see past the silos and learning how various topics/themes and disciplines are needed to truly engage real-world everyday problems.

This is a common problem still influencing current structures in K-16 education, as well as the community at large. It will help to create the scaffolding needed to help Virginians to see how these concepts naturally interweave helping them prepare for the challenges they will face as our community and culture continues to adapt to new knowledge, technology and how we engage it.

Q: Areas you’d love to collaborate on with others?

Most important: Our next steps. At first, it will help to learn more about what other States have done, what they are going through and learn more about the various pathways States are taking as they look to grow themselves. We are unsure of the gaps or misunderstandings we may have in our plan, but to listen to others’ stories may help refine our needs and identify the areas where we would benefit most from the experiences others have already been through.

One specific item where we could use support is how to effectively build regional ‘hubs’ that would help create local/regional voice. We are hoping to do this with centralized state meetings but not create brick and mortar locations at various locations around the State. We are hoping to identify models that can work through changing meeting locations and online structures.

We are also interested in looking at state curriculum supporting transdisciplinary approaches to education and state policy levers developed to support this work such as state assessment models, state standards for learning, and the role of performance assessment.

Conrad Challenge combines STEM and entrepreneurism, open for teams

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 19:00:00 GMT

Click here to download a copy of the 2019-2020 Conrad Challenge poster

How did the Challenge begin?

The Challenge is named for my late husband, Pete, an Apollo astronaut and Moon walker. Pete had a passion for entrepreneurism that aligned with my passion for education transformation. He was creative and bold. We both understood the need to combine STEM education with the spirit of entrepreneurship. That combination empowers students to unleash their creativity in a collaborative framework.

What are your goals for the Challenge?

I don’t want the future to just happen. The future needs to be created by us. That’s what we do with the Conrad Challenge. We prepare students to create that future, for themselves, their communities and the larger global community.

They learn to think differently – not thinking in a box or outside a box – but to recognize there is no box to limit their creativity and potential. Students are empowered to solve the issues that are important to them and their communities.

How do students and teachers get involved?

The 2019-2020 Conrad Challenge registration opened Aug. 23.  Teams can register at conradchallenge.org and find all the information they need to join this year’s competition.

Registration is open until Nov. 1 at which time teams must have identified the issue they want to address and submitted an “investor’s pitch” outlining the challenge and solution. I encourage teams to register as early as possible, so they have the most time to work on their project.

Teams consist of 2-5 students ages 13-18 with a coach, over the age of 18 to help guide them through the process.

Teams will have access to judges and subject matter experts who will provide feedback throughout the process.  Teams selected to move on to Phase 2 of the competition in November. The top five finalists in each of our four categories will be announced in February 2020 and invited to participate in the Innovation Summit in Florida in April.

Students, you could name the next Mars rover!

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 19:14:00 GMT

In December 2008, a young student named Clara Ma submitted a name for a project NASA then called the “Mars Science Laboratory.” With a 250 word essay, Clara suggested the name “Curiosity.”

The Curiosity rover has covered over 13 miles of terrain on the Martian surface. Seven years later, the car-sized robotic explorer is the face of science on the red planet.

This July, NASA’s next rover will launch. Today, NASA opened the contest for K-12 students to name the Mars 2020 rover, in partnership with Battelle and Future Engineers.

How the contest works

Students will submit a name and a brief essay advocating for their choice. You can read the complete rules here and submit your entry on the Future Engineers student portal here:

https://www.futureengineers.org/nametherover

The contest begins today and runs until November 1, 2019.

Adults can help choose the winning name

The contest is still seeking adults to help select the winning name . Judges simply need to be a U.S. resident. The expected time commitment is just five hours.

How the Mars 2020 rover will advance science

The Mars 2020 rover is the first leg of a potential Mars Sample return campaign. The new rover brings a drill that can collect core samples of the most promising rocks and soils and set them aside in a “cache” on the surface of Mars. A future mission could return these samples to Earth.

The rover is more than 10 feet long and weighs more than 2,300 pounds. That’s around the size and weight of a very light compact car. It will pursue four science goals:

How to bring this to your classroom

On September 9 at 2 p.m. EST, Dr. Stephanie Johnson from Battelle, and Tanya Silva from Future Engineers provided a free webinar on activities to use in classrooms based around the naming competition.

We’ll also continue to publish more resources STEMx blog. Sign up here to receive our weekly updates .

Helping computer science teachers find community

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 17:18:00 GMT

When a frustrated teacher needs a colleague’s encouraging support, professional advice or reassuring hug, he or she might seek out another educator teaching the same subject or grade level in the school. But what if no one else in the building handles the same curriculum? Computer science teachers often can be the only one teaching that course in a school, or even an entire district. Finding like-minded educators to brainstorm with or seek guidance from can be difficult. That’s where the Computer Science Teachers Association ( www.csteachers.org ) comes in. CSTA aims to offer computer science teachers a local chapter with meetings where these educators can exchange information, learn about professional development opportunities and pick up tricks of the trade.

To find out more about CSTA and what it offers computer science teachers, we contacted Jake Baskin, the association’s executive director:

Q: Tell us about CSTA: When was it formed, and what was its original goal?

A: CSTA, founded in 2004 by the Association for Computing Machinery, is a membership organization that supports and promotes the teaching of computer science (CS). CSTA provides opportunities for K-12 teachers and their students to better understand CS and to more successfully prepare themselves to teach and learn.

Q: How is CSTA different from other teacher organizations?

A: At its core, CSTA remains devoted to supporting K-12 educators globally. As a former high school computer science teacher, I first found a community of practice and support at my local CSTA chapter.

Since then, thousands of new teachers have joined the movement to bring CS to their students, but they are often still isolated in their schools and districts. Since coming on board at CSTA, I’ve focused the organization on growing and sustaining our local chapters to make sure every new CS teacher has an even better experience than I did when walking into his or her first chapter meeting.

CSTA is unique in its focus on building local communities for K-12 CS teachers that are led by K-12 CS teachers. From our board of directors to chapter leadership to our annual conference, all of our work is designed by CS educators without a specific curriculum to push.

Q: Do CS teachers face other unique challenges in the classroom? How does your association help teachers meet those challenges?

A: On top of the isolation I mentioned above, one of the biggest challenges CS teachers face is access to high-quality, low-cost professional development programs. CSTA serves as a hub to highlight these professional development programs and connect teachers to them.

We also recognize that professional development is not a one-time experience. Through our annual conference, which is the best way for teachers to connect with the latest topics in CS education while learning from classroom peers, and local chapters, we provide high-quality continuing professional development to teachers at all experience levels.

Q: Are there other ways that you help CS teachers keep abreast of their ever-evolving field?

A: CSTA also works to develop standards that help guide teachers to what’s most important for all students to learn across K-12. Just this year, we co-led the AI for K12 working group that is developing guidelines for teachers to use for introducing artificial intelligence to their students.

We also maintain a list of professional development providers that is regularly reviewed by our independent professional development committee to connect members with learning opportunities.

Q: How does CSTA look to partner with states interested in promoting STEM education in general and CS classes in particular?

A: Outside of finding funds to support the development of CS programs, establishing a standard curriculum for CS is a challenge. Through our CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards ( www.csteachers.org/page/about-csta-s-k-12-nbsp-standards ), released in 2017, we have developed a core set of learning objectives to provide the foundation for a complete CS curriculum. Since their release, 34 states have formalized CS standards, with six additional states working toward adopting standards this year.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about CSTA and what it can offer to CS educators?

A: Teaching is hard — and teaching CS can be even harder. These teachers might often be the only CS educator in their school, town or district. By joining CSTA and connecting with the local CS teaching community, these teachers have a support system to share ideas with and gain inspiration from. They have access to a community of like-minded educators and to the professional development they need to help improve their craft.

Help choose the name of the next Mars rover

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 19:10:00 GMT

NASA’s next robotic explorer to the Red Planet has many things.

The one thing it’s missing? A name! Currently, the rover’s called “Mars 2020” but that’s a placeholder. This fall, it’s time christen the new rover with its final name for the history books. Battelle and Future Engineers are working with NASA on the Mars 2020 “Name the Rover” contest.

Students can’t submit names quite yet, the portal to sign up to become a judge is ready and waiting ( https://www.futureengineers.org/registration/judge/nametherover ). Judges will be responsible for vetting a few of the thousands of names expected to arrive.

Judges simply need to be a U.S. resident. The expected time commitment is just five hours. Here on the STEMx blog, we’ll be supporting the competition in three ways.

First, be sure to sign up for news about the competition, including the release of the student portal.

Second, Battelle is coordinating with a range of partners to help recruit for the contest. The following organizations have already agreed to support the contest:

Finally, these organizations are pulling together rover-related learning materials to share with educators. Have a resource you think could help? Post it in the comments below.

How Techbridge Girls aims to reach 1 million young women with quality STEM opportunities

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 19:18:00 GMT

Some children in high-poverty communities might not have easy access to quality STEM educational programming and the mentorship needed to stick with a STEM educational path. This can be especially true for disadvantaged girls. Helping to even the educational playing field is the goal of Techbridge Girls. The organization, with offices in three U.S. locations, creates and delivers STEM programs to K-12 girls from low-income communities. It also trains educators who work in high-poverty areas to deliver its courses. To find out more about Techbridge Girls and how it fulfills its mission, we contacted Nikole Collins-Puri, chief executive officer of Techbridge Girls:

Q: Tell us when Techbridge Girls was created and about its mission.

A: Techbridge Girls is a 19-year-old national nonprofit that champions equity in STEM education and economic opportunity for all girls. Millions of girls in the United States do not have access to quality STEM education, leaving them out of the STEM workforce and economy.

These are girls who are growing up in low-income communities and attending high-poverty schools. They are predominantly girls of color and immigrant girls. The causes for this gap in STEM are many and systemic, but at Techbridge Girls, we focus on one solution – giving access to high-quality STEM enrichment and a pathway toward economic opportunity for girls from low-income communities.

In 2017, Techbridge Girls set a bold goal to serve 1 million girls by 2030. To achieve this goal, we excite, educate and equip girls from low-income communities by designing and delivering high-quality STEM programming that empowers girls to achieve economic mobility and better life chances.

Q: How does Techbridge Girls fulfill its mission?

A: With locations in California, the Pacific Northwest and the Washington, D.C., metro area, we design and deliver equitable STEM programs for elementary- to high-school-age girls from low-income communities.

To scale our impact across the United States, Techbridge Girls partners with community-based organizations and schools to train educators who are equipped and motivated to effectively deliver high-quality equitable STEM enrichment in marginalized communities.

Our approach consists of these Five Essential Elements :

Since 2000, Techbridge Girls has provided more than 8,000 girls with our high-quality STEM enrichment programs across our three regions, trained more than 20,000 educators, engaged more than 2,000 families and connected more than 3,000 STEM professionals and volunteers to our girls.

Through our partnerships, we have reached an additional 70,000 students through our National Science Foundation (NSF) certified STEM lessons.

Q: Why does your group target K -12 girls from low-income , under-resourced communities?

A: Today, too many girls are locked out of STEM and have to work twice as hard to get half as far. Only 19 percent of African-American fourth-graders scored proficient or above in math and 15 percent in science compared with 51 percent of white students in both subjects (Math’s Report Card, 2017: https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2017_highlights/ Science: National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2015: https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ )

However, children living in poor communities and studying in high-poverty schools are often not provided the education they need to persist and navigate through the systemic bias and discriminatory practices that are blocking their pursuit toward STEM achievement.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the technology fields will experience the highest growth in job numbers, with STEM jobs projected to grow to more than 9 million by 2022.

Women in STEM jobs can earn 33 percent more compared with women in non-STEM jobs and obtain an annual salary of $82,000. Our girls cannot afford to be left behind, or out of, the STEM revolution.

We also know that when diverse girls from marginalized communities, in particular, pursue STEM careers, they make an important contribution to the field. Research says that diverse companies produce 19 percent more revenue (Boston Consulting Group, 2018).

However, girls do not pursue STEM pathways like boys do, so thousands of jobs are unfilled each year. Some estimate that the nation is losing $20 billion annually to unfilled tech-sector jobs (Forbes, 2017). STEM careers provide better life chances for girls and their families. We know that the U.S. economy can no longer wait to engage this population of girls.

Through our research, industry data and 19-year history with girls and adults, we find the greatest barriers to STEM participation among girls from marginalized communities are:

Q: You have locations in California, Washington state and Washington, D.C. How do you reach girls nationwide?

A: In addition to regional after-school sites, funded by an NSF grant that helped us scale our after-school programs, we build the capacity of educators, such as nonprofit staff members, school teachers and role models.

Our goal is to ensure that our girls receive high-quality STEM enrichment and that they are surrounded by a supportive and equipped community of adults and peers encouraging them through their STEM aspirations.

For almost 20 years, we have taken our lessons from our after-school programming to develop a blueprint for what it takes to deliver high-quality equitable STEM enrichment for girls from marginalized communities. We understand what is needed to equip adults and guide girls toward the STEM “finish line.”

In partnership with national and local organizations, including but not limited to Statewide Afterschool Networks, Girls Scouts of the USA, the Society of Women Engineers, Million Women Mentors, YMCA of the USA, City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley and Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, thousands of adults in roughly 20 states have increased their ability to implement high-quality STEM lessons through our training and resources.

In 2017, we set a bold goal to reach 1 million girls by 2030. To reach that goal, we understand that we cannot do this alone. Communities and partnerships are a great starting point to galvanize, excite and connect girls to the resources that are available in their backyards.

One significant step to meeting that goal is an exciting new partnership with Expanding Your Horizons Network (EYHN). Founded in 1974, EYHN maintains a portfolio of more than 100 conferences to serve 25,000 girls in 43 states and four countries (United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan and Italy) each year. EYHN is known as the preeminent source for resources and experiences that provide focused engagement of middle and high school girls from all backgrounds in STEM.

At its core, EYHN’s unique nationwide network of STEM conferences provides a pathway for empowering girls to see themselves as future participants in STEM-related pathways and careers.

Wanting to continue its legacy and make a greater impact, EYHN posed an opportunity to combine forces with Techbridge Girls and leverage our expertise and vision to reach our bold goal. Our new partnership will expand Techbridge Girls’ footprint nationally, create opportunities to engage our corporate partners and scale our practice in a sustainable, cost-effective approach.

For Techbridge Girls, we are now able to reach more girls from low-income communities quickly with our new EYHN model and connect more closely with the communities in which our girls live.

Q: Tell us a bit about the programs and learning experiences you provide. How were they created, and by whom? What fundamentals are the programs based on?

A: As an NSF grantee for more than 15 years, we have had the privilege of designing a research-based curriculum that focuses on what works for girls and, more important, what works for girls from low-income communities.

We are proud to deepen and broaden the legacy of our founder, Dr. Linda Kekelis, whose vision was to narrow the gap for girls from marginalized communities in STEM and create a pathway for our girls to unlock their greatest potential. She anchored our programs in research and rigorous evaluation to ensure we always kept our girls and communities at the center of our design and implementation. Today, we maintain those core principles and have been able to show a strong impact as a result of that legacy.

Recently, we compiled evaluation data from our five-year scale-up project, funded by the NSF. We found that almost as important as high-quality STEM enrichment was the “ecosystem” of supports surrounding our girls to help them persist to a STEM future.

The data from these findings was codified into the Techbridge Girls Essential Elements. In the Essentials, we identify five basic elements of high-quality equitable STEM learning environments for underserved girls. A complete list can be found on our website . These elements speak to the importance of a holistic, gender- and culturally-relevant approach, with an emphasis on career exposure and supportive adults to enable girls to persist to STEM careers.

We are clear that this is long-term work, and that girls deserve well-equipped adults to support their personal STEM trajectory.

Q: How do you train youth educators and youth leaders to deliver your programs? How is your organization funded?

A: Our training and curriculum support includes two primary vehicles. We equip educators to deliver our elementary-level (and soon, middle school-level) after-school program with intensive training, curriculum and pre-kitted materials. The model is called Inspire ^TM .

We also train line staff and supervisors on various aspects of our Essential Elements, including hands-on sessions to help practitioners create gender- and culturally-relevant STEM enrichment and equitable STEM practices, how to wrap around career exposure and equip families to also support girls’ (and youth) persistence to STEM careers. All of our modules are customizable, and many workshops are delivered online.

Our main source of funding is through foundations and corporations, but we also receive fees for our training and have an increasing pool of individual donors as well as some local government funding.

Q: How can organizations throughout the nation partner with you to use your educational tools?

A: We are excited to partner with educators in schools and nonprofits, and with advanced trainers, volunteers and others to advance our reach to more girls from low-income communities. Through our capacity-building programs, we empower organizations throughout the country to create more equitable access to quality STEM enrichment for girls from marginalized communities.

These programs include interactive, in-person training and turn-key curriculum, with or without pre-kitted materials, to support elementary- and middle school-age girls. Our elementary program Inspire is growing rapidly. We started with seven sites and are now at 30 and growing!

We base our training and curriculum on what we’ve found works best for underserved girls – hands-on/minds-on STEM activities; gender- and culturally-relevant pedagogy; broad STEM content and career exposure; real-world STEM application; and access to role models and supportive families.

Role model preparation is also central to Techbridge Girls unique preparation. In 2014, we developed a proprietary training and related resources called Role Models Matter ^TM . This training, developed with support from the NSF, prepares corporate and non-corporate volunteers to be more effective with youth (especially girls), increasing the quality and impact of STEM enrichment programs.

Through the training and online resources, volunteers learn how to implement icebreakers, offer relatable information about themselves and their backgrounds, and create fun, hands-on activities for youth.

Training, curriculum, and role model preparation are all evaluated to measure their effectiveness. All of these areas show great impact, including 90% improvement in trainee confidence in delivering high-quality STEM enrichment; a more than 70% increase in STEM identity among girls; and more than 85% agreement from role models that the training received was helpful.

We are ready and able to partner to expand our reach. In fact, we are building a cadre of newly certified Techbridge Girls trainers to expand our capacity. Contact me or my staff members for additional information. Interested parties can also email us at pd@techbridgegirls.org .

Q: Have you evaluated your programs through the years? How have you used your results, and other data from STEM-based educational research, to advance STEM education?

A: Yes! Evaluation is a constant at Techbridge Girls. We constantly rate programs based on what we find from our rigorous survey of girls, families, educators and role models. Our methodology not only includes surveys but also the use of comparison groups of girls, focus groups and in-person observations. For observations, we rely on the PEAR Institute’s Dimensions of Success tool.

In addition to using the data to update and refine our programs, we think it important to share our lessons learned with the field. We’ve done this over the years with a series of blog posts, white papers and presentations at national conferences.

In 2015, we produced a white paper called Changing the Game for Girls in STEM , which compiled lessons learned from nine girls-serving organizations. The findings were further reflected in our most recent publication called the Techbridge Girls Essential Elements , mentioned earlier. In addition, accessible through our website are numerous guide books for families to encourage science at home, for companies hosting field trips and, of course, for role models wanting advanced resources .

We will continue to produce additional resources, especially for our new Expanding Your Horizons partners or anyone wanting to operate one-day STEM conferences.

Greater than STEM, Episode 3 – Foster Care

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 14:50:00 GMT

What happens when a student doesn’t have a safe place to call home? And what can we do to support those students when they’re at school?

High-schooler Ryan Bass tackles this problem with his family. Together, they’ve fostered almost a dozen youths in Northeast Ohio. We’ll learn more about how foster care works from Lucy – a policy expert – and Jamole – a former foster youth.

Listen to their conversation on Episode 3 – Foster Care.

This podcast is brought to you by Battelle, the largest independent nonprofit research and development institute in the world.

Listen on on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Stitcher , or SoundCloud .

Resources for teachers

About the podcast Greater Than STEM is a new podcast that tells the story of one student solving one problem. We learn why it matters to them, why it should matter to us, and what we can all do to help. With some help from an expert in the field, we tackle topics like ocean pollution, foster care, and food insecurity in about 20 minutes. STEM students and professionals agree: to solve real-world problems, it takes more than good grades in four subjects. Tune in to our first four episodes the first Monday of every month.

Arkansas calls on states to advance computer science education

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 30 May 2019 17:35:00 GMT

STEMx member state Arkansas will host key advocates for computer science in just two weeks. The summit builds on years of advances in computer science education in the state.

Last June, we talked to Anthony Owen, Arkansas’s State Director of Computer Science: Governor, teachers and others back Arkansas’s computer science push . Then, he told us “Arkansas is leading the nation in K-12 CS education.” Since then, the state’s continued to make strides. In November, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced enrollment in computer science classes in schools had jumped by 30% in just one year .

Thanks to support from Battelle, STEMx members will have a special opportunity to join the upcoming Arkansas STEM summit. Soon after, we’ll post an update here with some of our members reflections on the event. Below, we’ve included the formal announcement from Governor Hutchinson about the event:

Governor Hutchinson Announces Inaugural National Computer Science Summit for June 10

LITTLE ROCK – Governor Asa Hutchinson announced today that his office will host the first-ever National Computer Science Summit for State Leaders in Arkansas on June 10 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

This invitation-only event will include representatives from 26 states, including Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, and other national and international leaders in the field of computer-science education for discussion of issues such as academic standards, teacher training, budgets, and development of computer-science education policy.

“This summit is the logical next step for Arkansas as we continue to be a national leader in computer-science education,” Governor Hutchinson said. “This summit will give us direct access to national leaders in the field, and it will allow them to see in person the advances we are making and to meet the people who are making this happen.”

From his first months in office, Governor Hutchinson has promoted the expansion of computer-science education, starting with his signature on Arkansas Act 187, which required all the state’s public and charter high schools to offer a course in computer coding. The state has continued to broaden access to students K-12.

The summit will include the keynote by Hadi Partovi, founder and CEO of Code.org; and a panel discussion led by the founder of Learning Blade, Sheila Boyington, with Governor Hutchinson, Commissioner of Education Johnny Key, and state director of computer science Anthony Owen; and panel discussions with other state leaders, commissioners of education, and industry leaders.

Funding for this event is being provided by donations from Battelle and Microsoft in addition to the Arkansas Department of Education Office of Computer Science.

CONTACT: Press Shop ( press@governor.arkansas.gov or 501.682.3642)

Greater than STEM, Episode 2 – Food Insecurity

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 02 May 2019 19:35:00 GMT

Fifteen million U.S. households were food-insecure in 2017 , according to the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service.

This week on Greater Than STEM, we speak with Ana, a 6th grade student and Michelle Moskowitz Brown of Local Matters, a community garden advocacy organization.

These two share a love of food, gardening and family, but have come from different backgrounds with different access to food.

In their 20 minute discussion they address how food insecurity shapes communities nationwide and how community gardens and food education programs can begin to correct the problem.

Come join the conversation on Episode 2 – Food Insecurity.

Listen on on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Stitcher , or SoundCloud .

Resources for teachers

Webinar: How to build mentor systems for STEM teachers

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 15:15:00 GMT

June 6, 2019: 3-4 pm EST Register

Across the United States, many schools face the same problem, year after year: finding math and science teachers. One of the solutions to this problem is to train more teachers. The other solution is to retain educators that are already in the system.

Could connecting these educators to mentors ensure they stay in the profession?

To help increase teacher retention rates, the I-STEM Resource Network created a network of STEM mentor teachers in 11 Indiana school districts. Throughout 2018 in partnership with other states and 100Kin10, they worked to create a STEM Mentoring Framework . That framework provides a clear guide to others looking to build mentor teacher programs.

Dr. Jenny Hicks and Dr. Jeff Thomas will join us on June 6 at 3 p.m. EST to present about Indiana’s program, STEM Teacher Retention Through Mentoring. They’ll also answer your questions about what the framework does or doesn’t detail. And how you can learn from them about building these programs in your state.

Presenters
Dr. Jenny Hicks is the Director of K-12 STEM Engagement at Purdue University. Previously, she was the K-12 Science Program Manager for the Indiana STEM Resource Network. Her career in education began 18 years ago as a Science Instructor and youth science director. She has worked as a professor, curriculum specialist, and researcher. She holds a Ph.D. in Visual Sciences from Indiana University.

Register via Webex

Three facts about the TVA Mini-grants, now expanded to seven states!

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 18:24:00 GMT

Tennessee Valley Authority, in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated (a TVA retiree organization), announced awards earlier in late March of over $580,000 in grants to educators in public schools to develop STEM education projects across the Tennessee Valley.

Most awarded funds support teachers in Tennessee, but thanks to a partnership to expand the grant through STEMx, this year’s grant also supported teachers in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia. To be eligible, a locality had to have its energy production provided by TVA.

Fact #1:

This was the largest TVA Mini-grant ever, awarding $451,250 to Tennessee and $130,250 to six new states .

Fact #2:

In total, the educators receiving funding from the program estimate they’ll serve more than 70,000 students with the grants .

Fact #3:

Of the 34 awarded projects outside of Tennessee, 74% support Title 1 schools , schools that qualify under the federal government’s definition for primarily serving low-income students.

Read the complete press release from TVA below.

TVA Partnership Awards $580,000 in STEM Grants

The Tennessee Valley Authority, in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated (a TVA retiree organization), announced this week the award of over $580,000 in grants to educators in public schools to develop STEM education projects all across the Tennessee Valley, with over $400,000 of the available funds supporting schools in Tennessee.

The competitive Mini-Grant Program, operated in partnership with Battelle , opened on Dec. 7, 2018, and received more than 240 grant requests from across TVA’s seven-state service territory.

“When we kicked this grant program off, we weren’t sure what to expect,” said Community Relations Program Manager Rachel Crickmar. “Needless to say, it’s not just Tennessee Valley Authority that understands that excellence in education is the key to our future. We were surprised at how many grant applications we received, but it goes to show there is a demand in the Valley for workforce development through STEM education. I am proud that our retirees are partnering with us to respond to that demand.”

Among the 161 grant awards was “The Copper Basin Environment, Ecosystem, and Food Project” at Copper Basin Elementary school in Copperhill, Tennessee. Students will focus on understanding the local environment and ecosystem to create and maintain adequate ecosystems and environments for crop and plant growth. The grant will allow fifth and sixth grade students to utilize the tools necessary to conduct a multi-semester study of the local environment including testing soil and water samples to determine nutrient content and analyzing the data to compare against the best methods of regularly producing high yields of food.

Another project that received funding is in Memphis, Tennessee, where students at Havenview Middle School will be exploring STEM career options by participating in learning activities that directly connect to the responsibilities of a crime scene investigator, forensic anthropologist, forensic pathologist, and a forensic engineer.

“Every teacher needs something different to take learning in their classroom to the next level,” said Aimee Kennedy, senior vice-president for Education and Philanthropy at Battelle. “Through the TVA’s generosity, educators all over the Tennessee Valley get to choose just what they need to expand STEM for their students.”

Across the Valley, educators submitted projects large and small, to further their STEM education initiatives in the classroom.

“The projects were all across the STEM spectrum,” said Crickmar. “We had entries for things like safety goggles for science labs, but we also had projects like engineering and building solar powered drones. It was a great cross-section of projects, very representative of life in the Valley.”

“The goal of the program was to help further STEM education across the Valley,” said Crickmar. “We knew this program would be popular and competitive and now we’re are looking forward to seeing the impact these projects have.”

A full list of the grant recipients can be found at www.tvastem.com .

Greater than STEM, Episode 1 – Ocean Pollution

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 17:40:00 GMT

This week on Greater Than STEM, we have our first student interview. We talk to Abby, a student from Northeast Ohio who is a self-proclaimed “ocean-hugger.”

What is an ocean-hugger? How does that passion grow in a student from Ohio (a state with rather limited access to oceans)?

Listen for answers to those questions and more on Episode 1 – Ocean Pollution.

Listen on on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Stitcher , or SoundCloud .

Resources for teachers

About the podcast

Greater Than STEM is a new podcast that tells the story of one student solving one problem. We learn why it matters to them, why it should matter to us, and what we can all do to help. With some help from an expert in the field, we tackle topics like ocean pollution, foster care, and food insecurity in about 20 minutes. STEM students and professionals agree: to solve real-world problems, it takes more than good grades in four subjects. Tune in to our first four episodes the first Monday of every month.

STEMx Scoop 2.0: Spotlighting national opportunities

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 15:20:00 GMT

by Wes Hall, Director of STEMx

Today, we’re excited to relaunch the STEMx Scoop, our monthly newsletter highlighting grants, conferences, and other important developments in STEM. (If you didn’t receive this first issue, sign up here ). One big change to the format: We’re opening up submissions to anyone who completes this simple form to share upcoming events: STEMx Scoop 2.0 submissions Submissions were previously limited to STEMx members . Instead of that benefit, members will now receive special edition of the scoop highlighting important grants for STEM.

For this first issue of the new Scoop, we’d like to highlight a simple but important opportunity for you to meet the leaders of STEMx states.

In July, the state STEM leaders who make up the membership of STEMx will gather at the NSTA STEM Forum. They’ll present a variety of strategies; sharing their expertise as leaders in policy, practice, and STEM advocacy. Registration for the NSTA STEM Forum is still open, though rooms are expected to fill soon. We’ve included the STEMx presentations at the event below, visit NSTA’s site to register .

STEMx presentations at the NSTA STEM Forum

ThinSat pushes students to reach for the stars

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 14:15:00 GMT

Space exploration usually makes for intriguing and exciting STEM curriculum. Reading and wondering about what’s far above our heads can be, well, heady stuff. But actually completing a class project that sends a payload into space – that’s way out of our reach, right? Not so for one Virginia teacher and her students.

They participated in a program called ThinSat , and after completing the work some in the group will be present to see their payload of data sensors launched on a rocket in April. Now that’s really out there! How did they do it? To find out, we contacted the teacher, Jane Carter, who gave us the nuts and bolts, so to speak. We also reached out to one of Jane’s students who worked on the project, Spencer Boggs, who shared a bit of his experiences as well ( click here to jump to Spencer’s interview) . But first, Jane:

Q: Tell us about your background in education and science and your current teaching positions.

A: I am currently in my 20th year of teaching. I worked in the aerospace industry for about eight years before entering the teaching profession. My educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in chemistry (Emory and Henry College) and a Master of Science in environmental science (East Tennessee State University). I am currently taking master’s level chemistry courses through Bluefield College.

My love is chemistry and challenging students to think, question things and then look outside the normal “box” for answers. I currently teach in Wise County, Virginia. My assignments are high school chemistry as well as environmental science for Eastside High School , and I serve as STEM coordinator for St. Paul Elementary School (a preK-8 school).

Q: How did you hear about the ThinSat Program, and why did you choose to participate? What was the cost, and how did you fund it?

A: In addition to my love for chemistry, I love all things space related. I have always looked for programs for the students and myself to participate in. Through another program I participated in several years ago I met Jack Kennedy. Jack is the Wise County Clerk of Circuit Court and shares a deep love for all things space related.

It was through Jack and additional introductions that he made for me that we became involved in the ThinSat Program. Jack was serving on the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, also known as Virginia Space, and has a lot of connections within the space industry. A personal goal of Jack’s is to inspire and see our area students involved in space exploration, particularly through PocketQubes (miniaturized satellites for space research).

As an educator, I know how important it is to challenge our students and inspire them to look beyond the standards. The ThinSat Program offers them all of that and so many other opportunities. So, with Jack’s assistance, we are participating in this program.

The ThinSat Program falls under the leadership and guidance of Virginia Space, and it has funded our hardware and flight costs (initial costs of $20,000 per team were stated). We are using local donations as well as fundraising to cover the costs for the students to attend the launch in April.

For this initial mission, there are nine teams that fall under the leadership of Wise County, and I serve as the lead mentor for the group (as well as serving as the individual mentor for the St. Paul Elementary School and Eastside High School teams). The other seven teams are L.F. Addington Middle School, Union Primary School, Coeburn Middle School, John I. Burton High School, Lebanon High School, Bland County High School and Washington County Homeschool team.

Q: Describe the ThinSat Program and its three phases. What did your student group do for each phase?

A: Phase 1: This involves exploring the atmosphere closest to us – on the surface of the Earth as well as several feet above us – through the use of XinaBox sensors ( https://xinabox.cc/ ). Initially students learn about the different sensors (weather and light) and the different types of data they can obtain from the sensors along with the setup and operation of the sensors. Operation includes some programming as well as understanding how the Internet of Things is used to make the data accessible through a Space Data Dashboard (SDD).

Phase 2: A continuation of Phase 1 with an increase in the altitude for the sampling area. The students set up what is referred to as the “engineering model,” which contains the sensors. Students verified that it was transmitting data, and then it was sent to Indiana where it was flown on a high-altitude weather balloon (100,000-120,000 feet). The data was again transmitted through the SDD.

Phase 3: This will involve a similar engineering model called a ThinSat that will again increase in altitude. It will be integrated into the Antares rocket that will be carrying the Cygnus that resupplies the International Space Station. The rocket is scheduled to launch on April 17, 2019, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility (Wallops Island, Virginia) as part of the NG-11 mission. Current plans are for several members from each of the student teams to travel to Wallops to watch the rocket launch and then begin to monitor the data being transmitted by their ThinSat.

The ThinSats will be released during the rocket’s second-stage separation and will orbit the Earth in an area referred to as extreme low Earth orbit, approximately 250 kilometers high. The ThinSats will orbit the Earth transmitting data for approximately five days before burning as they re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. The students will track their ThinSat’s location and monitor data through the SDD.

Q: What lessons have you learned from working on this program? Would you recommend it to other teachers? If so, how can other student groups get involved?

A: This has been the inaugural mission for ThinSats so there has been and continues to be a lot of lessons learned. This has been important for the students as it has helped them to understand that everything does not always go as planned. Our original launch data was aboard mission NG-10 in November 2018 but was moved to NG-11 because of issues within the International Space Station resupply program.

This program is not a “standard” class activity – it is based upon real-life space science and is constantly fluctuating.

Yes, I would recommend the program. We are currently involved in the next round – ThinSat 2.0. Five of the nine original teams (Eastside High School, St. Paul Elementary, L.F. Addington Middle, Bland High and John I. Burton High School) elected to continue, and three new teams (Ridgeview High School, Northwood Middle School and Lee County Career and Technical Center) are joining us.

Regan Smith is the ThinSat Program project manager for Virginia Space and can be reached at regan.smith@vaspace.org for information about participating in future missions.

Q: Can you recommend any other space-related programs or projects that you have tried?

A: I have also participated in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program ( http://ssep.ncesse.org/ ) and Cubes in Space ( http://www.cubesinspace.com/ ). Also, NASA has a lot of great educational programs and activities for teachers.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about your participation in the ThinSat program?

A: Attached is a PowerPoint presentation that includes photos, a screenshot of the Space Data Dashboard as well as other graphics and information. Feel free to use any of the photos or information in it. I have photo permission from all students involved.

Student Interview

Q: Tell us about yourself: your family, where you live, your grade level and your interests.

I am a senior at Eastside High School in Coeburn. I plan to become a chemical engineer with a minor in music performance. My hobbies include blacksmithing and woodworking.

Q: How did you become involved in the ThinSat project? What did you and your fellow students do to participate? Describe the process.

A: I became involved in the ThinSat program after my teacher, Jane Carter, came up to me and a friend and described what was happening. We were instantly intrigued and soon became wrapped up in the satellites and their many functions and parts.

I focused more on the parts aspect and keeping the organization aspects in line. I assembled the satellites and taught the younger members how to put together the tiny modules.

Q: Did you come up against challenges? How did you overcome them, and what did you learn from them and from participating in the effort as a whole?

A: At first we faced many challenges, most of which had to do with the computer aspect of the program. We would log our observations of the different modules and would report any problems to Virginia Space and others.

I learned that I was really influencing how this project would turn out and that we had to work as a team to solve the issues.

Q: Will you be at the launch? Will you be receiving data from the satellite after the launch, and what will you do with the data?

A: I will be at the launch and will be allowed into the control booth to see the live data coming in from the satellites and will assess and make observations to gather data on the mesosphere (atmospheric layer above the stratosphere).

Q: Would you participate in a project like this again? What was the best part? Would you recommend it to others? What would you change about it?

A: I have really enjoyed this experience, being able to tinker with the tiny parts and get to see them launch into the atmosphere. I really liked the mechanics behind it all and building satellites and testing their range and durability capabilities.

I would most certainly recommend this experience to anyone who is up for a scientific challenge and likes to think. I do wish I could personally have devoted much more time than I did to outline and streamline the process for our team.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about this experience?

A: I am really excited to see all of the team’s hard work pay off and blast out of this atmosphere!

Pre-college scholarship helps dedicated students with financial need make the most of high school

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 20:52:00 GMT

The best educators often look for ways to help academically talented but financially needy students realize their potential. Telling such students about the Young Scholars Program, sponsored by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation of Lansdowne, Virginia, is one way to assist them. The program helps bright and motivated but financially strapped seventh-graders with scholarship aid, academic advice and much more. We asked Alan Royal, senior program manager of outreach and partnerships at the Cooke foundation, to share information about the Young Scholars Program :

Q: Tell us about the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, its mission and your role with the foundation.

A: The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a national grants and scholarships provider dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded $190 million in scholarships to nearly 2,500 students from eighth grade through graduate school and provided more than $100 million in grants to organizations that serve high-achieving students with financial need.

As senior program manager of outreach and partnerships, I help oversee outreach initiatives and partnerships for the foundation’s College Scholarship Program, Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship and Young Scholars Program, and I also help oversee the scholar selection process.

Q: What is the aim of the Young Scholars program? When and why was it created, and how many students has it served?

A: The Cooke Young Scholars Program is a selective five-year, pre-college scholarship for high-performing seventh-grade students with financial need. The program was established in 2001 and has currently served more than 900 students.

The aim of the program is to help connect high-achieving students who have financial need and might be isolated from appropriately rigorous academic environments to resources, enrichment opportunities and advising support that enable them to continue developing their academic and artistic talents.

Q: What must a student do to apply for a scholarship? What are you looking for in an applicant?

A: To apply, a student must currently be in seventh grade, have earned all or mostly A’s in school since the beginning of sixth grade and demonstrate unmet financial need. The foundation considers applicants with an annual family income up to $95,000.

Strong applicants will be able to demonstrate strength in each of the program’s selection criteria, including academic achievement, persistence, leadership and service to others. They show these traits in their application by submitting report cards, test-score reports, essay writing and recommendations from teachers, counselors, coaches, etc.

Ideal applicants also have an enthusiasm for joining a community of active and engaged peers who are excited about learning and are open to collaborating with an adviser who will help guide some of their educational decisions.

Q: Those who are picked for the award, what will they receive?

A: The Young Scholars Program provides comprehensive academic and college advising from eighth through 12th grade, as well as financial support for school, summer programs, internships and other learning-enrichment opportunities throughout high school.

The advising component of the program includes identifying an appropriately rigorous high school, engaging in four-year planning and goal-setting, facilitating year-round Young Scholar community programming and later guiding the college application process.

Some additional examples of financial support from the scholarship might include online courses, educational software and hardware, and music or art lessons.

Q: Is there support provided to winners in the long-term?

A: As long as Cooke Young Scholars remain in good standing with the program, which essentially means collaborating with their adviser, engaging with the scholar community and maintaining a strong academic record, scholarship support continues until high school graduation.

Young Scholars are also eligible to apply for the Cooke College Scholarship Program during the fall of their senior year, which awards up to $40,000 per year for four years. More than 90 percent of Young Scholars have also received the college scholarship.

Q: Can you briefly tell us about a few of the winners whose stories touched you?

A: I was fortunate to have been a Young Scholar educational adviser for 5 1/2 years prior to transitioning into the outreach role, so I could mention many Young Scholars with impressive and inspiring stories and amazing accomplishments.

For me personally, during those years I was able to advise four scholars from New Orleans who each had a phenomenal personal story, from surviving Hurricane Katrina and overcoming seemingly insurmountable environmental challenges while achieving at the highest levels academically.

It’s been deeply touching to see them persist toward accomplishing their goals in spite of obstacles and be able to take advantage of the foundation’s support. I still keep in touch with them and many other scholars I was privileged to work with, and they’re all doing extremely well today.

For those interested in learning more about the accomplishments of some of the Cooke Foundation’s successful Cooke Young Scholars, William Tarpeh ( scholar bio and Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science ) and Qian Qian Tang ( scholar bio ) are two amazing examples!

Q: When is the deadline for this year’s applications? How can students find out more about the program, and how can they apply?

A: The 2019 Young Scholars Program application is open until March 14. Applicants must submit all application materials by noon EST. The online application and all important information about the application process and program experience are accessible at www.jkcf.org/ysp .

There are a variety of cool resources available to view at this page as well, from scholar profiles to webinars, and I encourage anyone seeking more information to check out them all.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about this program?

A: I believe the Young Scholars Program is a potentially life-altering opportunity. For talented, high-achieving seventh-graders who have a special spark for learning and a drive to excel, I’d encourage them to seriously consider applying.

Though it’s a selective program, I also believe the process of completing an application like this as a seventh-grader is a valuable experience that any serious student will learn and benefit from.

Give yourself the chance to see how far you can go by applying!

Greater than STEM, Episode 0 – Battelle History: from the Xerox copier to Ohio’s first STEM school

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 22:29:00 GMT

Battelle has been around for almost 100 years, but how did it grow from one building in 1929 into the world’s largest private nonprofit research and development institute? And how did it get involved in STEM education? And what even is STEM education?

And why is filling up your apartment with sulfur fumes an important step towards inventing the Xerox copier?

Listen for answers to those questions and more – before we meet the students.

Listen on on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Stitcher , or SoundCloud .

Resources for teachers

About the podcast

STEMx sessions at upcoming forum in San Francisco

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 21:04:00 GMT

The STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, provides resources for educators and organizations seeking to learn more about STEM, outreach, partnerships, schools, and curricula.

The event has been a powerful chance the state leaders that make up our network to connect and share ideas with educators from across the country.

Tired of winter? We’ve got good news for you. This conference will be held at Moscone Center West in San Francisco from July 24–26, 2019. Register for the conference here .

We’re partnering with the National Science Teachers Association again. From microcredentials for teachers to the new federal STEM plan, we’ve got topics to help you make the most of STEM education.

We would love to see you at the STEM forum! Below are the titles and times of the presentations we’ve gathered to represent STEMx.

Army Education Outreach Program seeks partners for grant to broaden participation

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 18:12:00 GMT

The Army Education Outreach Program , or AEOP, is the Army’s platform for advancing STEM education and literacy through STEM experiences, internships and competitions. AEOP, through its cooperative agreement with Battelle , has opened a formal Request for Information as it seeks like-minded organizations and associations which can connect students with AEOP programs.

If you know or lead an organization that serves students from under-served populations/military dependents and that organization could support AEOP in broadening participation in STEM to increase diversity in the field, don’t miss Thursday’s webinar on the 2019 AEOP Strategic Outreach Initiatives Grant.

Attending the webinar is a requirement to participate in the program. The webinar will be held on Feb. 7, 12 pm – 1 pm EST. Selected organizations who submit responses to the Request for Information will be invited to submit a full proposal. Awards will be granted for up to $50,000 for up to one year for new awardees and up to $200,000 for up to one year for previously funded awardees.

Register for the mandatory webinar here . The link to the online Request for Information form will be sent to organizations who participate in the mandatory information session.

Read the RFI here .

The Connectory: “The go-to place for parents” to discover STEM learning

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 20:16:00 GMT

Building a better national STEM network for the benefit of girls and their careers is the goal of the National Girls Collaborative Project. The project aims to increase access to resources and share best practices, among other goals. One of the project’s major online efforts is The Connectory, which works to connect families to STEM providers. The director of The Connectory, Jolene Gustafson, agreed to share more information about it and the National Girls Collaborative Project:

Q: Tell us about the National Girls Collaborative Project and your role in it.

A: The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) brings together organizations committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue STEM careers. NGCP does this by maximizing access to shared resources across all stakeholders, by strengthening the capacity of programs through sharing exemplary practices and research, and by leveraging a network of collaborative organizations to create the tipping point for gender equity in STEM.

NGCP has expanded its focus in recent years to include educating professionals in best practices for addressing inclusivity and engaging students from underrepresented and underserved communities in STEM.

NGCP got its start in 2002 when the Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology implemented the Northwest Girls Collaborative Project in Washington and Oregon to address the complex issue of gender equity in STEM fields. In the 16 years since, NGCP has grown to 33 collaboratives that serve 41 states. Today, NGCP facilitates collaboration among 36,400 organizations that serve 20.15 million girls and 9.5 million boys.

One of NGCP’s initiatives is The Connectory , a free, comprehensive portal for STEM offerings that connects families to STEM providers. Along with overseeing and helping shape the site’s digital strategy, I work to engage programs, practitioners and the public.

Q: How does your organization collaborate with other groups, and how does that benefit the groups?

A: NGCP implements a tested, comprehensive program of change that uses collaboration to expand and strengthen STEM-related opportunities for girls and women. In each state, the NGCP model creates a network of professionals, researchers and practitioners, facilitating collaboration and delivering high-quality, research-based professional development.

We strengthen the capacity of projects by sharing research-based exemplary practices, program models and products. We train and mentor participants to collaborate and create partnerships at the state and local levels. Professional development is offered through webinars and face-to-face training.

Participating programs have received mini-grant funding for collaborative STEM-focused projects. To date, more than 37,579 participants have been served in 441 mini-grant projects, and more than 29,650 practitioners have been served through in-person events and webinars.

The Connectory partners with other nonprofits to help them understand how to use the site and its tools to expand their capacity, often offering webinars to their staff or association members.

Beyond allowing providers to promote their program and opportunities to an engaged audience of families, The Connectory has targeted functionality for increasing their STEM knowledge and bandwidth. They can use our Provider Portal to connect with other program providers, share ideas, find collaborators based on resource needs and availability, and network with a growing STEM community.

In addition, our partnership with VolunteerMatch means they can link accounts and recruit volunteers on The Connectory’s Volunteer Listings page to grow their nonprofit STEM programs.

Q: How many states has your organization reached out to?

A: Over the course of the past 16 years, NGCP has reached out to program providers in every state. Currently, 41 states are engaged with NGCP though 33 different state/regional collaboratives.

There are more than 5,000 active programs in The Connectory, serving more than 17 million youth across the United States. The database contains programs in every state, with larger numbers in urban areas such as New York City and Los Angeles. This makes The Connectory the most comprehensive portal for STEM offerings in the country.

Q: Tell us more about The Connectory.

A: This free, comprehensive portal for STEM offerings was developed to connect families to STEM providers. Making these connections is crucial to ensure that today’s youth can obtain the skills needed for 21st-century jobs.

The Connectory is the go-to place for parents and caregivers to discover local STEM learning opportunities. The site also gives program providers an easy way to connect to each other, in addition to families. All 50 states are included. The Connectory has grown to more than 5,000 program providers, who have listed 10,000+ youth opportunities — girls coding clubs, robotics competitions, maker workshops, STEM festivals, science summer camps and more.

Time Warner Cable created The Connectory as part of its Connect a Million Minds initiative. In 2015, the National Girls Collaborative Project took over management of The Connectory, merging it with the NGCP Program Directory. Our partners and collaborators include the Association of Science-Technology Centers, Afterschool Alliance, Educational Research Center of America, National AfterSchool Association, American Institute of Architects and VolunteerMatch.

Q: Give us some examples of projects and programs The Connectory has been involved with and the results of that collaboration.

A: The Connectory uses an API (Application Programming Interface). This means that our data is structured in such a way that it can be “streamed” for other uses — for example, through our free widget , which SciGirls started using in 2015. Our API also allows states to build on- and off-ramps on their site that “talk” with The Connectory.

We launched the North Carolina Exchange in May 2016. All the database functionality is powered by The Connectory, but it displays as part of the NC STEM Center site , with that site’s branding. Added programs and opportunities are shared with The Connectory, so we can publish as makes sense.

In 2017, we launched a rebranded version of the entire Connectory site for the Australian government, the STARportal . This year we’ve added an Impact Dashboard that helps providers track and improve the performance of their program and opportunity listings. It will also help the government track supply and demand to guide future efforts and funding. Currently, we’re working to add Parent Accounts, Saved Searches and Enhanced Sharing and Printing. We hope to bring all this new functionality to The Connectory.

Q: How can STEM organizations reach out to the NGCP and The Connectory?

A: Visit https://ngcproject.org/find to find out if NGCP has a local collaborative in your state. If you have questions about the national organization, send an email to info@ngcproject.org.

Go to https://theconnectory.org/provider-portal to create your free account on The Connectory — you can find step-by-step directions and an archived webinar on our Need Help? page . If you are interested in learning more about The Connectory’s exchange model or have usage questions, send an email to info@theconnectory.org.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about The Connectory?

A: There are two ways STEMx member states can bring The Connectory to their individual websites:

Register to be a judge for the 2019 Conrad Challenge

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 20:09:00 GMT

The Conrad Challenge tasks students between the ages of 13-18 to become entrepreneurs and solve worldwide problems. The program, which combines an online application and in-person competitive presentation, develops creative entrepreneurs through hands-on STEM experiences.

Nancy Conrad, who founded the competition, is a friend of STEMx and Battelle and joined us for a webinar in September. Since then, the program has grown to a record number of participants.

With over 300 teams advancing to round 2 of the competition, the Conrad Challenge has an urgent need for additional judges for the for the online Business Plan round of competition. Judges will provide students with feedback and from the comfort of their homes. Judge responsibilities include: reviewing and scoring 3-5 business plans according to the rubric, providing feedback, and agreeing to confidentiality terms to protect student’s intellectual property.

Pass this information along to those you believe would be interested in inspiring students and encouraging future entrepreneurs.

Schedule of events for the Business Plan Round judging:
By Friday, January 11th – Register through the link below and the Conrad Challenge will confirm your participation
Friday, January 11 – Student teams submit their business plans
Friday, January 18 – Judges receive packets from the Conrad Challenge
Friday, February 15 – Judges must submit final scores

Judges will also be invited to participate in person for the final round of the competition April 23-27 ^th at the Kennedy space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

Since doubling participation from last year, the Conrad Challenge needs more judges than ever before.

New grant for educators in multi-state Tennessee Valley region

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 17:14:00 GMT

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) provides the electricity that serves nearly 10 million people in seven states and a range of other services. From 2012 to 2017, TVA sponsored grants for teachers and offered them through the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network.

This year, the TVA Mini-Grant Program goes multi-state through STEMx and a new partnership between TVA and TVA’s retiree group, the Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated .

In addition to Tennessee, teachers in Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi are all eligible to apply, if their school is serviced by one of TVA’s power distributors. This will be the first multi-state funding offered through STEMx directly to classroom educators and we’re very excited. (See the map below, click to enlarge, or download this PDF of counties served by TVA)

While the number of eligible educators is expanding, the program’s core goals remain. Through these mini-grants, TVA and the Bicentennial Volunteers aim to give teachers just that little extra support they need to undertake a powerful new project where students learn about STEM. Last year’s 18 awardees used this support to cover topics from pollination to the renewable energy held inside ocean tides.

TVA formally announced the program in a press release today . Applications are open now through Friday, Jan. 11, 2019.

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Detailed requirements are posted below along with the application form .

Deadlines and Eligibility

About TVA
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.

New federal STEM plan released, first thoughts

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 15:31:00 GMT

by Wes Hall, Director of STEMx

On Tuesday, the White House released Charting a Course for Success: America’s Strategy for STEM Education ( download ) , a new federal STEM education strategic plan intended to serve as a rallying point for the STEM community and to provide guidance for federal agencies that offer STEM funding opportunities.

Wes Hall, Director of STEMx, on the new federal STEM strategic plan

The White House was required to publish this plan. Congress mandated the publication of “five-year STEM strategic plans” in the America COMPETES Act of 2010. That mandate, though, doesn’t specify how the plan should be written. I’ve had some brief time to review what’s been produced and see many opportunities for members to engage.

In short, the writing team put in the work to make this document reflective of many voices in the STEM community. I applaud the administration for encouraging input from a diverse array of stakeholders – including a strong student voice for what’s working in the classroom. That concerted outreach push started with a June meeting outlining the foundations for the plan. It continues through the document we see today.

Moreover, the report is brief and readable. It clocks in at just 36 pages and it’s peppered with specific call outs to high quality programs across the U.S.

Today, the White House released the new plan

What about its structure? The new plan is centered around the vision that “all Americans will have lifelong access to high-quality STEM education and the United States will be the global leader in STEM literacy, innovation, and employment .” To advance that vision, the plan outlines three aspirational goals that will be key to progress:

Additionally, the federal strategy is built on four pathways that focus on developing and enriching strategic partnerships, engaging students where disciplines converge, building computational and digital literacy, and operating with transparency and accountability to measure the impact of collective STEM efforts.

On my first read of the plan, I was looking for a few simple but essential pieces. One: a commitment to equity and diversity in STEM. That’s included. Two: a structure that recognizes the importance of state-level leadership and encourages collaboration across state lines to advance evidence-based practices. Included. I also appreciate that the plan recognizes the importance of expanding work-based learning opportunities for both students and teachers to make STEM learning relevant and engaging. I believe STEMx and its members are well positioned to engage and mobilize around several central tenets of the plan.

Policy and strategy matter. So does implementation. Over the next few weeks and months, STEMx will offer members deep-dive learning opportunities to explore the plan’s content and consider the implications and opportunities for our collective work.

Thank you to each of our leaders that participated in the White House STEM Summit and offered additional critical feedback into the creation of this plan. Now, as the collective STEM community, it’s our turn to advance STEM for All with renewed vigor.

Sincerely,

Wes

Podcast “Rural Matters” talks small towns and computer science with STEMx members

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 15:12:00 GMT

STEM schools are working hard to make a difference for rural America’s students, offering myriad learning opportunities for young people living outside our nation’s big cities. But how are rural STEM schools doing in providing computer science education? That was the topic of a recent “Rural Matters” podcast, hosted by Michelle Rathman . For the podcast, Rathman interviewed STEM leaders from three STEMx member states: Anthony Owen, chief state STEM officer and state director of computer science education in the Arkansas Department of Education ; Angela Hemingway, executive director of the Idaho STEM Action Center in the office of the governor; and Kathleen Schofield, executive director of the STEM2 Hub of northeastern Florida . Rathman, who is also president and CEO of Impact! Communications, based near Chicago, and an expert in rural health care, shared highlights of her podcast with us:

Q: Looking back on your conversation with Anthony Owen, Angela Hemingway, and Kathleen Schofield, what did you find most notable or intriguing about the STEM education efforts in each of their states? Did anything in their programs surprise you?

A: I wasn’t surprised at all by what they shared, in fact, as a person who has been working in rural communities, specifically with small, rural hospitals, I couldn’t help but think about all sorts of new possibilities for rural students to apply the wonderful skills they’re learning in pursuit of a career in health care.

Because of my conversation with them and learning about their important work, I will be far more tuned in to STEM in rural schools and helping hospitals find new ways to partner with them to advance the efforts.

Q: Did you find a common thread among all three programs?

A: The common thread of their three approaches, in my view, is innovation. One size, in almost every case, does not fit all. With varying degrees of available resources, it is essential for states to adopt a model that works best for them.

Q: During the podcast, the problem of funding computer science education was discussed, and how to ensure that teachers receive the necessary professional development to become competent CS instructors. In your experience, talking with these and other rural leaders, have they revealed unique sources of funding that others might try to tap?

A: I have long said, “There is always a will; it’s finding a way that’s most challenging.”

Of course, seeking grants is the go-to position, and Anthony shared a pretty good size list of major companies that have funding to share.

One approach that I think holds promise in a rural setting is, to look more closely at local partners. Every rural community in this country is challenged by future workforce development. For students who go on to college, it’s crucial that we have exciting opportunities for them to come home to, careers where their STEM education is put to great use, is vital.

I think there are many opportunities to begin conversations with community leaders about the need to fund, in some capacity, this education in grades K-12. Invest in the children of our community, and encourage them to come back and invest in their community as well.

Q: Do you think that rural areas have unique needs, challenges or strengths as far as computer science and STEM education go, and how can school administrators and teachers better meet those needs?

A: Rural communities are experiencing significant challenges in many areas, and indeed this holds for rural education.

It was great to learn about Idaho’s educator mentoring program, for example. Teachers want nothing more than to make sure they’re doing all they can to prepare their students for success. If each state were not just to offer, but rather, proactively engage teachers in ongoing learning and professional development in this area, I think we’d see momentum in funding these programs continue to build.

With this, we also need to expose parents to STEM. If their children do not have the support to help them with their studies at home, we’re missing an essential piece of the puzzle and, frankly, not protecting investments and gains.

Q: As a rural health expert, how do you think that STEM educators can better prepare students in rural communities for local jobs in health care?

A: Every rural hospital I work with is involved with their local schools. Typically we see programs such as the ambulance service inviting kids on board to learn about how to respond to a medical emergency, having students spend a day shadowing a doctor or nurse. There’s a program called Operation Bunny Suit, which allows older students to suit up and go into an operating room, etc.

The point is, all of these efforts focus on clinical aspects of health care. With the advancement in electronic health records, for example, and all of the applications of artificial intelligence to improve quality outcomes, we need to have STEM experts help hospitals design programs that clearly show students how their education can be used in the other aspects of a career in health care.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share from this podcast or the subject of computer science education and/or STEM education in rural schools?

A: Another favorite sentiment I share is, “What you focus your attention on expands.”

With much of the focus being on the negative aspects of public education today, I believe we are at a place where we must, as a nation, change our perspectives.

Yes, we have problems and challenges. If we want our children to thrive in the future, if we’re going to ensure that we have young people with the skills, talent and passion, it’s time for us as leaders to step up as a collective — not just pockets of people, all of us — and say, “Enough with the problems. Let’s talk about real solutions that are right-sized for rural.”

Real-world learning program connects students with military engineers and naval academy

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 13:36:00 GMT

Taking part in a summer STEM program is a great way for students to challenge themselves between academic years and keep their minds engaged. Imagine the challenge of taking such a short course at the U.S. Naval Academy. Rising high school students can apply for the rigorous, week-long camp where they will “create, build and explore in world-class lab facilities and experience real-life application and learning,” according to the academy. To find out more about the program, we contacted Leigh McNeil, STEM Program Coordinator in the Naval Academy’s Office of Admissions in Annapolis, Maryland.

Q: Tell us about your role as STEM program coordinator at the U.S. Naval Academy.

A: I have responsibility for four programs here at the academy: a Summer STEM Program for current eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders; an academic-year program where I take STEM on the road and my students and I engage school and community groups in hands-on STEM activities (we call this a “remote STEM”); another academic-year program where I bring school and community groups to the academy for a mini-camp experience (we call this a “mini-STEM”); and our educator engagement program, where I bring educators, counselors, school and community staff members for a visit to the academy.

Q: Give us the basics on the academy’s Summer STEM Program: What is the goal, and what will participants do?

A: The students who attend my programs have an opportunity to engage in hands-on, problem-based STEM activities with our Naval Academy students (who we call midshipmen) and our academy faculty.

All of our activities are set in a real-world context, many with applications that are linked to a naval objective and mission. For example, an upcoming remote STEM event will focus on a humanitarian mission in a developing nation; others have focused on cyber-security, chemistry and ship maintenance; the physics of flight, both fixed and rotary wing; and more.

Our goal is to encourage young people to experience STEM in ways they might not be able to in their school, and inspire them to pursue STEM career fields.

Q: What is the involvement of the Society of American Military Engineers and the Naval Academy in the summer program?

A: The U.S. Naval Academy and the Society of American Military Engineers are partnering to establish a new summer STEM camp on the West Coast of the United States.

Q: How challenging is Naval Academy’s Summer STEM Program curriculum, and what can the students expect to gain?

A: The curriculum is challenging, and it asks students to use all their talents and skills — intellectual, physical, communicative and collaborative — to solve a problem.

Q: How can students apply for the program, how many are accepted and what is the acceptance based on? What are you looking for in a student participant?

A: Our Summer STEM Program here at the Naval Academy is open to current eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders (rising ninth-, 10th- and 11th-graders). Last summer, we received 5,000 applications and selected 840 attendees.

We are looking for students who are interested in STEM, have distinguished themselves in their schools and communities, and demonstrated interest in the program overall.

The Naval Academy is mandated by Congress to have midshipmen from every congressional district in the country, and we want the Summer STEM Program to reflect that geographic diversity.

Q: How much does the program cost per student, and what does that amount cover?

A: Summer STEM Program tuition is $550, but we have scholarships for tuition and/or travel to Maryland.

Q: Are there side trips or other experiences planned for participants?

A: Attendees at the rising ninth- and 10th-grade sessions take an all-day field trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the Smithsonian Institution.

Q: Do you keep in touch with summer program alumni? Can participation in the program be considered a “leg up” into possible acceptance into the Naval Academy itself?

A: We keep in touch with attendees through social media and email. While not necessarily a leg up in applying to the academy, attending the summer program is certainly an opportunity to get to know our school, interact with midshipmen and gain more understanding of the culture and application process.

Q: When will applications open for the 2019 Summer STEM Program, and how can interested students get more information?

A: Applications for the next Summer STEM Program will open at 1 p.m. January 3, 2019. For more information, visit our web site, https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/index.php , and click on “Summer Programs.”

Computing grants, mobile museum, STEM fest and more drive success in Utah

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 15:00:00 GMT

A lot has been happening with STEM in Utah since our conversation in 2016 . The Utah STEM Action Center, based in Salt Lake City, has created a strategic plan, awarded computing partnership grants and launched a Mobile STEM Museums project — and that’s just a sampling of its accomplishments. In addition, the center will sponsor the Utah STEM Fest on October 23-24 at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy. To find out more about the recent accomplishments at the center and the upcoming STEM Fest, we reached out to center administrators: Tamara Goetz, executive director; Sue Redington, program director; and Katherine Kireiev, communications manager. They collaborated on answers to our questions:

Q: STEMx chatted with the Utah STEM Action Center in fall 2016. At that time, center Executive Director Tamara Goetz said she hoped to work on a new strategic plan, grow an endowment and nurture the K-16 Computing Pathway initiative, among other goals. Bring us up to date on those projects and the other work in progress at the Utah STEM Action Center.

A: The STEM Action Center did indeed create a three-year strategic plan, which can be found on the STEM Action Center website, https://stem.utah.gov . The plan is due for an update and extension in the near future.

The endowment, as part of the Utah STEM Foundation, has proven to be a bit more difficult. The STEM Action Center is a state agency, and the ability to create an endowment as a state agency is not likely. Thus, we continue to operate our foundation in the absence of an endowment.

The Computing Partnership Grant Program, supported by funding from Senate Bill 190, provides assistance to public schools and districts throughout Utah, with a focus on building or enhancing sustainable computing programs. The Utah State Legislature approved funding in March 2017, with first-round grants awarded in fall 2017, and second-round grants awarded in spring 2018.

The STEM Action Center has awarded 29 grants in 21 Utah school districts. The schools impacted include 69 elementary, 99 middle and 28 high schools. Fifty-eight percent of schools are located off the Wasatch Front (also considered rural). More than 200 teachers have been identified for professional learning opportunities. Eighteen AP classes, 22 robotics clubs and 30 other after-school clubs have been implemented.

The key impact areas involve work-based learning, K-16 pathways, elementary coding, robotics, after-school clubs, summer camps, apprenticeships/internships, curriculum development, professional learning, industry certifications, increased class offerings and robust industry engagement.

An extension of the Computing Partnership Grant Program is the Utah Computing Apprenticeship Consortium (UCAC), which was recently launched with the help of a state grant. The UCAC is the first legitimate apprenticeship program for Utah’s tech companies and computing talent. The program is modeled after the traditional trades apprenticeship but addresses the key differences that are critical for successful adaptation to the tech world.

New is the Mobile STEM Museums project that is funded by a grant from Intermountain Healthcare. The Mobile STEM Museums project will pilot two mini-museums that have a narrow scope and are designed as “pop ups.” They can be set up at any location and will employ mixed media such as 3-D printing, holography, gaming and augmented reality/virtual reality.

Q: Goetz told us that, since the center opened in July 2013, the state has seen an increase in students’ math and science scores and in their interest in STEM careers. Is that still the case? What other success stories involving the center can you share? What challenges has the center faced and how has it evolved?

A: The K-12 Math Personalized Learning Software Grant provides funds to local education agencies and schools through a competitive grant process to support the use of mathematics software that is individualized, self-adapting and engaging. Programs assess students’ understanding of core standards in math and provide personalized content, adaptively targeting knowledge gaps and providing immediate feedback.

There have been statistically significant positive correlations between product use and student achievement every year since the program’s inception in 2013. The Utah Education Policy Center at the University of Utah, in partnership with Utah Valley University School of Education, provides third-party evaluation of programs yearly and makes recommendations to the STEM Action Center for the grant program.

In the 2016-17 school year, students who used the software at least 28 minutes a week were 42 percent more likely to meet grade-level proficiency in mathematics than similar non-users, and 68 percent of teachers indicated that access to the math software increased their overall satisfaction with their job.

The STEM Action Center provided software licenses to 207,314 students for the 2018-19 school year, reaching more than 30 percent of all K-12 students in the state.

The Alliance for Science & Technology Research in American released state data for 2018, which are similar to 2017, that illustrate trends in student interest in STEM during the past nine years. The good news is, we see an increase in, or similar level of interest in, STEM by several underrepresented student populations including Asian American and Hispanic/Latino children.

Unfortunately, while we see an increase in STEM with boys in the past five years, the interest in STEM by girls remains unchanged. We see this as an opportunity and have increased our strategic efforts to address the lack of interest in STEM by Utah girls. These efforts include scaling our micro-messaging pilot project with the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (with support from the Motorola Solutions Foundation) to mitigate the damaging effects of negative micro-messaging to girls.

We have also launched our Girls Who Code Clubs network. We had five clubs a mere eight months ago, and now we have 62 clubs, and, with the help of a generous donation from the Carbonite Charitable Fund, we will be hosting the first Shark Tank competition for Girls Who Code Clubs on April 25, 2019.

The Utah STEM Foundation is a unique component of the Utah STEM Action Center. The Utah STEM Foundation became official on May 10, 2017, having received the Letter of Determination from the Internal Revenue Service. The foundation has an advisory board with industry support from Andeavor (formerly Tesoro), Boeing, Carbonite, Comcast, IM Flash, Intermountain Medical Group, LSI, Lockheed Martin, MHTN Architects, Microsoft and US Synthetic.

The foundation has a part-time director who oversees the function and activities of the board, as well as the receipt of all donations from corporate partners. The foundation board continues to develop and expand on many new and existing community partners and donors who are, in turn, increasing their donation each year.

The following generously provided cash donations for fiscal year 2017:

The following generously provided cash donations for fiscal year 2018:

The following generously provided in-kind contributions for fiscal year 2017:

The following generously provided in-kind contributions for fiscal year 2018:

It was incredible to see such an immense outpouring of generosity toward educators at the STEM Best Practices Conference, and it was equally incredible to see how excited our teachers were to attend a conference where they were definitely treated as VIPs. The total estimated in-kind value of fiscal 2018 is $65,838.

Donors include:

Foundation funding highlights include:

The following new grants were secured during fiscal year 2017:

As far as challenges go, one of the biggest that the Utah STEM Action Center faces is “scope creep.” This is a serious consideration, given the broad mission that the center has been given by the Utah Legislature.

The statutory mandate for the center spans both education and workforce development. Thus, the programs at the center range from fundamental STEM such as the K-12 Personalized Digital Math Program to the K-12 Professional Learning grant program to a National Science Foundation grant that is working to create a communication and outreach strategy for the state for career and technical education to the latest project, which is the establishment of the first apprenticeship program for computing.

And, we cannot forget the Utah STEM Bus and Mobile Museums.

Q: Your center’s original model for governance placed the center outside the purview of the state education department. Has that proved beneficial?

A: While our governance is independent of the state education department, we work closely with the Utah State Board of Education to support teachers in math and the sciences. We want to be sure that our students are receiving support for success in math and science, and this involves working with teachers to identify areas of need.

Examples of this include facilitating/coordinating professional development events, as well as identifying areas where we can help augment existing curriculum. Having the independence positions us to try different, nontraditional learning approaches without the procedural hurdles that come with direct governance.

Our goal is to complement education in a symbiotic and dynamic way that benefits the education system as a whole, in the interest of preparing students for the many STEM jobs going unfilled in our state. We all want to see our state’s continued economic success.

Q: Tell us about the upcoming Utah STEM Fest: Who is it for, what can they see there and what makes the Utah STEM Fest unique?

A: Utah STEM Fest is a highly visible event that provides opportunities for engagement among children, teens, families and local STEM professionals. This year’s festival will feature more than 100 hands-on activities, live performances, interactive demonstrations and family-oriented STEM entertainment.

STEM-based companies have the opportunity to educate the students about the wonders of STEM and showcase the technological projects involving their organization. It provides a global view of the state of STEM careers in Utah, and the many different pathways — both traditional and nontraditional — that students and their parents can consider in planning for what comes after high school.

Q: Tell us about the exhibitors at the festival and what’s new and different this year. How has the fest grown and changed year to year?

A: Exhibitors include STEM industry companies ranging from such multinational enterprises as Rio Tinto, Adobe and IM Flash, down to smaller local businesses that offer specialty STEM learning kits and hands-on tools, as well as local museums and hands-on learning centers.

Last year we saw close to 30,000 attendees over three days, including the all-ages public night event and two school field-trip days. Field trips were open to fifth- through 10th-graders, and the amount of traffic proved difficult for students to truly immerse themselves in the hands-on experience our event aims to offer.

This year, we’ve scaled back to include a smaller field-trip demographic range —sixth- through 10th-graders — over two days, and have added a special exhibition window for students with special needs to allow them access to the same immersive learning experience apart from the bustle of large crowds.

Q: What lessons have you learned by presenting the STEM Fest, and by advocating for STEM in general via the center?

A: We’ve learned so many things across virtually all aspects of our programs and events, but the most interesting and impactful lesson is that we must broaden our focus beyond the center’s K-12 target demographic.

We no longer consider ourselves as an agency that serves only K-12; we’ve expanded our focus to span “pre-K through gray.” Curiosity has no bounds. The most rewarding aspect of our work is to engage individuals in innovative solutions-focused thought and practices.

To see toddlers learn basic coding by playing with Bee-Bots when we exhibit at public expos while having retirees contact us about ways to get into IT work-from-home vocations are just as rewarding, if not more, as watching the proliferation of STEM after-school clubs and expansion of educators’ skill sets through programs our agency facilitates.

New insights into decoding girls future in an age of social media

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:27:00 GMT

In late 2017, a groundbreaking national survey was released that aimed to reveal American girls’ thoughts, behaviors and attitudes. The report, titled “The Girls’ Index: New Insights into the Complex World of Today’s Girls,” sampled 10,678 female youths ages 10 to 18 from across the country on issues such as confidence, body image, friendships, pressure, leadership, career aspirations, school, academics, technology and social media. Now, a just-released companion report, “Girls, STEM & Careers: Decoding Girls’ Futures in an Age of Social Media”, commissioned by Battelle Education, dives deeper into “The Girls’ Index” to examine girls’ perceptions of their math and science abilities, their thoughts on pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering or math, and related issues. Check out the full report here.

Research for both reports was conducted by Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX), a non-profit organization committed to equipping girls with the knowledge and skills they need to lead healthy, independent, productive and violence-free lives. For background on the original survey and insights into the new report, we contacted Lisa Hinkelman, founder and executive director of ROX:

A: The findings include:

Q: The new report, “Girls, STEM & Careers: Decoding Girls’ Futures in an Age of Social Media,” is a deep dive into your bigger survey. What was the goal of this STEM survey, and what are its major findings?

A: We recognized that the data collected in “The Girls’ Index” can tell us so much about what is currently happening and what is relevant in girls’ lives today. There are several different areas that we believe warranted a secondary analysis, and STEM and careers were at the top of our list.

Our goal was to better understand the relationships among girls’ academic and career aspirations and the other factors/variables in their lives. I believe that if we can better understand the realities of girls’ lives today, we have a better chance of more effectively supporting them.

Q: To what do you attribute the drop in confidence that girls experience?

A: The drop in confidence that girls experience between fifth and ninth grades is indicative of the perceptions that they have about their STEM abilities and their intelligence as it pertains to their career aspirations.

That general drop in confidence can impact nearly every aspect of a girl’s life — and we see this play out with perceived STEM ability. There is not one clear and concise reason that girls experience a drop in confidence, although there are many theories and many variables that seem to be related to this change in self-perception.

From puberty to identity development to finding a tribe, girls’ lives are complicated. Add to this the intense expectations around beauty, body image, ensuring top academic accolades and stellar sports performance (to name just a few), and the stakes are even higher.

When we compound this with the ever-present impact of social media and the constant comparison of oneself to others, it is no wonder that girls today are little pressure cookers! When nearly every aspect of their lives is on display, and under scrutiny, there is little room for them to fail. This avoidance of failure results in fewer girls feeling that they can take risks or take on new challenges.

Q: The survey also found that girls’ perceptions of their intelligence drops as they get older, with 46 percent of high schoolers thinking they aren’t smart enough to land their dream job, up from 23 percent of fifth-graders. What do you think fosters this self-doubt?

A: As girls get older, they start to understand more about the world of work and begin to consider where they fit. Previous research on the career development of adolescents found that during the critical middle school years, girls begin to lose interest in specific careers based upon the fact that they don’t see other women — and women of their same race and ethnicity — pursuing these occupations.

More recent discourse on this subject expands this explanation and also asserts that girls need exposure to STEM careers, activities and mentors that will spark their interests and sustain their engagement.

I think what is missing from this conversation is the discussion about how individuals come to happiness and fulfillment in a particular occupation. Those who are most satisfied in their careers tend to be the individuals who know themselves well, have insights into themselves as well as their values, aptitudes and interests.

When what I care about can align with what I am good at and what I am interested in, what an amazing trifecta that is! However, there are very few career development conversations or activities that happen with any regularity for today’s students.

Girls need to be made aware of their options and decisions, understand themselves and their interests and values, know what is required to pursue a particular career path, and then take action toward the goal. We need to help girls understand the ways that careers in STEM are creative, innovative, helpful, collaborative and potentially life-changing.

We are not talking exclusively about a lonely scientist in a lab (although that, too, is an option). This requires more than simple exposure; it requires that girls can begin to develop some interpersonal insights into what they enjoy, what they care about and what they are good at.

Q: The survey found that a girl’s interest in pursuing a career in math and/or science is greater if she takes part in school or youth activities, or if she has a paying job. Why do you think that is?

A: When girls are connected to positive people, structured activities, supportive teams and adequate support systems, they fare better personally, interpersonally and academically.

Each of these connections provides the opportunity to build specific skills: friendship, communication, negotiation, dealing with conflict and competition, handling winning and losing, developing responsibility, etc. These are life skills that are also critical life competencies. When girls have the opportunity to develop success in various domains, the efficacy that they develop can often been observed in other domains.

Q: Overall, 73 percent of girls surveyed believe they are good at math and/or science, but only 46 percent of Hispanic girls agreed with that finding, and girls who attend high-poverty schools are 10 percent less likely to agree. What do you think are the reasons for these lower numbers?

A: We know that girls of color dis-proportionally attend high-poverty schools, and that high-poverty schools tend to have fewer resources. In turn, girls get less access and exposure to the STEM areas.

High-tech robotics labs, summer STEM camps and job shadowing experiences are not always accessible; therefore, I think it is especially important that our efforts to engage, expose and empower girls ensure that we create opportunities for girls who otherwise would not have access to the activities, experiences and people that could help cultivate their STEM interest.

They aren’t given an even playing field, so it is our responsibility as educators and people who care about this work to focus our efforts and address the inequity.

Download the report

National Laboratory dispatches scientists to engage community

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 19:52:00 GMT

How do America’s STEM scientists and researchers dismantle the “ivory tower” idea? What potentially game-changing breakthroughs are these dedicated men and women working on? Answering such questions is the aim of a program at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy research facility operated by Battelle, is training some of its scientists and researchers how to explain their work to regular folks.

The program is called STEM Ambassador Fellows. To find out more, we contacted a staff member at the laboratory, based in Richland, Washington. Peggy Harris Willcuts, a STEM education specialist who comes to this role in the laboratory’s Office of STEM Education after 20 years of classroom teaching and providing STEM education professional development, gave us some insight:

Q: Tell us about the work that takes place at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

PNNL delivers excellence in science and technology in three areas:

Mastering grand challenges requires deep expertise and leadership; world-class capabilities including state-of-the-art equipment and facilities; strong partnerships with other leading research institutions; and a culture of innovation. PNNL cultivates these Four Pillars of Science and Technology Success as the foundation for research excellence in each of its mission areas.

PNNL’s strategy is founded on Battelle’s principle of simultaneous excellence in science and technology, management and operations, and community engagement.

The Office of STEM Education, a component of PNNL’s External Affairs organization, seeks to align the laboratory’s education efforts with national, state and local initiatives/projects to realize change in STEM education and to address workforce challenges. We are particularly focused on:

Q: How and why did the STEM Ambassador Fellows program come about?

A: PNNL’s Office of STEM Education looks for ways to authentically connect PNNL’s research to support our local STEM education ecosystem. Many of PNNL’s STEM professionals are eager to connect with local students, educators and families, and many do so on their own accord but feel they lack the ability to easily communicate with the general public.

The research they conduct at PNNL is complex and difficult to explain. We teamed with the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington, to become a Portal to the Public (PoP) site, which allowed us to use these vast resources to design a six-hour professional development experience for our researchers using PoP as our guiding framework. We dive into how people learn, how to communicate to a non-scientific audience, how to be a role model and how to channel a passion for science.

PNNL staff members who take part in the program develop interactive, hands-on displays that engage and explain what goes on at PNNL. These displays have the ability to assist in communication to the general public and have been valuable when sharing the research with technical sponsors and government representatives who visit the lab.

Initial funding came through PNNL’s QuickStarter program in fall 2017 when we started with a pilot cohort of 10 individuals on the Richland campus. Through additional funding from the lab, we have moved into PNNL’s Seattle and Sequim, Washington, campuses.

Q: Who are the STEM Ambassador Fellows, what do they do as part of the program?

A: STEM Ambassador Fellows @ PNNL are scientists, researchers and other science-based professionals who share their stunning innovations and the joy of science discovery with their community. STEM Ambassadors join the Office of STEM Education in inspiring lifelong interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Currently we have 18 STEM Ambassador Fellows who represent all three PNNL campuses. They are diverse role models in ethnicity, gender, age and research interests. Together they have developed 11 table-top displays that are linked to chemistry, data analytics, deep learning, the energy grid, cybersecurity, nuclear energy and the ocean environment.

To date, the Fellows have presented at Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day; for high-level visits to PNNL by congressional staffers and the Battelle Education staff as well as at community events such as Celebration of Science and Connect Tri-Cities. We also have been able to “give back” to the Pacific Science Center by participating in their Curiosity Day event in summer 2017 and 2018.

We are ultimately preparing the Fellows to be ready when school starts this fall. Calls come in from local elementary schools and middle schools for science and STEM nights as well as for classroom presentations.

Q: Do the STEM Ambassador Fellows tailor their presentations to meet the needs of their audiences?

A: STEM Ambassador Fellows have had many interactions in sharing their science with the general public, varying from young children to high-level stakeholders. They have also had the opportunity to plant the seeds of wonder in young minds during outreach and engagement events in the local community.

Because of the innate variety of opportunities for Fellows to engage with the public, tailoring their presentations is critical, with the common denominator being that most of the presentations are to a non-scientific audience.

To develop their interactive table-top displays, the Fellows must first vet them with an audience of educators who provide critical feedback for improvement. The Fellows are also asked to present to one another for peer-to-peer feedback. Once they have revised their presentations and the associated hands-on materials, we take their displays to our Graphics Department to brand them and create a more professional look.

Q: What kind of feedback have you received from the public on the program? Do you plan to change or expand it, based on this feedback?

A: The feedback we have received from the STEM Ambassador Fellows has been tremendous. The professional development they receive is engaging and fun. They discover how people learn and how to communicate without using technical vocabulary. They are also surprised as they learn about themselves while diving into what inspired them to become a scientist or engineer.

The visitors to the displays are very engaged and often report that their interaction with a well-prepared scientist provides an understanding of complex topics that they have not had before. When presenting at the Pacific Science Center’s Curiosity Day, our table was judged as one of the favorites by the attendees.

We have made small modifications to the professional development for our staff members based on feedback we have received after each group has gone through the experience. The most significant change was to move to a one-day workshop instead of spreading the learning out over several months in two-hour presentations.

Q: What advice would you give other research facilities that might want to launch such a community outreach project?

A: Several things come to mind:

Q: Is there any else you wish to tell us about the STEM Ambassador Fellows program? How can interested readers find out more?

A: Those wishing to learn more can contact me at peggy.willcuts@pnnl.gov .

We also have begun to develop a series of 30-second videos called “Science Samples” that show the human side of researchers as they briefly explain their work. These should be available soon on the PNNL YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMjwjkC6OMwG_V2jOPbJw0A

And, check out the Portal to the Public site: https://popnet.pacificsciencecenter.org/

With Perkins Act signed, new changes and opportunities in career tech education

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 15:36:00 GMT

In late July, President Donald Trump signed into law the reauthorization of the Perkins Act. Called Perkins V, the legislation authorizes federal funding to help increase access to high quality career and technical education for America’s students. To find out what’s in Perkins V, we contacted Advance CTE, a Silver Spring, Maryland-based organization that monitors federal legislation on career and technical education for its members, including STEMx and Battelle. Kathryn Zekus, Advance CTE’s Senior Associate on Federal Policy, brought us up to date on the reauthorization:

Q: Give us an overview of the main aspects of the Perkins Act and why the legislation is important to the nation’s career and technical education schools.

Perkins is a federal education program that invests in secondary and postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) programs in all 50 states and the territories. The law is dedicated to increasing learner access to high-quality CTE programs of study.

With a focus on systems alignment and program improvement, this law has been critical to ensuring that programs meet the ever-changing needs of learners and employers.

Q: How was the measure changed in its reauthorization?

A: Perkins V largely maintained the structure and key tenets of current law, focusing on CTE program improvement, flexibility and data, and accountability.

Advance CTE was excited to see that Perkins V maintains a commitment to driving improvement through programs of study, increases the allowable reserve fund to 15 percent to spur local innovation, and allows support for career exploration in the “middle grades” (which includes grades 5-8).

From our perspective, Perkins V fell short in streamlining the requirements for the state plan and uses of funds.

Q: How was funding impacted?

A: The law would authorize $1.229 billion for FY 2019 and gradually increase this authorization level to $1.318 billion in FY 2024, which represents a 10.57 percent increase over the course of the act compared to the amount Congress allocated to the Perkins Basic State Grant program in FY 2018.

It is important to note that authorization levels are a suggestion, not a guarantee of funding levels, because congressional appropriators must develop and pass separate funding legislation annually, and the president must sign such legislation to enact it.

For example, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies proposed a $102 million increase for the Perkins Basic State Grant for FY 2019, which, if enacted, would bring the allocation to $1.294 billion, which is above the amount authorized in the law.

Q: How will the new legislation impact STEM education on the local and state levels?

A: STEM education is often viewed as separate from CTE, but this need not be the case. A state’s vision for CTE might encompass the state’s STEM strategy, and states will be able to use Perkins V as a lever to advance that vision. In fact, Advance CTE surveyed the state CTE directors in 2017, and 33 of them identified STEM as one of their areas of responsibility as a state director .

In addition, on the local level, high-quality CTE programs can provide a strong foundation for, and serve as a delivery system of, STEM competencies and skills for a broader range of students.

Q: How can STEM schools take advantage of the new measure?

A: Perkins V introduces a comprehensive local needs assessment that will require local recipients (e.g., local education agencies, area technical centers, etc.) of these funds to consult with a variety of groups, including educators, administrators, business and industry representatives, parents and students to complete the local needs assessment process.

Those involved with STEM schools could be part of this group of stakeholders who would be responsible for reviewing data and looking at a number of elements including student performance, progress toward implementation of equal access to high-quality CTE courses and programs of study, and whether programs are of sufficient size, scope and quality to meet the needs of all students served by the eligible recipient and are meeting labor market needs.

Perkins V requires that the resources local recipients receive under Perkins be aligned with the results of the local needs assessment.

Q: Is there anything else readers should know about this measure and how it will affect career and technical education?

A: While the measure was signed into law on July 31, 2018, Perkins V will go into effect on July 1, 2019.

Over the next few months, states will be writing transition plans, which will cover the first year of the law’s implementation (July 1, 2019- June 30, 2020). Full four-year state and local plans, covering all the requirements of the act, will be submitted in spring 2020 (encompassing program years July 1, 2020-June 30, 2024).

STEM group strives “to be best in class” through uniting its members

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 17:10:00 GMT

The National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools was established in 1988, “before STEM was STEM,” its leader says. Since that time, the group has been providing a forum for STEM high schools to share best practices and other information. We contacted Todd Mann, the organization’s executive director, for more insight on his group and its upcoming professional conference:

Q: Tell us about the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools (NCSSS) and how you serve your members.

The same reason for starting the consortium then holds true today: How can schools support one another as they each develop and grow curricula and school environments that further authentic STEM education?

The organization is dedicated to staying on top of trends and ensuring that our membership is aware of them through our annual professional conference, our quarterly magazine and our monthly “Consortium Connects” webinars — online roundtables led by teachers.

Q: How and why should schools join your organization?

A: Schools apply for membership, and they join the organization primarily to strive to be best in class, something they can do by networking with their peers from across the country.

Q: What impact has your organization had? What areas are you targeting for the future?

A: Because we are a national organization, our impact is focused at the federal level. Three years ago, congressional staff approached our board and asked us for a definition of a STEM school, which was then embedded in the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA.

Our outreach is not limited to Congress and federal agencies. We partner with many organizations representing all aspects relevant to STEM high schools. We are also piloting a forward-thinking global initiative that involves 10 countries.

Q: Tell us about your upcoming professional conference, set for Nov. 7-10 in Houston, Texas — what is the theme, and why should educators attend?

A: Our conference is attended typically by about 200 principals and teachers. Everyone likes it this small because it creates incredible opportunities to foster relationships that are challenging to develop at larger events.

Each conference is “themed” around its geographic location. As you might imagine, we are taking advantage of NASA’s proximity to do a lot that revolves around this engineering.

Q: What sessions can you highlight from the conference agenda?

A: We have 12 strands for our sessions. Computer Science is always of interest, but a strand drawing increasing attention is Wellness. We like to mix it up with roundtables.

I am very excited about our keynoter, Dr. Richard Tapia, renowned for his research in the computational and mathematical sciences.

Q: How would educators find out more about your organization and your upcoming conference?

A: I would encourage educators to visit our website, ncsss.org , and go to the Events tab.

2017 STEMx Challenge Grant Impact Report

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 19:03:00 GMT

Last year, we announced the 2017 STEMx Challenge Grants and proudly awarded South Carolina, New York and West Virginia. Each state received up to $15,00 to “develop solutions to pressing STEM education issues in their states that were relevant to all members, regardless of state or geographic location.”

The intent of the challenge grants was to aid STEM leaders in addressing a particular issue. All three hosted one or more meeting to confront and implement a change on their identified concern.

They each also wrote up brief summaries of their efforts.

We believe the ideas shared will provide more resources for advancing quality STEM experiences for every student. Today, we’re sharing a brief summary of each state’s efforts and their own reports with you. Download the report here.

Think your state could win our Challenge Grants in 2018? Learn more about joining the STEMx network at www.stemx.us/join .

Download the report

Webinar: Students train as entrepreneurs to honor the legacy of astronaut Pete Conrad

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 17:26:00 GMT

September 12, 2018: 4-5 p.m. (EST) Register

To honor astronaut Pete Conrad, Nancy Conrad created a special yearly event open to students across the world. In September, Wes Hall will chat with Nancy about the program’s scope, impact, and how your students can get involved.

The Conrad Challenge brings science and technology studies to life in a student-driven, project-based approach. The annual competition gives teams of 2-5 students, between the ages of 13-18, the chance to become entrepreneurs and apply innovation, science and technology to solve problems with global impact. Guided by teachers and industry experts, the competition becomes a master class in collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication. The result – students with the 21st century skills needed to thrive in the workforce and new innovations that have the potential to change life for the better at the individual, national and global level. The 2018-2019 Conrad Challenge launches August 24 with it’s investor pitch deadline on Friday, November 2, 2018. Student teams from around the globe are invited to participate in one or more of the traditional Challenge categories: Aerospace & Aviation, Cyber-Technology & Security, Energy & Environment, and Health & Nutrition. In addition, the Challenge is hosting two special categories this year in partnership with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World and SMART Technologies. For more information on the Challenge, visit www.conradchallenge.org

Presenter

Nancy Conrad
Founder & Chairman of the Conrad Foundation

Nancy Conrad created the Conrad Foundation in 2008 to energize and engage students in STEM through unique entrepreneurial opportunities. The organization’s flagship program, the Conrad Challenge, is a global competition challenging teams of high school students to combine education, innovation and entrepreneurship to create products or services to solve global challenges in sustainability.

Ms. Conrad has been a featured speaker at national and international conferences. Among her presentations are TED, MIT the Global Competiveness Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the Global Diversity Leadership Conference at Harvard University. As a leader in transformative education, she has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology detailing how the Conrad Foundation exemplifies the use of partnership and mentorship to improve STEM education. She has been named one of the top 100 leaders in STEM Education.

Register to attend

About these webinars

We organize these events to enable STEM organizations to learn from each other. Past webinars have covered STEM school design, teacher training, and engaging industry in STEM partnerships. This service is offered thanks to your state’s membership in the national STEMx network.

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

San Diego Zoo Global offers more than fun for kids with teacher training

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 17:52:00 GMT

For STEM teachers, keeping up with constant breakthroughs in their areas of expertise and translating those breakthroughs into classroom lessons can be daunting. Science teachers, in particular, continuously face this challenge as their field grows and changes. These educators wonder how to keep up, and where to go for accurate information and curriculum guidance. Local science centers and zoos often can offer assistance. One such source is San Diego Zoo Global, which provides science teachers nationwide the chance for hands-on experiences in wildlife and conservation research that can be carried back to the classroom. For more information on this professional development opportunity, we contacted Maggie Reinbold, Director of Community Engagement at the Institute for Conservation Research for San Diego Zoo Global, based in Escondido, California:

Q: Tell us about your training and experience in promoting conservation, and about your work at San Diego Zoo Global, which truly has a global reach.

A: I currently serve San Diego Zoo Global (SDZG) as director of community engagement, heading up a dynamic team dedicated to designing and implementing programs that connect communities to conservation for the benefit of wildlife and habitats.

In this role, I oversee and support the work of the in-house and community-based conservation teams as they design and implement programs that drive conservation action through science education and community collaborations.

My work at SDZG focuses on strengthening our efforts to enlist local and global community members in the fight against extinction. I work to connect teachers and their students with the science of saving species through our Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science and through the programs of the Conservation Education Lab and Eddy Family Outdoor Learning Lab (cumulatively referred to as our “Exploring Conservation Science” program).

I also oversee course design and instruction for our Advanced Inquiry Program master’s degree, delivered in partnership with Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

I support innovative projects that address the human dimensions of conservation at field sites throughout the world such as northern Kenya, Southeast Asia, South America and Hawaii Island.

My work also involves fostering key partnerships with foundations, government agencies and non-profit organizations to build capacity for high-quality, accessible conservation science education.

I am an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Biology at Miami University, where I teach the Earth Expedition to the Big Island of Hawaii, a five-unit graduate field course focused on saving species.

I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology at San Diego State University, with a focus on the population genetics of desert aquatic insects across the Baja California peninsula. I have taught science in a number of formal and informal settings, including the San Diego Natural History Museum, Cardiff Elementary School in San Diego County and San Diego State University.

As a National Science Foundation science fellow, I co-taught hands-on science with classroom teachers across San Diego County and also spent several seasons in Arctic Alaska, bringing hands-on science education to unique and underserved communities on the North Slope.

Q: How and why did San Diego Zoo Global become involved with providing professional development for teachers?

A: At SDZG, we consider science teachers an essential ally in the fight against extinction. Very few jobs in the world allow for the kind of individual, sustained interaction with young people that teachers are afforded on a daily basis, especially as it pertains to introducing students to the wonders and importance of wildlife and nature.

Every day, teachers work tirelessly in shaping the next generation of conservation scientists, as well as future business leaders, philanthropists, politicians, educators, land managers and, perhaps most important, responsible consumers and voters.

We also recognize that science literacy is at an all-time low throughout the United States. National Science Board findings show that U.S. students trail far behind their international peers in their knowledge and understanding of critical scientific concepts and principles. Most American students can’t apply scientific knowledge to a new situation or explain the reasoning behind their answers, as reported by the National Research Council.

Documented trends also demonstrate an overall national decline in completion of natural science degrees, in the granting of doctoral degrees in the sciences, in the authoring of scientific papers and in our share of international patents.

Equally challenging is the predicament of the American science teacher. National Science Board findings reveal that many science teachers in this country lack full certification and are often forced to teach outside their area of expertise. Teaching is already a challenging vocation, but the job of a science teacher, in particular, is markedly more difficult, especially in this age of advanced technology and data acquisition.

Scientists worldwide have the capacity to examine entire genomes of species and peer deeper into the universe than at any other time in human history. Because science teachers are direct liaisons between the broader scientific community and the students they teach, they are charged with continually refining their knowledge and craft to provide relevant information about an ever-changing field of study. Without this ongoing, sustained effort by science teachers to deepen their comprehension as well as acquire skills and expertise, students are put at a disadvantage in a rapidly changing world.

Our efforts in teacher professional development began in 2006, when we invited 12 high school life science teachers from across Southern California to the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Conservation Research (research headquarters for SDZG) to experience a day in the life of a conservation scientist.

That pilot program focused on the conservation history and recovery of the California condor and was designed to bring topics of conservation science into local classrooms. Just over a decade later, we have built a nationally recognized program with a stellar reputation for giving teachers access to information and experiences that no other conservation organization can.

To date, more than 1,050 teachers from all 50 states and 10 countries have gained innovative knowledge and tools to bring STEM topics to life in their classrooms (we host approximately 128 national and international science teachers at our research headquarters each summer).

Many of our “alumni” describe the program as the best professional development experience of their career. During the decade that this transformative program has been offered, our alumni have shared their renewed excitement for science with more than 1 million middle school and high school science students nationally.

Q: Tell us about your efforts in this area, including the Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science, the Conservation Education Lab and the Eddy Family Outdoor Learning Lab. What does each offer for teacher professional development, and how does each go about it?

A: Since 2006, SDZG’s Community Engagement team has provided students, teachers and members of the community with innovative lab- and field-based research experiences that strengthen their knowledge and appreciation of the science behind species conservation.

Our programs enable participants to engage with conservation scientists, gain access to innovative research tools and participate in hands-on experiences that connect them to conservation science in new and meaningful ways.

Locally, our innovative programs give students, teachers and members of the community the opportunity to apply their textbook knowledge of biology and chemistry to real world scenarios in wildlife conservation. To date, we have connected more than 55,000 science students from across Southern California to the science of saving species through hands-on, exploratory conservation science field trips to our state-of-the-art Conservation Education Lab and Outdoor Learning Lab.

Nationally, our Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science expose teachers and other educators to new and creative ways of presenting science content in the context of conserving endangered species, an inspiring topic for learners of all ages.

These workshops are designed to provide replicable, relevant, standards-based conservation science activities for formal and informal education settings; connect science educators to wildlife conservation through relevant laboratory and field-based experiences that share recent advances in conservation research; and provide a forum for science educators to network and share ideas for weaving conservation themes into their school community and engaging students in conservation.

Our workshop curriculum is largely hands-on and inquiry-based, is fully aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and is fully accredited through the University of San Diego (participants can earn up to three units of continuing education credits for full completion of the workshop).

Each workshop runs Monday through Wednesday, and all participant room and board are included. Teachers also receive a $500 stipend for full participation, helping to offset travel and/or child-care costs during the workshops.

The workshop curriculum addresses a wide range of topics from a multitude of scientific disciplines. Topics include spatial ecology, restoration and reintroduction biology, genetic recovery, reproductive endocrinology, global climate change, evolutionary biology and the human dimensions of conservation. The curriculum also includes a group project that engages participating teachers in open inquiry and teaches them how to guide this important process with their students.

As part of the project, participants make scientific observations on the grounds of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, develop comparative questions, devise investigations to answer their questions and communicate their results to the cohort. They engage in the exploration of the foundations of inquiry-based teaching and learning, with the aim of inspiring them to use informal science learning institutions, such as zoos and aquariums, as teaching tools to engage their students.

Such firsthand, experiential learning encourages independent and critical thinking, increasing participants’ awareness of, and concern for, the local environment and its inhabitants. This project also perfectly complements the design and implementation of the NGSS, as critical thinking and problem-solving are woven throughout the new standards in hopes of encouraging students to use inquiry-based thinking to construct explanations and design solutions.

Much of the curriculum focuses on lab-based methods in wildlife conservation. For example, in the lab, participating teachers actively extract genomic DNA from critically endangered California condor blood samples using sophisticated laboratory techniques. They learn to use the process of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to generate billions of copies of a single region of the genome, a critically important method used in a multitude of genetic studies.

The teachers use this Nobel Prize-winning technology to examine a variably sized gene located on the California condor sex chromosomes used to determine gender in a variety of bird species. The teachers visualize the results of their PCR sexing reactions using the technique of gel electrophoresis, where different-sized pieces of DNA are separated through an agarose matrix and stained with a chemical that fluoresces under ultraviolet light.

The teachers also learn to use pedigree analysis to detect the presence of detrimental heritable traits and the process of karyotyping to verify molecular gender determination results.

The curriculum also highlights field-based research techniques in wildlife conservation through active exploration of our new Outdoor Learning Lab. Hands-on field research stations throughout the space introduce teachers to camera traps, pitfall traps, audio traps, restoration methods and plant transects, connecting teachers to the science of saving species as they learn about and observe the native plants and animals of the California Floristic Province, our own local biodiversity hotspot.

Participants utilize an interactive digital field notebook with embedded information and resources that encourages them to critically evaluate how human-mediated change in our environment relates to changes in fire regimes, water usage and, ultimately, loss of local biodiversity in Southern California and beyond, with the ultimate goal of inspiring environmental stewardship.

The teachers are also introduced to technologies and disciplines that are gaining utility in the field of conservation science, including the use of GIS (Geographic Information System) analysis in spatial ecology and radio telemetry technology.

This program is also a model for other informal science institutions across the nation. To date, we have hosted informal science educators from several other zoos and natural history museums, including the Denver Zoo; Oakland Zoo (California); Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium (Nebraska); Conservation Biology Institute (Oregon); Roger Williams Park Zoo (Rhode Island); Red River Zoo (North Dakota); Brevard Zoo (Florida); Utah’s Hogle Zoo; Catalina Island Conservancy (California); Crissy Field Center (California); Minnesota Zoo; Chula Vista Nature Center (California); Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (Colorado); and Natural History Museum of Utah.

It is our hope that programs similar to ours will debut nationwide, elevating the role and importance that informal science centers represent for the mission of enhancing science literacy in America, as well as for our own mission of conserving global biodiversity.

Q: How can teachers take what they learn from you and your colleagues and apply it to their curriculum and their students, who most likely would see an exotic animal only at a zoo?

A: In addition to receiving all curricular modules to take back to the classroom, workshop alumni also have access to custom-made conservation science kits that are shipped free of charge to and from alumni classrooms (kits include all materials and reagents for implementation of conservation science with up to 200 students and focus on topics of PCR sexing, radio telemetry, reproductive endocrinology and spatial ecology).

Q: I understand that your zoo is involved with an advance-degree program with Ohio connections? Can you tell us about that?

A: More than 100 community members are currently earning their master’s degrees with our Community Engagement team through the Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP), a unique conservation and community-focused graduate program co-delivered in partnership with Miami University in Ohio.

The AIP is an inquiry-driven learning experience that enables students to work directly with world-class SDZG scientists, experts and partners while completing web-based coursework through Miami University.

The AIP is an exciting and affordable way for students to pursue their passion for conservation while earning a master’s degree and maintaining full-time work. Students are part of an unprecedented national network of leading institutions committed to local, national and global change. Project Dragonfly is based in the Biology Department at Miami, a state university in Oxford, Ohio, established in 1809.

Miami, listed as one of the eight original Public Ivies, has a long and distinguished record of excellence in research and teaching in science and education. Project Dragonfly reaches millions of people each year through inquiry-driven learning media, public exhibits and graduate programs worldwide. AIP master’s students are part of a growing alliance of education, environmental and community leaders.

As a culmination of their work in the program, students complete a master’s portfolio that represents a collection of course-based projects centered on a Master Plan theme that reflects each student’s personalized goals and integrates the key tenets of Project Dragonfly (Inquiry, Environmental Stewardship, Community Participation and Voice, and Local and Regional Understanding) and SDZG’s mission and vision.

Q: Are there other ways that you have been inv olved with spreading the how-to s of conservation through classrooms, such as curriculum development, course design, etc?

A: I’m involved in a number of special projects that involve bringing conservation science into classrooms throughout the world. One such program is the ‘Alala Reintroduction Community Inquiry Program, which provides Hawaii Island students the opportunity to examine firsthand the ecological significance of the ‘alala (Hawaiian crow) through the process of conservation inquiry.

The ‘Alala Reintroduction Community Inquiry Program brings our experience in hands-on conservation science programs to students and teachers in a critically important global biodiversity hotspot, Hawaii Island.

Hawaii Island teachers first engage with our Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science, returning to campus with new pedagogical techniques to engage their students in the process of conservation inquiry, with an emphasis on the endemic ‘alala. These inquiry-expert teachers, comfortable in their role as facilitators of STEM learning, guide their students through subsequent program experiences.

Hawaii Island students then visit Keauhou Bird Conservation Center (KBCC) on the island and engage in discussions with SDZG research staff about the ecological significance of the ‘alala by comparing pre-extinction and post-extinction forest habitats.

They design and conduct growing experiments with native seeds back on their home campuses; the subject of their growing trials is the comparison of seeds that have passed through the digestive tract of the ‘alala (treatment; seeds from ‘alala enclosures at KBCC) versus seeds that have not (control; seeds harvested from native fruits).

During the experimental design phase, students work with their inquiry-expert teachers to devise and refine comparative questions and discuss and document variables influencing the potential success of their designed germination and growth trials. Students observe and record the daily growth and progress of their study subjects, and, upon maturity, key the plants to species (including the documentation of Hawaiian name as well as historical use and significance).

As a capstone lesson in restoration ecology, all native seeds that successfully germinate and grow are planted by students on campus in support of native wildlife. This program not only brings teachers and students face-to-face with ‘alala, but also gives them the chance to investigate the ‘alala’s role in forest regeneration and health with their own hands through conservation inquiry.

Q: Is STEM-based curriculum particularly well-suited to promote wildli fe conservation lessons?

A: At SDZG, we believe that informal learning institutions, such as zoos, play a critical role in the lives of citizens for exploring and understanding science. From building excitement and interest in discovering the natural world, to offering people access to sensory experiences that they could not otherwise afford, zoos act as a liaison between citizens and biological diversity.

Equally important is the increasing role that zoos are playing in the conservation of species and habitats, both through direct on-the-ground conservation efforts and by inspiring positive conservation action in communities at home and abroad.

As a conservation organization, SDZG is very concerned about the lack of science literacy in the United States. We consider a strong understanding of 21 st century environmental challenges, such as global climate change, loss of biodiversity, implications of genetic research, and other topics, as absolutely essential for meaningful, personal involvement in these issues.

Many of today’s environmental challenges are complex, requiring the collective problem-solving efforts of all individuals in locally and globally connected communities. Effectively addressing these issues will require a well-informed and environmentally literate public that is willing to translate its knowledge into action. As an organization, we are wholly dedicated to partnering with and supporting science teachers and their students for the benefit of wildlife and wild places.

Q: How can educators learn more about conservation work and how to insert it into their curriculum?

A: The best way for educators to learn about conservation science and how to incorporate it into programs and curricula is to attend our 2019 Teacher Workshops in Conservation Science ( http://institute.sandiegozoo.org/opportunities/student-and-teacher-programs ).

The application opens in January, and we hope to offer the opportunity to approximately 130 educators from throughout the world in summer 2019. Come learn with us!

Reminder: Proposals due for managing national science competition, plus student quotes

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 19:20:00 GMT

The deadline approaches for applications from experienced organizations to lead one of the nation’s premier STEM research competitions. Through the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, thousands of high school students across the nation present their research projects and compete for scholarship prizes. The regional winners are then invited to a national symposium, to compete for even more scholarships and meet leading researchers from labs across the nation.

Battelle and the Tri-Service partnership of Army, Navy and Air Force seek a managing organization for the program. Read the details on the Army Educational Outreach Program’s site . Proposals are due August 3, 2018 at 5 p.m. EST. Submit here .

To provide a little inspiration to all of the organizations applying tomorrow, here are three quotes from students Battelle interviewed earlier this year:

North Carolina – Sydney McKeel

I’m in 11th grade, and my favorite subject is probably science…Our project was about how caffeine affected the plant growth of soybean plants. We found out that soybean plants can die and be harmed by caffeine…I like the way caffeine makes people jittery, and i wanted to see if it would help the plants grow and to see if that would happen. but, unfortunately, it didn’t. It made them die, or stop growing.

It was very fun, we got to stay at the Great Wolf Lodge, which was a great experience because I’ve never been there… I’m excited to learn what everybody else is doing. Like, learning from them exactly what I need on my poster, or maybe some questions I could ask the judges during my presentation.

Montana – Aurora Andersch

I’m very excited about it. Well, for starters I’ve been working on my own studies on bacteriophages to find, potentially find a cure for tuberculosis, which I’m excited about. Because there’s only one other page that might be used to cure tuberculosis, but it’s definitely a big thing because TB doesn’t have a cure for it. It’s something that people have been studying, and the only way that a patient can survive TB is if their body can fight it. But if we can actually find a phage that can infect the bacterium and kill it, then we would be able to find a cure for tuberculosis, which would be a great breakthrough. And I’m just super excited to be a part of that. So, this summer, I’ll be doing the summer program and do more research, potentially find more samples, and just get a new learning experience that will help me later on.

Ohio – Keshaun Preston

Governor, teachers and others back Arkansas’s computer science push

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 18:48:00 GMT

How did Arkansas become a national leader in promoting and implementing a K-12 computer science curriculum? According to Anthony A. Owen, chief state STEM officer and state director of computer science education with the Arkansas Department of Education in Little Rock, many factors came together: a governor who passionately promotes CS in schools, business and community partnerships that support the idea, teachers dedicated to making the curriculum work, and state legislators who fund the project. To find out more, we contacted Owen, who also gave tips on how other states can follow Arkansas’ lead:

Q: Tell us about your position with the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) and your role in computer science education in the state.

I also serve as a board member for the National Computer Science Teachers Association, and as a member of the Southern Regional Education Board’s Commission on Computer Science, Information Technology and Related Career Fields. In addition, I served as a writer of the recently published K-12 Computer Science Framework. Finally, I worked closely with Governor Hutchinson’s Computer Science Task Force, which identified the state’s computer science and technology needs.

As chief state STEM officer since May 2018, I work to ensure that all state efforts in the sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics disciplines are in line with the ADE vision to transform Arkansas into a national leader in student-focused education, as my office has done with CS education since 2015. In addition to the state’s strong CS specialist team, I oversee a statewide network of 50-plus content specialists dedicated to training Arkansas teachers in STEM content knowledge and successful teaching strategies.

From 2011 until July 2015, I served as ADE’s K-12 mathematics and computer science curriculum specialist.

I received a bachelor of science in mathematics with a double minor in education and computer science, and a master of science in education in educational leadership, both from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. I received a juris doctorate from the Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock in 2013 and was admitted to the Arkansas Bar in 2014.

Q: Can you give us an overview of where computer science stands in Arkansas schools, and how your state achieved that position? How does Arkansas’ progress compare with other states’?

A: Arkansas is leading the nation in K-12 CS education. Alongside this Q&A, I have included a 1-pager on some key points, which include that:

I also would direct you to visit the code.org comparison documents found here in which Arkansas is noted for, among other accomplishments, its:

And, I would direct you to this spreadsheet which shows how Arkansas compares with other states in meeting the nine Code.org policy recommendations to make CS fundamental to K-12 education. Arkansas meets them all. Those recommendations are:

Q: Why is your governor so supportive of CS in Arkansas schools? Have state legislators and educators been as supportive?

A: I think the governor himself can best answer that question. He has a site and a series of YouTube videos dedicated to his CS Education Initiative; I invite you to witness his passion for yourself: https://governor.arkansas.gov/computer-science

Regarding our legislators, they have been wonderful. Every piece of meaningful CS education-related legislation has enjoyed full bipartisan support since 2015, including the most recent line-item appropriation of $2.5 million per year dedicated to the CS Education Initiative.

Our Arkansas educators have responded in a wonderful and meaningful way, which is exemplified by the number of teachers engaging in CS-related professional development, becoming fully endorsed in CS, participating in our K-8 CS Lead Teacher program and facilitating a growth of about 1,000 students taking a high school CS course in 2014 to more than 6,500 taking a high school CS course in the 2017-18 school year.

Q: Does Arkansas rely on business/community partnerships to make progress in this area of education?

A: We do rely on business/community partnerships. While there are too many to mention them all, I have included links to information on a few of the most significant ones below:

Q: How can other states replicate your strategy for successful implementation of CS in the curriculum? What steps can be taken for easy initial “wins” in this area, especially if money is tight for teacher training and for hardware and software, and if public support is lacking?

A: Our strategic plan can be found here . It outlines our early and ongoing work.

I would also suggest that states look at the code.org policy suggestions as good initial steps to take, even if they cannot take all nine. Our office’s motto is, “No excuses; only actions,” which is a shortened version of, “You can have excuses or results, but not both.”

While the digital divide is a real issue, I am convinced that it, like many other “reasons” provided for lack of student success, is a convenient excuse. Our students have access to technology, even if “outdated,” that is thousands of times more powerful than the guidance computers used to put men on the moon and bring them home; beyond that, most concepts within the CS field can be successfully taught using unplugged (or, not technology based) activities.

Arkansas has extremely successful teachers of this mindset who teach in schools that have limited resources but refuse to accept an excuse for not succeeding. High expectations for this initiative continue to be expressed and championed by Gov. Hutchinson and state Commissioner of Education Johnny Key.

High expectations for my team, our schools and Arkansas teachers continue to be communicated by myself and my office. In the most successful schools, high expectations for student learning and engagement are an integral part of the culture.

Q: What are the next goals for CS in Arkansas?

A: Our primary goal is expanding teacher capacity in both skills of existing CS teachers and number of CS teachers.

Our secondary goal is continued student engagement/growing overall and diverse enrollment in our high-school CS courses.

Third is continuing to ensure that our content standards and professional development are keeping up to date with emerging technologies and advances within the CS field.

Each year it is going to be increasingly fun and challenging to exceed the excitement generated in our state around this initiative, but it is a challenge we are up to.

If you want a sample of the kinds of programs we are proud of in the 2017 year, please see our week of CS announcements at: http://www.arkansased.gov/divisions/special-projects/arkansas-computer-science-initiative/computer-science-communications/2017-computer-science-education-week-announcements

More information about our initiative can be found at: http://www.arkansased.gov/divisions/special-projects/arkansas-computer-science-initiative

National news round-up: White House Summit, NSF panel, Army program RFP

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 15:22:00 GMT

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of events on the national STEM scene. Here’s a rundown of three items STEM members should be aware of.

White House State-Federal STEM Education Summit

In June, we shared that STEMx members would be well-represented at a new summit on STEM, hosted by the White House. The meeting was held to lay the groundwork for an updated Federal 5-Year STEM Education Strategic Plan as required by the America COMPETES Act of 2010. Reflections from the meeting are in.

Here’s what STEMx Director Wes Hall had to say:

The Federal-State STEM Summit provided ample opportunities for state leaders to contribute perspectives and direction on priorities where the next federal-level STEM strategic plan should focus. I was excited and pleased to see so many STEMx leaders at the table providing candid feedback on what’s working in their respective states and illuminating the barriers that we must overcome to expand STEM learning opportunities for more students. The summit was constructed around a spirit of federal and state partnership and I believe including state voices in the process will lead to a plan that will benefit the work of all STEMx members.

Reflections from members:

Empire State STEM Learning Network – Joseph P. Dragone, Ph.D., Leadership Committee of the network and Senior Executive Officer of Capital Region BOCES:

The White House STEM summit was a great opportunity to participate in a discussion that focused on bringing together some of the best thinking in STEM education from across the country and for state leaders to share where there opportunities are for federal support. A shared voice from state and national perspectives will continue to help underscore the importance of STEM education at all levels in terms of lifelong opportunities for students and supporting statewide workforce and economic development initiatives

SC Coalition for Mathematics & Science – Tom Peters, Executive Director:

In South Carolina we have long recognized that human development through STEM learning and economic development through a STEM-capable workforce go hand in hand. As such, the aspirations identified by Office of Science and Technology Policy reaffirmed for our team that while we have made great progress, there is opportunity to improve in diversity, partnerships, breaking down learning barriers, and more. Building a more robust STEM ecosystem will be critical to meeting these aspirations at the state level.

Key takeaways according to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Read the complete summary here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Summary-of-the-2018-White-House-State-Federal-STEM-Education-Summit.pdf

Kennedy appointed to key post

The America Competes Act links to our second announcement for this week. On Wednesday, the National Science Foundation announced the 18 members of a new panel on STEM.

The STEM Education Advisory Panel will advise a group of federal organizations called the Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education (CoSTEM) on matters related to STEM education.

Aimee Kennedy, Battelle’s Senior Vice President of Philanthropy and Education, will bring her experience as a leader and educator to the group. You can read more about her involvement here and the complete list of members is posted here .

Webinar offered Wednesday on key Army STEM program

Battelle and the Tri-Service partnership of Army, Navy and Air Force seek a managing organization for the program.

Wednesday, Battelle staff will join Louie Lopez, Chief of Education/STEM Outreach for U.S. Army Research, Development Engineering Command RDECOM and Cooperative Agreement Manager for the Army’s Educational Outreach Program to answer any follow up questions to assist applicants in finalizing proposals.

JSHS Technical Assistance Q&A Webinar

Wednesday, July 18, 2018 | 1:00 pm | Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00) | 2 hrs

“Anyone can be an entrepreneur” with help of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 11:54:00 GMT

As STEM educators and supporters of STEM schools, you work with the inventors of the future — your students. What do you tell a student who has drawn up plans for a promising innovation? What’s the next step? How did the great U.S. inventors grapple with the triumphs and failures of innovating and still persevere? Being innovative can spark many questions, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has answers for you and your students. The office has a wealth of information and educational activities that focus on invention and creativity, and it’s available to STEM teachers and students. Linda Hosler, the office’s deputy program manager, tells us more:

Q: Why did your office decide to offer educational resources to students and teachers, and how does the work of your office connect to STEM education?

A: A significant part of the mission of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a commitment to education and outreach. Our education and outreach efforts focus on the creation and protection of intellectual property (IP) — this includes inventions, knowledge discovery, creative ideas and expressions of the human mind that might have commercial value and are protectable under patent, trademark, copyright or trade-secret laws.

We invest in STEM and IP education to inspire the next generation of American innovators. Anyone, at any age, can be an inventor and entrepreneur, so we have programs that impact pre-school-age kids through high school and college-level students, and adults.

Q: What is your office’s goal in providing such educational programs and resources?

A: We want to encourage and support American inventors of all ages, fields and backgrounds. We want them to innovate and then to protect their ideas and businesses.

By providing these resources, we want students to be energized and think of themselves as inventors. We want adults to know about the importance of American innovation and our IP system.

Q: Tell us about the resources offered to younger children, teens, parents and educators?

A: The USPTO’s Office of Education and Outreach provides hands-on activities, videos and resources for kids from elementary school to high school, plus resources for parents and teachers.

Students can find stories of young inventors and innovators as well as hands-on Maker and inventor activities that they can try themselves. The youngest innovators can explore coloring pages , puzzles, quizzes and mazes , while older students can try their hands at launching rockets , navigating the Race to the USPTO , building a mechanical grasper , exploring Extraordinary Innovations or checking out one of the USPTO Inventor Card Activity Challenges .

Older students as well as teachers and parents enjoy the Science of Innovation series , a project created by the USPTO in partnership with the National Science Foundation and in collaboration with NBC Learn, the education arm of NBC News. This summer, we will also conduct the 5th annual National Summer Teacher Institute (NSTI) on Innovation, STEM, and Intellectual Property.

The USPTO has a number of partnerships with organizations that allow us to reach students and adults, either in-person or online, for example at festivals, fairs or competitions. We collaborate with the Smithsonian Institution, the National Academy of Inventors and the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation to offer events and programming for all types of audiences.

Our biggest partnership is with the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF), which the USPTO co-founded in 1973. USPTO and NIHF together run the free museum located at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Va., which not only honors the extraordinary inventors of the Hall of Fame, but also has exhibits that allow everyone to explore stories about invention and IP.

In addition, NIHF, in partnership with the USPTO, runs educational programs to encourage creativity, exploration and inventiveness in people of all ages and backgrounds, including children, teachers, parents, college students and independent inventors.

Of these, the largest is Camp Invention , a weeklong summer camp for students in grades K-6. Camp Invention is unique because it brings together the stories of the Hall of Fame inductees with hands-on STEM activities that also feature content about entrepreneurship and IP.

Certified local teachers receive training about STEM and invention to run Camp Invention. The teachers report that they then use that professional development in their classrooms during the school year. Middle and high school students can also participate in Camp Invention as Leadership Interns.

Another fantastic offering of NIHF is the Collegiate Inventors Competition . This competition for undergraduate and graduate student inventors encourages and drives innovation and entrepreneurship. The competition finalists travel to USPTO to meet with an esteemed panel of judges, made up of USPTO experts plus Hall of Fame inductees, to discuss their inventions and brainstorm the next steps.

This competition has awarded more than $1 million to 183 of the country’s most innovative college students.

Q: What feedback have you received from students and adults on these offerings? What seems to be the most popular?

A: The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive for our programs. We find that parents, students and teachers are excited to see the USPTO and stories about inventions in their communities.

We hear stories about students who have participated in, or been influenced by, our programs who have gone on to file and receive patents, started their own businesses or talked about the confidence they have gained from exploring the invention process.

Camp Invention receives incredibly positive feedback year after year from students, parents and teachers. It is so popular that some children attend every year, then once they age out, they will return as Leadership Interns, or camp counselors to the younger kids.

We have licensed local teachers who believe in the value of Camp Invention so much that they keep bringing it back to their districts every summer.

The numbers also bear out this great feedback. Camp Invention and the National Inventors Hall of Fame’s other educational programs are in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, reaching 150,000 children and 18,000 educators annually. With our partnership with the Hall of Fame, we’ve impacted 1.4 million students with hands-on STEM and entrepreneurial content since 1990, of which we are very proud.

The Science of Innovation materials have been very popular among teachers, students and parents. The materials were launched in 2013 for use by middle and high school educators to introduce students to IP and STEM concepts and highlight the connections among invention, innovation, IP and STEM. To date, we estimate that 1.5 million people have seen the Science of Innovation collection. The resources are available free to the public.

The NSTI has also been extremely popular and last year saw a record-breaking 500-plus applications submitted for the 50-spot program.

Hyattsville, Maryland – June 22, 2017: Joe Matal, Bismarck Myrick and Paul Rosenthal visit the National Inventors Hall of Fame’s Camp Invention at Hyattsville Elementary School. 2002 National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee Alois A. Langer of the Implantable Heart Defibrillator participated as well. (Photo by Jay Premack/USPTO)

Q: Tell us more your educational events, especially the upcoming National Summer Teacher Institute on Innovation, STEM and Intellectual Property: Who might benefit from attending?

A: We are constantly collaborating on educational events, especially with our partners mentioned above, such as holding talks at the Smithsonian, sponsoring Camp Invention around the country, or “An Evening With” , a new program held primarily on college campuses that features the laureates of the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Our annual National Summer Teacher Institute (NSTI) is specifically for elementary, middle and high school teachers who want to increase their knowledge about making, inventing and innovating. The USPTO typically partners with a university to provide a week of immersive training for K-12 teachers on patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, invention and entrepreneurship in the context of STEM.

The NSTI is part of the USPTO’s ongoing efforts to foster innovation, competitiveness and economic growth domestically and abroad.

This year’s program will take place July 29-August 3. The program is open to in-service K-12 teachers throughout the United States and U.S. territories. This year’s program is offered in collaboration with the University of South Florida (USF) College of Education and the David C. Anchin Center and will be hosted on the USF Tampa campus. Unfortunately, the application closed on June 8, but watch our web site for news about future programs.

Q: Does your office provide any resources to STEM networks, such as STEMx, that might be helpful?

A: Yes, many of the resources are available on-line at www.uspto.gov/kids . We also welcome people to explore the information of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and take a virtual tour of the NIHF Museum. We also provide materials such as inventor notebooks and trading cards upon request.

The USPTO will provide hands-on and web-based professional development workshops for formal and informal educators upon request and subject to availability. We will attend Maker Faires, science expos, social studies fairs, invention conventions, arts festivals and STEAM conventions upon request subject to staff availability and resources.

Q: What is the best way for students, parents and educators to become involved with your programs and resources?

A: To get involved with any of the National Inventors Hall of Fame programs, including Camp Invention and the Collegiate Inventors Competition, visit www.invent.org .

To explore USPTO’s resources for students, parents, and teachers, visit www.uspto.gov/kids/ or follow us on Facebook and Twitter .

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with us concerning your office’s efforts to reach out to STEM students and educators?

A: On June 19, the USPTO is issuing its 10 millionth utility patent. This is a historic milestone, not just for our office but also for the history of American innovation. American inventors have played such a critical role in the growth and development our economy and society, and we want to inspire the next generation to keep inventing!

We’re urging everyone to celebrate this milestone with us this summer by taking a closer look at the inventions all around you that play such a big part in our everyday lives. We have put together a webpage that goes through the history of patents in the U.S. plus shares various ways that people can get involved, including two social media campaigns, #Tenfor10 and #TheRealMcCoy. Check out https://10millionpatents.uspto.gov/ .

RFP Released: Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 16:45:00 GMT

Over fifty years ago, the “Junior Science and Humanities Symposium” (JSHS) held its first national competition, sponsored by the U.S. Army. The Navy and Air Force quickly joined the team, making JSHS the premier high school STEM symposium sponsored by the Department of Defense.
Now, Battelle and the Tri-Service partnership is looking for an experienced manager to lead one of the nation’s premier STEM research competitions.

Across 47 regional events, thousands of high school students across the nation present their research projects and compete for scholarship prizes. The regional winners are then invited to a national symposium, to compete for even more scholarships and meet leading researchers from labs across the nation.

Submissions are due August 3, 2018– 5:00 pm EST. For more information, read the RFP .

Does your organization have the power to foster the next generation of groundbreaking research? If so, register for the webinar tomorrow (6/19) at 1 PM EST to learn more.
From www.usaeop.com

Request for Proposals: Seeking Organization to Partner on STEM Programming Alongside the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force

On behalf of the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force, Battelle is seeking an experienced partner interested in developing new and innovative ways to carry out the Tri-Service Junior Science and Humanities Symposium – a high caliber high school research competition – as part of a consortium of partners formed by the Army Educational Outreach Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense and executed by the U.S. Department of the Army.

We are looking to work with an organization that has similar STEM goals, specifically serving students from underserved populations and military dependents. JSHS addresses the nation’s need for diverse, agile and highly competent STEM professionals.

The Junior Science and Humanities Program seeks a new program manager

In collaboration with our new STEM partner, we plan to work together to promote this program to better meet objectives, maximize impact and provide more enriching STEM opportunities to our students. The application requirements for this partnership include a cover letter, a technical component in which applicants should discuss strategy and implementation plan, a collaboration plan, a budget and a budget justification, biographical sketches and a bibliography with references.

For more information, please review the RFP details here .

If you have programmatic questions, contact David Burns with Battelle. If you have contractual questions, contact Brian Panoff, also with Battelle.

David Burns, Director of STEM Innovation Networks
614-424-5187
burnsd@battelle.org

Brian Panoff, Senior Contracts Manager
614-424-6525
panoffb@battelle.org

Materials

Complete requirements: PDF

Submit here: http://usaeop.com/JSHSRFP

STEMx to be represented at White House summit

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 17:17:00 GMT

As the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy begins to re-frame a new STEM Education Strategic Plan, Director Wes Hall will be in the room, representing STEMx.

Read the full post from Battelle announcing the participation of STEMx and other Battelle networks in the meeting.

Battelle STEM Experts to Attend White House Meeting

Science, technology, engineering and math serve as the foundation for Battelle’s business. Our scientists and researchers rely on their STEM expertise every day to drive innovation. This drives our conviction that all young people deserve a strong education in STEM, and for years, we’ve worked with and managed a variety of public and private partnerships to bring quality STEM education to millions of students across the United States.

Three of our education leaders were recently invited to the State-Federal STEM Education Summit hosted at The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on June 25-26.

At the meeting, we’ll work with other attendees in the development of a new federal five-year STEM Education Strategic Plan in compliance with America COMPETES Act of 2010 .

In a media advisory about the meeting, Jeff Weld, senior policy advisor and assistant director for STEM education at OSTP, called attention to impact of state and local leadership on STEM: “Top-down approaches to STEM education can often yield wonderful ideas, but it’s at the State and community level where the momentum happens.”

Alongside OSTP in planning and carrying out this summit are the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Smithsonian Institution. STEM leaders from all 50 states, as well as U.S. territories and tribes, will attend the summit to illuminate and advance state-federal STEM alignment.

In 1976, Congress established OSTP to provide the President and others within the Executive Office of the President with advice on the scientific, engineering and technological aspects of the economy, national security, homeland security, health, foreign relations, the environment and the technological recovery and use of resources, among other topics. OSTP also leads interagency science and technology policy coordination efforts, assists the Office of Management and Budget with an annual review and analysis of federal research and development in budgets, and serves as a source of scientific and technological analysis and judgment for the President with respect to major policies, plans and programs of the federal government.

STEMx members present in July with NSTA

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 31 May 2018 14:05:00 GMT

The STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA, provides resources for educators and organizations seeking to learn more about STEM, outreach, partnerships, schools, and curricula.

The conference will be held at Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia from July 11–13, 2018. Register for the conference here .

We’re partnering with the National Science Teachers Association again. From making meaning in education to engaging rural communities, we’ve got topics to help you make the most of STEM education.

We would love to see you at the STEM forum! Below are the descriptions, times, and locations from around STEMx:

You can read about all the sessions at the event here: http://science.nsta.org/conferences/schedule2.aspx?id=2018phi

STEM that’s really out of this world: NASA’s “Year of Education on Station”

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 14:13:00 GMT

Teachers can often feel as if their heads are spinning. But at least one teacher is truly spinning, or orbiting, Earth right now. His name is Ricky Arnold, and he is the second consecutive teacher-astronaut on the International Space Station during this school year. To celebrate these two intrepid educators — and all educators who work on Earth — NASA has been marking the Year of Education on Station (YES). To tell us more about the YES events and activities, we contacted Becky Kamas, STEM on Station activity manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas:

Q: Tell us about the Year of Education on Station and what prompted it.

A: In March 2017, NASA announced crew members for upcoming International Space Station missions. This announcement included astronauts — and former classroom teachers — Joe Acaba and Ricky Arnold. Not only were they going to the space station, but they also would be there during the 2017-18 school year.

My activity, STEM on Station, manages education opportunities and resources related to the International Space Station for the NASA Office of Education. When we saw the crew announcement come across, we knew we had to do something very special.

We wanted to take advantage of the space station’s capability to inspire and engage and reach more students and educators than ever before. We came up with the Year of Education on Station, or YES.

New educational demonstrations, called “STEMonstrations,” are being filmed on orbit and are available online along with corresponding lesson plans. And it isn’t just Joe and Ricky getting in on the fun — all of the USOS crew members (what we call our U.S. astronauts and the astronauts from Canada, Japan and Europe) are participating, too!

You can learn more about STEM on Station and the Year of Education on Station at www.nasa.gov/stemonstation using #TeacherOnBoard.

Q: What kinds of programs and experiments were conducted for students by astronaut-teacher Joe Acaba, who returned to Earth in February, and now by astronaut-teacher Ricky Arnold, who flew to the space station in March?

A: Joe was very busy during his time aboard the International Space Station. He participated in 16 downlinks, which are 20-minute conversations between students and educators on the ground and astronauts onboard the space station. He talked to students from Texas to California to Tennessee, and even to students in Puerto Rico — a very special event given the recent devastation from Hurricane Maria and Joe’s Puerto Rican heritage.

He also kicked off the Year of Education on Station with Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli during a Facebook Live event that reached more than 3 million people!

Joe filmed two STEMonstrations, Exercise and Kinetic and Potential Energy , and worked with pre-service teachers from the University of Houston-Downtown to design simple experiments and demonstrations that would showcase the microgravity environment onboard the space station.

Joe’s work with YES didn’t stop when he returned home. He filmed an interview for the National Science Teachers Association’s national conference where he talked about his mission and how being a teacher helped to prepare him for his career as an astronaut. And soon, he will go out on post-flight appearances where he will visit with students and educators.

As I’m writing this, Ricky has been onboard the space station for about a month. He’s already participated in a few different downlinks, including to pre-service teachers at his alma mater, Frostburg State University in Maryland.

He has recorded a STEMonstration that showcases the surface-tension properties of water in microgravity that will be on our website soon. He also frequently posts on Twitter (@astro_ricky), sharing educational resources and spectacular imagery of the planet. Stay tuned because there is much more to come during his mission.

Of course, these examples are just what astronauts are doing with STEM on Station as a part of YES. There are many other great educational activities that happen onboard the space station.

Students can talk to the International Space Station through Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS) or take pictures of the Earth by controlling a camera onboard the space station through EarthKAM . Students and educators can even learn more about sending payloads through space through the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space , or CASIS, which manages the National Laboratory onboard the space station.

Q: Did the astronauts plan to carry out some of the lessons that teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe had hoped to offer during her flight on the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded after liftoff in 1986?

A: Completing Christa’s mission to conduct these lessons in space is very important to both Joe and Ricky. Thanks to Challenger Center, Christa’s lessons were archived in hopes that they would one day be performed by a teacher in space. A little over 30 years later, that is coming to fruition.

Ricky will soon begin filming the lessons on liquids, Newton’s Laws, effervescence and chromatography during his mission. Once all the lessons are filmed, the videos and lessons plans will be available on the Challenger Center’s website . The videos will help inspire the next generation of explorers while paying tribute to Christa’s legacy and the legacy of teachers throughout the world.

Q: How have students participated in the YES programs and experiments?

A: Students have asked more than 750 (and counting!) questions to astronauts during in-flight education downlinks. They have watched STEMonstration videos and conducted their own experiments in the classroom to see how they compare to the microgravity environment.

They have followed along and interacted on social media and have had launch and landing parties. They have come to crew news conferences and special events such as Microsoft YouthSpark Live (a hands-on STEM day focused on possible careers in STEM).

They have taken virtual field trips to the International Space Station through Google Expeditions. And teachers have participated, too! They’ve learned more about the space station through webinars and have used the many new resources available on the STEM on Station website. They’ve even helped us design STEMonstrations.

Q: Is there still time for students to take part?

A: There are definitely still opportunities for students to get involved with YES. And it is important to remember that educational opportunities and resources will be available even after YES is over.

The best place to learn about everything that is going on is to sign up for the NASA EXPRESS message . You’ll get an email every Thursday that outlines new opportunities and resources available across NASA.

Q: Joe Acaba is slated to appear as a keynote speaker during the Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit and STEMxchange 2018, set for May 8-9 in Nashville. Do you know what he will offer in his presentation?

A: That’s very exciting! I don’t know for sure, but I bet he will talk about his mission, the Year of Education on Station, and his time as a teacher. Did you know he was also in the Marine Corps Reserves and was a member of the U.S. Peace Corps? Now he’s been to space three times — the first time was on a space shuttle, and one of his crewmates was Ricky Arnold. They even did a spacewalk together, meaning two teachers were out in space at the same time!

Check out his Not Your Average Joe biography to learn more.

Q: What does NASA have in the pipeline as far as teachers in space and ways to connect students with astronauts on the International Space Station and with other NASA projects?

A: I don’t know of anything specific in the pipeline for teachers in space, but there are so many exciting things going on at NASA — and we love for students and educators to be a part of it!

We are working with Boeing and SpaceX to develop spacecraft that will fly astronauts to the space station as part of the Commercial Crew Program. We are building the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft for our future journey to Mars.

We are building new satellites and are conducting sonic-boom testing that will help us design supersonic commercial aircraft that can break the sound barrier with less disturbance.

This year, we are also celebrating NASA’s 60th birthday, and we are quickly coming up on the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing. I could go on and on!

As I mentioned above, NASA’s EXPRESS message is the best way to learn about the resources and opportunities related to the space station and our other missions. I read it every week, and I’m always amazed at how many cool opportunities there are for students and educators.

Another great resource is the NASA Education website where you can search educational resources and learn about NASA’s educational activities.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about NASA Education programs?

A: Check out our Internships and Fellowships website . It could help you get started on a career path at NASA! There is something for everyone at NASA. We have scientists, engineers, mathematicians, computer scientists, doctors, lawyers, graphic artists, social media specialists, accountants, producers, teachers . . . the list goes on and on!

Astronaut to keynote May conference and STEMx sessions posted

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 15:20:00 GMT

Our annual gathering, STEMxChange, is coming up in just a few weeks. Today, we’re announcing a new keynote. We’ll also detail the sessions that will make up the STEMx track.

Our second keynote will be…Astronaut Joe Acaba! Joining Grant Imahara , he’ll address both STEMxChange and the Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit. Just over a month ago, Acaba was completing a fiery descent through the atmosphere down to Earth. This descent marked the end of Acaba’s third mission for NASA. Most recently, he spent 168 days working in the International Space Station. Acaba joined astronaut Mark T. Vande Hei in a year-long NASA push to engage classrooms with the space station . Acaba brings a special perspective. Before joining NASA, he served five years as a teacher in Florida.

We’re also deeply proud to announce eight different sessions from STEMx member states. From Idaho to South Carolina, STEM schools to manufacturing, you’re sure to find something to help you make the most out of your dedication to effective STEM education. Read about all of the STEMx sessions below. Attendees will also have complete access to another 32 sessions organized by the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network .

Joseph M. Acaba NASA Astronaut

Acaba was selected by NASA in 2004. The California native has logged a total of 306 days in space during three missions. Most recently, Acaba served as Flight Engineer on the International Space Station for Expedition 53/54, landing back on Earth on February 28, 2018. Prior to arriving at NASA, Acaba taught middle and high school math and science.

Spaceflight Experience:
STS-119 (March 15 to March 28, 2009). This was the 125th shuttle flight, the 36th flight of Discovery and the 28th shuttle flight to the International Space Station. The primary objective of this flight was to deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and truss element to the International Space Station. Acaba accumulated 12 hours and 57 minutes of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) in two spacewalks. STS-119 returned to land at the Kennedy Space Center, having traveled 202 orbits and 5.3 million statute miles in 12 days, 19 hours and 29 minutes.

Expedition 31/32 (May 15 through September 17, 2012). Acaba launched on May 15, 2012, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin of the Russian Federal Space Agency and Acaba landed their Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft in Kazakhstan on September 17, 2012. Acaba spent 123 days aboard the station as a Flight Engineer of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Acaba supported the arrival of the first commercial resupply spacecraft, SpaceX’s Dragon, in late May; and was prime robotic arm operator for the capture and release of the third Japanese cargo ship, HTV3. Acaba served as intra-vehicular crew member and robotic arm operator for two U.S.-based spacewalks, helping to restore a critical power unit and exchange a faulty camera on the station’s robotic arm. Acaba also participated in numerous scientific research experiments and performed regular maintenance and operational tasks aboard the orbiting complex.

Expedition 53/54 (September 13 through February 28, 2018). The crew launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard the Soyuz spacecraft. Acaba, who served as Flight Engineer, was joined by Astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russian Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos. During the mission the crew marked the beginning of the first long-term increase in crew size on the U.S. segment, enabling NASA to double the time dedicated to research and achieve a record-setting week of research that surpassed 100 hours. Highlights from this research include investigations into the manufacturing of fiber optic filaments in microgravity, improving the accuracy of an implantable glucoses biosensor, and measuring the Sun’s energy input to Earth. Acaba completed one spacewalk to lubricate an end effector and install new cameras on the station’s arm and truss.

STEMx sessions at STEMxChange/Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit

Traveling Tennessee science fair heads to Washington D.C.

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 19:32:00 GMT

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Step right up and experience — science! That’s the invitation offered by the Traveling Science Fair, an assemblage of six colorful, carnival-style trailers that travels throughout east Tennessee bringing cutting-edge science information and hands-on activities to underserved students. The Traveling Science Fair was created and staffed by professionals at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the largest U.S. Department of Energy science and energy laboratory. The fair’s enticing trailers provide access to STEM ideas and careers for students who might otherwise have limited opportunity to experience either. We asked Leigha Humphries, ORNL protocol and community relations manager, to tell us more about this exciting, innovative and fun idea:

A: The ORNL Traveling Science Fair was a concept created by ORNL staff members at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), one of the lab’s user facilities, based on their experience with a portable, interactive SNS exhibit that had been wildly popular at festivals and other events.

While the exhibit represented only one facility and aspect of research done at ORNL, the SNS team saw the opportunity to expand and create a fun, carnival-style road show that represented the full-spectrum of science and research capabilities at the lab.

At the same time, we were interested in how we could expose more students to STEM activities while knowing teachers are limited in time, resources and access to transportation if trying to leave their schools and bring their students to the laboratory.

Given these challenges, we wanted to find a way to bring the lab to them, particularly to school districts that are more rural with fewer STEM opportunities.

Q: How were the themes for each trailer chosen? Did the ORNL scientists have input on construction and outfitting of the trailers? Have there been special challenges along the way?

A: ORNL is the largest open science laboratory in the U.S. Department of Energy system, with leadership in the areas of advanced materials, clean energy, computational sciences, neutron sciences and nuclear science and engineering, so each of these areas is represented by a trailer.

The sixth trailer in the fleet represents the support functions that enable research within the laboratory, from skilled craft workers to emergency responders and safety personnel.

Each of these six areas has a lead trailer representative for his or her organization. The trailer lead has worked with the respective scientific, technical and communications staff members in the respective organization to develop the content, exhibits and messaging.

As you might imagine, selecting how to best represent such broad topics in a small space has been challenging! We designed and built the initial trailer in 2014 with plans to add one trailer per year to reach the full set of six, but due to growing popularity, we added two trailers in 2015 and then simultaneously brought the last three on in 2016 — all while trying to begin operating the previously completed trailers at local events.

So, it was a bit like trying to live in the house you are designing, building, sometimes re-designing and decorating!

Q: Tell us a bit about each trailer and what each has to offer. Which one seems the most popular with visitors?

A: Asking which trailer is most popular is like asking which of your children you like the most! Each has unique activities and components that make it appealing to people of all ages and backgrounds with varying interests.

With all the bells and whistles, lighting and bright colors, the trailers themselves are pretty amazing, but the magic actually happens through our staff members who are there talking to students, doing hands-on demonstrations, explaining the work they do and sharing their enthusiasm for the ways in which we are changing the world.

Here are the trailers’ themes and what each offers:

Q: How often does the fair go out, and what are its usual destinations?

A: We are in our second year of operation with the full complement of six trailers. We average 8-10 exhibitions a year in the greater east Tennessee region, targeting district-level events for middle and high schools as well as large-scale community and public events.

Q: What has been the impact of this project?

A: We estimate more than 50,000 people of all ages have visited the trailers during the past two years alone. We have introduced ORNL to students and brought STEM to life for youngsters who likely never would have had the opportunity to come to the lab.

Q: Tell us about feedback? Have you heard back from teachers or students about how the fair has sparked an ongoing interest in science?

A: Our feedback from teachers, students and the general public has been incredibly positive. Students get really enthused about STEM-related careers after seeing the Traveling Science Fair and the opportunities that exist in these fields.

The director of one rural school system we visited told us that in his 38 years with the schools, the Traveling Science Fair far exceeded any other event for his students.

Q: What guidance would you give other organizations that might consider mounting a similar traveling science exhibit?

A: Be flexible and expect to make continual changes as you gain experience from usage. We are constantly working to improve the experience for visitors to the Traveling Science Fair, provide updated content based on our changing research priorities and offer teachers a meaningful way for their students to interact with our professional and technical staff members.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about the Traveling Science Fair?

A: I hope everyone has a chance to see us soon! We will be in Washington, D.C., April 6-8 for the USA Science and Engineering Festival, and in Nashville, Tennessee, May 8-9 for the Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit and STEMxchange meeting.

For more information about the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Traveling Science Fair, visit https://www.ornl.gov/sciencefair .

Here’s your primer on Pi Day!

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 21:24:00 GMT

It’s Pi Day! And, we’re not talking about the dessert (but that’s worth celebrating, too). This Pi Day has to do with mathematical ratios — and it also happens to be a famous scientist’s birthday. Both are right in STEM’s wheelhouse, and both are worth noting. What’s a teacher to do to mark the dual occasions? We asked Julie Medina, school programs manager at the Fleet Science Center in San Diego, California, to suggest activities for different age groups. And, she also gave us the complete lowdown on pi:

Q: Tell us about Pi Day, its history and what it celebrates.

A: Pi Day was founded by physicist Larry Shaw in 1988, and it’s a celebration of the number pi, which is approximately 3.14159. The first three digits (3.14) are the reason for celebrating on March 14 (3/14).

Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the mathematical symbol used to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle (the line bounding the circle) to its diameter (the line passing through the center of the circle from one side to the other).

March 14 also happens to be Albert Einstein’s birthday, so it is a perfect day to celebrate math and science.

Q: Can you tell us some fun facts about pi?

A: You can take any circle and divide the circumference by the diameter, and the result should equal approximately 3.14159 (depending on the accuracy of your measurement). Regardless of the circle’s size, this ratio will always equal pi.

Pi has been calculated to more than one trillion digits beyond its decimal point, which makes it a great number to incorporate for a variety of age groups.

Q: Can you share some STEM-related activities that elementary school educators — both in-class and after-school — can use to get their students interested in Pi Day?

For this activity, find any circular object in the classroom. Take a piece of string, and place it exactly once around the circle, then straighten out the string and measure it. This distance is called the circumference of the circle.

Next, measure the diameter of the circle, or the length straight across the circle, from one side to the other, making sure to go through the center.

If you divide the circumference of the circle by the diameter, you will get approximately 3.14, no matter which circle object you chose to measure. It seems to be a magic trick!

For even younger students, you can take that string measuring the circumference and show that if you fold it in three, it almost exactly matches the distance straight across the circle.

Q: For middle and high school students, what STEM activities would you recommend?

A: Because older students understand more extensive decimals, these students could do more advanced and accurate calculations of the circumference of things that are very large or very small. These students could also compete to memorize and recite the most place values of pi.

Circle bingo is another great option in which you use bingo cards with numerical answers and prompts that require students to find the radius, diameter, circumference or area of a circle. Older students could also use pi to calculate and compare the sizes of planets in our solar system.

Q: Are there other real-life applications that help to show why knowing about pi is useful?

A: Absolutely! Anybody who has ever purchased a fitted hat has used the number pi, whether they realized it or not. You can measure your own hat size by wrapping a measuring tape around your head and then dividing that measurement by pi. The resulting number is your fitted hat size! Most hat sizes range between 6 and 8.

Another interesting way to think about circles is their connection to cycles. Rhythmic motions all encounter pi — in waves, orbits, earthquakes, heartbeats, music, periods of wakefulness and sleep, and so much more. Wherever there is a motion that is repetitive, pi will underlie the mathematics.

One more interesting use for pi in everyday life is navigation systems and positioning such using a GPS. To determine your location on our spherical planet, pi must be used.

Q: The Fleet is a science center. Do you mostly celebrate math on Pi Day, or are there science concepts that relate?

A: Well, we certainly celebrate the number pi — for example, we have a Pi Day event for teachers on March 14 that is part of our ongoing teacher programming.

But, we also celebrate Einstein’s birthday that day, with “Flat Albert” activities requiring people to print out a picture of Einstein and then photograph him in crazy places. This is a great activity for discussions on perspective because you can place the picture of Einstein closer or farther from the camera, making him look larger or smaller, compared with other objects in the view.

We also worked with teachers to create gravity well to use with their students to explore Einstein’s theory of relativity.

While our Pi Day workshop is not one that we publicize year-round for schools, it actually can be requested at any time of year.

Q: If a teacher is working on a STEAM unit, are there art activities that relate to pi?

Q: If the students are already familiar with making bar graphs, have them create a bar graph with each bar representing a digit of pi. This can either be done by coloring in squares on a piece of graph paper or gluing squares onto a larger piece of paper.

You can create any type of background (a sunset or starry night sky are popular choices), and then the bar graph ends up looking like a cityscape with many skyscrapers. There is also the possibility of using small, colored circles to create a larger image, almost like a mosaic.

Q: In general, do you have tips for teachers about tackling such hands-on activities in the classroom?

A: I’m a big advocate for linking an activity to something students will also hear about in the news or in social media. If their interest is already piqued, then it makes the lesson something they already want to learn more about.

Many times, we’re able to incorporate hands-on elements using things that are readily available in a home or classroom. By incorporating hands-on components, we have the opportunity to make learning fun, and to appeal to a variety of different learning styles.

We find that additional inspiration and problem-solving abilities result if the hands-on component can also incorporate elements of inquiry and discovery, in which the student determines the question he or she is trying to investigate.

Editor’s note: Thank you to Vince Stewart, the Executive Director of the California STEM Network for connecting us with the Fleet Science Center. California is a member of STEMx.

Focused on student success: Ainslie completes tenure at Indiana STEM Network

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 18:19:00 GMT

After five-plus years leading the I-STEM Resource Network at Purdue University, Paul J. Ainslie stepped down as managing director in February. Since 2012, Ainslie had guided the network, which provides STEM curriculum and teacher professional development in Indiana as well as advocates for improved STEM education and resources for the state.

In announcing his departure, Ainslie wrote, “ Our need to engage the state and make STEM a key component of the state’s educational and investment priorities is taking shape via the Indiana STEM Advisory Council. I have confidence in a positive outcome from their work. I believe I-STEM’s role in Indiana is at an inflection point. This is a good time for me to step away from my role as managing director for I-STEM.”

We recently contacted Ainslie, asking him to reflect on his time with I-STEM as well as the development of STEM-based education and its future in the United States:

Q: How did you get involved in STEM education?

Paul Ainslie looks back on his time as the managing director of Indiana’s I-STEM Resource Network

A: After 33 years in industry in various technical, STEM-related roles, I was looking for a way to support the education side of STEM. I had been on several university-level advisory boards, but I wanted to work with younger students who might not have exposure to what careers in STEM could be like. The opening at I-STEM came up at exactly the right time to do exactly what I wanted to do.

Q: Tell us about the I-STEM Resource Network and your role in it.

A: The I-STEM Resource Network was formed in 2006 to focus on advancing STEM education in Indiana. The first initiative was to improve middle school mathematics by working with various colleges of education in Indiana to enhance teacher skills.

In 2009, the focus shifted to K-8 science with the support of the Lilly Foundation. This led to the launch of the Indiana Science Initiative in 2010, a program that is now in its eighth year of offering quality, hands-on science to thousands of students across Indiana.

I joined I-STEM as managing director in 2012 and took over the day-to- day operations as well as the lead advocacy role for STEM education in Indiana. Our statewide coalition of STEM advocates, numbering more than 400 now, has pushed for enhanced STEM education for all Indiana students. This effort has led to the formation of the Indiana STEM Advisory Council, a leadership body dedicated to defining a STEM education plan for Indiana in 2018 and seeking legislative support in the next state budget cycle.

Q: What have been your biggest accomplishments and challenges at the I-STEM Resource Network?

A: I have been fortunate to work with great leaders in Indiana and throughout the United States who have a passion for STEM education in its many forms. The opportunities for students to experience STEM disciplines in settings as different as the classroom or the open fields, from a factory floor to a chemistry lab, have been shown to impact student perceptions and learning. I hope that I contributed to that dynamic over the past few years.

Every statewide STEM group faces challenges from government offices, legislatures, institutions of higher education, school districts and many others. Managing all of these challenges while trying to advance toward a STEM-education goal can be frustrating at times. I like to think I met every challenge head-on and found a way to advance toward the goal. I can’t be certain that was always the case, however.

Q: How and why has STEM-based education grown in the past decade?

A: It seems as if all of education talks about STEM now; certainly it has become a key focus for many schools and districts. As schools look to add more STEM content to the classrooms, some are even revamping their curriculum to use STEM disciplines as a core content in every subject area.

Additionally, out-of- school STEM education has grown dramatically over the past five years, with more museums, libraries and other venues adding STEM-centered exhibits and activities. The integration of schools with out-of- school STEM programming offers a key opportunity for expanding the STEM learning day.

The “why” of all this change parallels, in some ways, the “why” of my role in STEM education. We know that more students need exposure to, and experience with, STEM disciplines, and that even pre-kindergarten isn’t too early.

Our current system of educating the workers for the next generation isn’t much different from the way it was 100 years ago. We will struggle as a nation in meeting all the opportunities we have until we realize that 21st century education can and must be different than it has been.

Certainly the arts and culture are critical parts of any national identity and must be maintained and even advanced. But the United States is losing too many good jobs to countries with more skilled people.

Sustainable economic growth depends on a workforce aligned to the job skills that define this growth. This workforce must also be reskilled as needed for the next wave of opportunities. This isn’t just a one skill for one job, but rather a suite of skills such as problem identification and solving, teamwork and communications, planning and execution. This is a much different mindset than most have today.

Q: How have you supported and/or learned from other members of the STEMx network?

A: The diverse members of STEMx have always been a pleasure to interact with. Their experiences with legislatures, policy, programs and schools have been extremely useful models for Indiana.

Our STEM school certification is built on shared information from three other states. Our work with in-school and out-of- school STEM has benefits from discussions with other STEMx states.

We have been willing to share what we have learned as broadly as possible.

Q: What do you see as the future of STEM-based education?

A: I think STEM-centric education has a great future in the United States, but I also recognize that such a plan isn’t the only possible solution, nor the ultimate solution, to skills issues in this country.

Rather, this is a start to making education more relevant and meaningful for students who struggle finding a connection between formal education and their lives. We have seen how a strong hands-on STEM curriculum can transform a disconnected learner into an engaged participant in learning. We need to make that sort of connection for every student.

Q: What do you see as your legacy in STEM?

A: I would like to think that I had a positive impact on STEM education in Indiana: That more students and teachers have access to better STEM learning because of my efforts.

Ultimately, student success is the only result that matters.

The Science of Curling

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 18:37:00 GMT

This post was originally published by Battelle , which manages STEMx, and it’s too good not to share. Have you integrated curling (or any other Olympic sport) into your classroom? Please tell us about it in the comments below.

At Battelle, we take science seriously. And, our researchers may take their hobbies just as seriously as their science. Rick Olson, a mechanical engineer who has led structural analysis projects at Battelle for 41 years, is also an active member of the Columbus Curling Club. He plays the ice sport several days a week and has participated is numerous tournaments, known as bonspiels, over the last decade.

With the Winter Olympics underway in Pyeongchang, South Korea, we asked Rick to share the science behind the sport.

What makes curling ice special?
Curling ice is not hockey ice. It’s very different. Although it’s hard to see, hockey ice isn’t very flat. The curling surface must be remarkably level. If it’s not level, the stone will “fall” sideways as it moves down the ice. A slope as little as 0.005 inches in the 15-foot width of the curling ice can cause the stone to move an extra 30 inches laterally as it travels down the 150-foot sheet.

Making perfectly level ice isn’t easy. When water is added to create new ice, it naturally wants to curve up at the edges to form a meniscus. It also doesn’t freeze uniformly when it’s created due to hotter and colder spots in the cooling coils in the floor. To compensate for the inevitable imperfections, the high spots are removed by scraping and the low spots are filled in with droplets of water broadcast onto the new ice. In addition to the droplets applied to the ice when it is made, it is “pebbled” before each game with small droplets of water to make asperities, creating a texture similar to an orange peel.

Why do the curling stones slide so effortlessly down the ice?
When you watch curling, it looks like the stone will go forever, even though it is not moving very fast. On good curling ice, it takes 25 to 28 seconds from the time the curler releases it until it comes to rest at the other end.

This is because the stones are not flat on the bottom. They are concave with a running band about five inches in diameter and a quarter of an inch wide. Combined with the bumpy texture of the ice, very little of the 44-pound stone is in contact with the ice surface. This creates high pressure that keeps the surface under the stone right on the edge between solid ice and liquid water, which reduces friction. Think about ice skating.

The stones are made primarily from granite quarried in Scotland. The material repels water, has high fracture toughness, and behaves almost perfectly elastically in collisions, meaning stones continue gliding after they hit each other. Each curling stone costs around $1,000 (or as much as $2,000 for the special high-level competition ones) and can have a useful life of a century.

What makes a curling stone curl?
There’s been debate for many years between scientists trying to describe the physics of the underlying mechanism that makes the arching path of a curling stone. It’s incredibly difficult to describe the forces acting on the stone because more spin doesn’t translate to more curl. Typically, three to five revolutions of the stone on good ice causes it to move 3 to 4 feet side-to-side as it goes down the length of the sheet. If you spin a stone hard, it won’t curl at all.

The scratch guiding model is the best explanation. The bottom of the stone is textured. As the nose of the stone goes over the small bumps in the ice, it creates scratches. When the back of the stone goes over those scratches, microscopic forces move it in the direction of the scratches.

Why are those guys sweeping in front of the stones?
When you sweep in front of the stone, you are polishing the surface of the ice, reducing the height of bumps and scratches. While sweeping doesn’t actually cause the surface to melt, it does raise the temperature closer to the boundary between ice and water, which lowers the coefficient of friction and fracture strength of the ice. The result is a stone that doesn’t slow down as much and appears to go straighter. Good sweepers can drag a stone 10 feet farther down the ice.

Volkswagen, state, and key local partners bring eLabs to many schools in Chattanooga

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 17:36:00 GMT

At eight schools in Hamilton County, Tennessee, students can tackle a selected real-world problem, design a solution and fabricate that solution, all in their onsite Volkswagen eLab. The eight eLabs, which provide access to rapid prototyping technology, came about through a public-private partnership in the Chattanooga area. And, it was just announced that eight more schools in the county will be getting eLabs. For details on the burgeoning project, we contacted Michael Stone, director of innovative learning at the Public Education Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Chattanooga that aims to improve student achievement in public schools, and a member of the partnership:

Q: How did the Volkswagen eLab project come about?

A: Volkswagen eLabs are the result of a partnership among the Volkswagen Group of America, Chattanooga Operations (Volkswagen Chattanooga); the state of Tennessee; the Hamilton County Department of Education (HCDE); and the Hamilton County Public Education Foundation (PEF).

Volkswagen eLabs serve as an exemplar of how public-private partnerships can make a tremendous impact on a community. Each organization has a particular role in this initiative, but the real gem is that every stakeholder has made positively impacting student success the primary focus of the work.

Q: What were the initials goals?

A: Like any innovative initiative of this magnitude, the goals are expected to evolve over time.

The $1 million donation from Volkswagen and the state of Tennessee was accompanied by a minimum expectation that PEF would provide guidance and ongoing support and serve as the fiscal agent to open digital fabrication laboratories in 16 HCDE middle schools and high schools over a two-year period.

In addition to leaning on PEF’s expertise to support the development of the Volkswagen eLabs, HCDE provided capital improvements and staff support to ensure that the new labs had access to the resources necessary for success. Due to the innovative nature of the initiative, initial goals were focused on simply establishing the labs as functional digital fabrication labs that were used daily by students to engage in revolutionary learning experiences.

As Volkswagen eLabs continue to develop, they are emerging as each school’s epicenter for real-world experiences. Students are learning to use formal strategies such as the engineering design cycle and design thinking to engage in project-based learning units — many of which are developed in close partnership with local businesses.

Additionally, each lab fosters a student-run entrepreneurial venture, dubbed Ed Corps, that is developed in partnership with Real World Scholars.

Q: How many labs are up and running, and how many students do they serve? How were the participating schools chosen to have a lab?

A: To date, eight Volkswagen eLabs have been established. They are located in a wide range of schools across the HCDE footprint.

The schools were selected through a proposal process based loosely on the National Science Foundation’s review panel protocol. A formal request for proposals (RFP) went out to all eligible schools in the district (all middle schools and high schools, including magnet and charter schools). Interested schools submitted a roughly four-page written proposal, responding to specific questions in the RFP.

A selection committee of expert stakeholders from multiple organizations evaluated the proposals and selected finalists. The selection committee then conducted site visits at each of the finalist locations to identify schools that best demonstrated the capacity to innovate beyond traditional instruction and curriculum.

The first eight Volkswagen labs were announced in late March 2017, and they all opened, fully operational, that August.

The selection process was predominantly merit-based, but providing equitable access to Volkswagen eLabs for students of every demographic background was an expressed priority for the selection committee. However, the first eight schools to receive a Volkswagen eLab nearly perfectly represented the socio-economic, ethnic and racial diversity of the entire school system. They are located in schools serving students in urban, suburban and rural settings.

As a result, each Volkswagen eLab has taken on a slightly different look and feel so each can most effectively impact the students who use the labs every day. As of December 2017, more than 1,700 students had recorded meaningful experiences in the first eight Volkswagen eLabs, and more than 4,500 students have access to those labs.

Q: How are the labs staffed?

A: Volkswagen eLabs are staffed with a VW eLab Specialist — a fully-credentialed teacher identified by each school’s administrator during the proposal process who is reassigned to ensure successful integration of the lab into the school and works to establish and maintain a safe and functional lab.

In addition to the VW eLab Specialist, each school selected three to four full-time content-area teachers who serve on the VW Innovation Team. These VW iTeam members attend all of the pedagogical and instructional professional learning with the VW eLab Specialist and commit to developing content-specific, project-based learning units that empower students to take advantage of the unique opportunities found in the Volkswagen eLabs.

Q: What equipment and materials are available in the labs?

A: Each lab is established with equipment based on recommendations from the Boston-based Fab Foundation for equipping a “Fab Lab.” While each school is granted the flexibility to develop its lab as a best fit for its mission and vision, certain components were standardized.

All labs are equipped with multiple 3D printers, laser engravers/cutters, electronic stations including soldering equipment and a variety of micro-controllers, vinyl cutters and a variety of more traditional fabrication tools.

Additionally, high school labs are outfitted with large-format computer numerically controlled (CNC) routers and the necessary machinery to support their use.

Q: What kinds of student projects are undertaken in the labs?

A: Student projects in the labs run the gamut. Most schools decided to implement a three- to five-year strategic plan to ramp up the scope of the work in their labs. However, while the labs are still in their infancy, we have already documented a wide range of successful student projects.

At an urban middle school, students developed functional prototypes for a mechanism that enables drones to deliver packages without the prohibitive need of landing on a pre-defined landing pad. Students in a rural middle-high school (grades 6-12 campus) developed sustainable solutions to provide clean water as a submission to a national eco-challenge.

A student team from an urban high school worked with a local clean-energy provider to create and race a green-powered go-cart in a regional race. Another school has a team of students working to develop robotic marionettes that can be remotely controlled over Chattanooga’s ultra-high-speed internet.

Finally, a middle school lab has launched a student-run business, Lightning Orthotics, in which students in the Volkswagen eLab design, develop, test, refine, manufacture and sell 3D-printed adaptive devices for people with special needs.

Q: Will there be more lab sites chosen and how? Do schools with labs supply any ongoing funding?

A: The additional eight schools (to round out the 16 total) were just announced on January 30. They were chosen following the same criteria explained above.

Selected schools committed to providing $5,000 in ongoing funding or in-kind donations to ensure the labs’ sustainability. However, this commitment was explicitly not included as criteria for the selection process.

Q: What has been the feedback from students, teachers and parents?

A: To some degree, it is difficult to answer this question without being self-serving. However, each lab is very active on Twitter, and it is clear that the first eight Volkswagen eLabs have been well-received by the entire school community at each location.

The labs have brought excitement to students, teachers and parents alike. However, more than generating excitement, the labs have begun to show students (and their parents and teachers) how capable they truly are.

At least five of the eight existing labs have received significant, unsolicited financial contributions from parents and community members, with several specifically noting that “this is what school should be about.” One parent recently commented, “I never knew (my child) was capable of this caliber of work. She is doing real work. Her academics prepared her, but this lab has given her the opportunity to demonstrate her abilities in ways I never knew were possible.”

At one school, a teacher went out of her way to thank the VW eLab Specialist, as she noted, “I walked by (student’s name) in the hall today. I overheard him tell his buddy, ‘Dude, you have to work harder in math, man. I am getting my work done early so I can spend extra time in the VW eLab!” She explained that because the student engaged in a particular project in the lab, his engagement in his “other” classes was notably better.

Q: What advice would you give school administrators who might want to start a similar program in their districts with corporate sponsorship?

A: Work of this magnitude is complex and requires a lot of little things to be done correctly. However, two critical factors enabled this initiative to successfully launch at such a ridiculous pace.

First, each of the members of the multi-organization partnership truly trusted one another. Volkswagen and the state of Tennessee did their due diligence to establish accountability through appropriate contractual obligations to ensure the investment was used responsibly, but they also empowered PEF and HCDE to leverage the expertise they brought to the table to ensure the work would be successful. It was the perfect balance of each member of the partnership doing its role well without intrusively prohibiting the other members from doing theirs.

Second, PEF’s staff was uniquely situated to leverage internal expertise and a strong relationship with STEM School Chattanooga (the first school in Tennessee to establish a certified Fab Lab). This relationship created a framework to establish VW eLabs across diverse school settings. Each lab perfectly fit into each environment while upholding necessary standards so that the labs could reach their maximum potential.

This process took approximately six years to develop with the STEM school. The Volkswagen eLabs are on pace to reach the same level of effectiveness in 18 months.

Any school/district could do this work with the right partnerships, sponsorships and leadership in place, but to accelerate the learning curve from six years to 18 months, expertise in developing education-centered digital fabrication labs is critical.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about this project?

On June 18-21, the Public Education Foundation will host the inaugural Chattanooga Fabrication Institute in partnership with the NEA Foundation.

The institute, designed alongside the Pittsburgh Fab Institute created by the Elizabeth Forward School District (Elizabeth, Pa.), will empower approximately 200 K-12 teachers to engage in hands-on experiences with digital-fabrication equipment in five of the original eight Volkswagen eLabs.

This event promises to be a unique professional-development experience offered to teachers. Thanks to a generous grant from the NEA Foundation, the registration is free.

To learn more and to register, visit http://www.vwelab.org/chattfab .

How AT&T is solving super problems at the NFL championship game

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 20:50:00 GMT

Staging Super Bowl LII can mean solving super problems, such as: How do you increase network capacity at the NFL championship game site — U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis — to handle the cellphone calls of thousands of fans, media representatives and vendors as well as myriad other visitors? Solution: You plan months in advance. So says Marachel Knight, senior vice president, Technology and Planning, with AT&T Operations. She explained how her communication company prepared to handle this complex challenge, and how STEM teachers can use this experience as a teaching tool:

Q: Tell us about the challenge that AT&T faced in meeting demands for increased cell-phone and data usage at the Super Bowl.

A: All wireless carriers face unique challenges when hundreds of thousands of people in a limited geographic area all access wireless networks, potentially at the same time. But, we worked for more than a year to upgrade key portions of the Minneapolis network with both permanent and temporary enhancements where additional traffic is anticipated leading up to, and during, the Big Game.

Q: When did your planning start, what kinds of skills were involved in the planning phase and how did collaboration enter in?

A: Our planning started in June 2016. A few members from different groups of our network organization participated in planning sessions, including engineers from various network planning and implementation teams. At the same time, other teams provided a constant stream of new information so that we could evolve our plans to align with all events related to the Big Game.

Q: When it came to implementing the plan, when did that phase start, how many workers were involved and what kinds of skills were needed?

A: Implementation started a few months after planning kicked off. After the planning phase, we then went through a network-design process. Once the network designs were created, our construction team secured the contracts and permits necessary to start building. After the build was completed, our network optimization team tested and fine-tuned the network elements to maximize the potential.

It’s hard to say how many workers helped with the construction, but more than 20 engineers helped with the network planning, design and optimization work.

Q: How did you take into account the possibility of foul/frigid weather? Has that actually been a problem during implementation of your plan?

A: Winter weather is something our teams in Minnesota deal with every year as part of their routine activities. In terms of planning, our network-capacity designs were modeled assuming good weather. That’s because customers typically use their phones quite a bit more when the weather is good.

The first week of January was especially cold in Minneapolis (highs below 15˚F the whole week). This led to some challenges working outdoors, but our crews are resourceful. One crew even set up an ice-fishing tent on a rooftop to keep warm while working on a site.

Q: What more can you tell us about AT&T tackling and meeting this real-world challenge, and how STEM educators might use this as a problem-solving example in their classrooms?

A: The key was starting as early as possible, effectively planning and using time wisely to meet our objectives — no matter how big or difficult they seemed up-front.

As we got closer to the game, we had regular status and touch-base meetings to ensure maximum visibility and collaboration among all involved teams.

STEM educators might use this strategy as a problem-solving example in classrooms to show that planning and teamwork are foundational to solving all kinds of difficult problems in a STEM-related industry.

Artists pair with early childhood teachers to find success in STEM education

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 20:37:00 GMT

Did you know that the performing arts can improve performance in math? So says the educators at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. A professional development program at the foundation’s education arm teams classroom teachers with specially trained performing artists to blend arts education with math lessons. The young children exposed to this hybrid curriculum have tallied much-improved math scores. To find out more about the program, we contacted Akua F. Kouyate-Tate, vice president, education, for Wolf Trap, which is based in Vienna, Virginia:

Q: Why did Wolf Trap redesign its arts-integrated professional development to concentrate on nurturing STEM skills in young children?

A: Wolf Trap’s flagship education program, Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, continually advances our work to align with the latest guidelines and recommendations for developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood education.

In 2005, we were studying an arts-integrated program focusing on language and literacy skills across Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia. The children who participated in this program showed positive results in language and literacy skills development.

However, we were pleasantly surprised that they demonstrated higher scores in logic and math — an outcome we did not anticipate. Research confirms that young children can learn STEM concepts, as the brain is very receptive to learning math and logic between the ages of 1 and 4. Other research confirmed that early mathematics learning is the single greatest predictor of later learning in not only math but also other areas, including reading.

We saw the opportunity to learn more about the power of arts-integrated math teaching specifically. This is when we began intentionally developing performing arts content and strategies as an approach to teaching math content and skills.

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Education awarded Wolf Trap a four-year grant to research and disseminate our Early Childhood STEM Learning Through the Arts (Early STEM/Arts) model program. Early STEM/Arts adapted Wolf Trap Institute’s established model for teacher professional development to create and deliver an innovative approach of arts-integrated learning of STEM concepts with a specific focus on math.

The results of the four-year study indicated that when teachers applied active, multi-sensory, arts-integrated strategies in math instructional techniques, children earned significantly higher scores on a standardized mathematics test. In fact, the gains were equivalent to 1.3 additional months, or 26 additional days, of learning for students whose teachers participated in the program.

Q: What is the link between the arts and math?

A: Content and concepts of math learning are also applied in arts learning. Consider the pattern, which is a critical component of math learning for young children. Patterns are also concepts in music and dance. Wolf Trap’s arts-integrated approach combines content and skills from the arts, including singing, dancing, role-playing and storytelling, with math learning content and concepts as well as those of other core subjects such as language, literacy and science.

Additionally, the skills children need to succeed in STEM — problem-solving, creativity and collaboration — are intrinsic to arts-integrated learning.

Q: Explain how artists and early childhood teachers are trained together at your institute.

A: We have customized a professional development model that pairs educators with professional teaching artists — musicians, dancers, actors and puppeteers — to train through classroom residencies.

To prepare teaching artists for classroom residencies, they receive training from Wolf Trap in early childhood (EC) development and developmentally appropriate practice, along with receiving information and resources about EC curriculum approaches and national and local standards.

Our teaching artists then are taught how to apply performing arts skills and techniques to support student learning and how to guide early childhood educators to integrate the arts into their instructional practice.

Q: What do the artist-teacher teams then bring to the classroom, and how do they transmit their lessons to their students?

A: The centerpiece of Wolf Trap’s program is the classroom residency. In a residency, a teaching artist partners with an educator to plan and implement lessons in the classroom. Each lesson is designed and customized to meet the goals the teacher has for her students as well as the professional development goals identified for the teacher.

The teacher is able to see the application of arts integration in her own classroom and practice using the strategies with the support of the teaching artist. Over the course of the residency, teachers learn to integrate the arts into daily instruction independently and long after they’ve completed the residency with us.

Q: Has this program been evaluated? What results have been found?

A: Independent research of the Wolf Trap model, research from the arts education and early childhood fields, and Wolf Trap Institute’s over 35 years of experience, indicate that the infusion of arts integration strategies into curriculum content provides powerful teaching tools that enhance all areas of development including science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM skills; language and literacy; social/emotional growth; as well as 21st century skills that I mentioned before: critical thinking and problem-solving, communication, collaboration and creativity.

Q: How can other early childhood teachers integrate such lessons into their curriculum?

A: Wolf Trap offers an online community of practice for educators: education.wolftrap.org . This is a login-based website, so it requires registering an account, however, it’s free to join the site, and signing up is quick and easy.

The site provides content and resources including video tutorials, audio clips, lesson plans and forums. Teachers can access the site and make use of these resources on their own, whether they have or have not yet participated in Wolf Trap programs.

It was important to us to make our materials accessible to a wide range of teachers to use and modify as they need.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about this program?

A: STEM industry employers continually stress that they need employees who are creative, can think outside of the box and persist through problems to find solutions.

However, schools feel pressure to have students perform on math and literacy assessments. So, the question is: How can we tap into children’s natural curiosity and build on it, while also teaching important curriculum topics and skills?

With arts-integration it is not an either/or approach. When teachers utilize the arts to teach subjects such as math or science, they fuel students’ critical thinking skills, and the students become invested and excited about their learning. Their creativity flourishes.

We know as fact that when teachers engage children in active, multi-sensory learning through the arts, they can adapt their instruction to support various learning modalities, higher-level thinking and 21st century skills development. This happens for young children in the EC classroom.

We’ve seen through decades of practice and research that the performing arts have a tremendous impact on children’s learning. By ensuring that children’s first STEM-learning experiences are effective and compelling, the arts can foster children’s excitement and cultivate their natural curiosity about STEM.

Wes Hall to lead STEMx

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 18:55:00 GMT

From Aimee Kennedy Ph.D., Senior Vice-President of Education, STEM Learning and Philanthropy at Battelle

Based on his extensive achievements in Tennessee and an in-depth consideration of the needs of STEMx, I am pleased to announce Wesley Hall as the new director of the STEMx network.

I will share a few thoughts about why we are confident that this is the best direction for the network, but first, let me express my deep gratitude to the Honorable Regina Schofield for ably serving as the interim director over the last few months. She took on this role on top of her regular responsibilities here at Battelle; we couldn’t have asked for anyone better.

During her short tenure, Regina collected your feedback about the qualities and priorities needed for the next chapter of STEMx. We worked together to craft a new path for the growth of this important organization.

In the end, it became clear to me that the best move forward was to double-down on the core idea of the STEMx network: by working as a group, we can deliver more attention and resources to quality STEM education than any state in isolation.

Based on that conviction, I am devoting some of Battelle’s key minds to STEMx. Wes brings two key aspects to the network. He is a proven community organizer, having taken the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network from funding a handful of schools to having statewide impact through support from the legislature. All in just a few short years.

Moreover, Wes has a clear sense of Battelle. From the organization’s scope to its defining mission of “profit for a purpose,” he can provide a clear line of strategy and visibility to our organization.

I am also formalizing new roles for both Regina and David Burns. Each will now serve as Senior Advisors for STEMx. These two senior leaders will work directly with Wes to advise and connect him to their own broad networks in the STEM education world.

From Wes Hall, director of STEMx: Looking ahead to 2018

Dear STEMx Members,

I am excited to lead STEMx and join you in expanding access to STEM for all students across the nation! As the former Director of the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, I know firsthand how valuable STEMx can be in exchanging fresh ideas and strategies that can be applied locally.

Over the coming weeks, my priorities for STEMx will be threefold. First, I’m going to support members in New York and West Virginia as they complete their Challenge Grant collaborations. The Challenge Grants are incredibly important to generating new strategies to tackling common barriers across states and I am looking forward to New York, South Carolina, and West Virginia sharing their findings at STEMxChange in May.

Second, I’ll be working to plan an inspiring and engaging STEMxChange that will take place in Nashville on May 8-9 in collaboration with our colleagues in Tennessee.

I will be asking for your help in leading sessions to share your state’s best programs and strategies with others.

Finally, I’m most excited to get to know each of you better and the incredible work that you are doing to make differences in the lives of students so that we can expand our sharing and collaborations across states.

The coming weeks will be an exciting time for STEMx and I look forward to working with each of you!

Sincerely,
Wes Hall
HALLJ@battelle.org

Webinar: STEM on stage and supporting dual-language learners

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 17:06:00 GMT

January 17, 2018: 4-5 p.m. (EST) Register

In January, we’ll hear from expert presenters about tackling two of STEM’s hardest challenges: Meaningful integration with the creative arts and language and literacy-rich STEM experiences for young dual-language learners.

Akua Kouyate-Tate, Vice President of Education at Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, will share experiences and best practices in STEM from their flagship education program Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts. She will detail how the Institute has been pioneering STEM Arts learning through their innovative residency program, which pairs a professional Teaching Artist will early childhood educators to learn hands-on how to integrate the performing arts into their classrooms. Cindy Hoisington from EDC will describe an EDC program in Hartford, Connecticut that promotes integrated science and language experiences for young students learning English as a second language.

Panelists

Register to attend

About these webinars

Every month, we organize an opportunity for STEM organizations to learn from each other. Past webinars have covered STEM school design, teacher training, and engaging industry in STEM partnerships. This service is offered thanks to your state’s membership in the national STEMx network.

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

STEMx is headed back to NSTA’s STEM Forum

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 21:13:00 GMT

The National Science Teachers Association hosts a fast-growing event on STEM, the NSTA STEM Forum. Once again, STEMx has arranged for a core set of sessions devoted to our members.

We’re recruiting for six sessions at the 2018 NSTA STEM Forum to be hosted in Philadelphia from July 11–13, 2018.

Help us tackle core questions like:

Again, we’re looking for six stunning presentations from STEMx member states. The bar’s high, check out this moment from last year’s STEM Forum.

STEMx will cover the presenter’s travel. Applications are due January 8th at 5 p.m. EST. Apply here: https://battelleeducation.typeform.com/to/Imi1O9

IBM’s Watson moves from Jeopardy! to the classroom

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 16:31:00 GMT

Since IBM’s Watson’s Jeopardy! debut in 2011, the artificial intelligence platform has been keeping busy, helping humans in fields such as healthcare and business. Now, Watson is working in education — powering a searchable database of open educational math resources for teachers in grades K-5. To tell us more about this project, called Teacher Advisor With Watson 1.0, we contacted Maura O. Banta, director of Global Citizenship Initiatives in Education at IBM Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs in Armonk, New York:

Q: Tell us about Watson — when and why was it created and some of its past projects.

A: Watson first came to the public’s attention when it participated as a contestant on the television game show Jeopardy! Since then, IBM has used this powerful technology to help address some of the biggest challenges faced by industry clients and the social sector.

Watson is an artificial intelligence platform that can understand, reason and learn. It can analyze large amounts of data or content, and, with the help of subject matter experts and technologists, ultimately turn that analysis into insights that are relevant for end-users.

In our case, this means having Watson deliver targeted resource recommendations to educators within Teacher Advisor (for specific math concepts, topics, skills and techniques).

Watson can understand the meaning behind K-5 math teachers’ search queries, and use its cognitive capabilities (specifically, the Watson Discovery Service API) to quickly recommend high-quality and relevant resources to meet real teacher needs.

One interesting fact about Watson is that it understands what we call Natural Language, which makes it possible for people to ask questions the way they normally would when interacting with it. Another interesting thing to note is that with the help of further training from subject matter experts, Watson will improve its ability to make recommendations or deliver other insights related to the elementary math domain, for the benefit of teachers.

Q: Tell us more about Teacher Advisor With Watson 1.0 — what sparked its creation, how was it developed and what are its goals?

A: The philanthropic Teacher Advisor With Watson project has its roots back in 2014. That’s when the IBM Foundation convened a group of top education leaders at Roosevelt House in New York City to explore how we could put Watson technology to the best possible use in the education field — with the ultimate goal of achieving the greatest possible impact on student achievement.

At Roosevelt House, the consensus was that the best place to focus would be on supporting teachers: to leverage Watson to help them both improve their own instructional knowledge and know-how and efficiently find resources to meet the needs of students.

We initially focused on 3rd-grade math (we’re now K-5), because this is the beginning of, and foundation for, more advanced math concepts. We engaged with teachers “on the ground,” as well as educational nonprofits such as UnboundEd, to get started curating and designing a 100% free tool that would integrate teacher professional development with a robust Open Educational Resources library.

Our goal has always been to support teachers as they grow and develop in their craft, and provide easy access to lesson plans, student-facing activities and other classroom resources that can make a difference in student achievement. Teacher Advisor cuts out the guesswork and provides tightly curated, reliable, pre-vetted materials that teachers can quickly access to help meet their students’ diverse needs.

Teacher Advisor is IBM’s first free, philanthropic Watson-enhanced education offering — and we’re very proud of that!

Q: Based on your research, what do K-5 teachers need and want in such a system?

A: A 2012 RAND Corporation study noted that in terms of math instruction, a teacher is estimated to have two to three times the impact of any other school factor. That said, one key takeaway from the Roosevelt House meeting was that while there were plenty of tools for students and back-office functions, there was no free tool available that was specifically focused on helping teachers with their time-intensive work.

Teachers are often left on their own to face the demands of the profession, with limited time and resources, and without the ongoing training, support and consistent access to quality resources that they need. Supporting teachers in the incredibly important work they do was the obvious choice for us and our partners in terms of where to focus — and Teacher Advisor is our contribution.

What we’ve heard from teachers and other members of the education community since we officially launched 1.0 on September 13, 2017, is that Teacher Advisor is providing real value, and that they appreciate the teacher-centric approach we’ve taken in designing this powerful, user-friendly tool.

Teacher Advisor is particularly well-suited for providing supplementary lesson-plan materials; enabling remediation, differentiation or re-teaching; and helping teachers boost their content knowledge.

Q: How do teachers access this database?

A: It’s very easy to sign up for a Teacher Advisor account — it’s 100% free and takes only about 30 seconds to get access to everything we offer. Teachers and others can sign up directly and need to provide only limited information about themselves and their focus area.

Finally, Teacher Advisor is confidential and nonjudgmental: While superintendents and principals can access the tool, they cannot see how their teams are using it.

Q: Describe some of the resources available. Where, in general, have they come from?

A: The resources available through Teacher Advisor are unique for a few reasons. First, they are all standards-aligned and pre-vetted by a team of elementary education experts.

Second, the resources range from full lesson plans and student-facing activities, to teaching strategy videos and comprehensive standards information.

Third, we specifically designed the tool and the user experience to ensure that teachers never feel that they’re getting a single resource and that’s it — instead, we have linked resources to standards information, strategy ideas and related resources from other content providers.

Our content partners include EngageNY, AFT’s Share My Lesson, Student Achievement Partners, Achieve, Illustrative Mathematics and three state departments of instruction or education (Louisiana, Massachusetts and North Carolina).

Across K-5, we offer more than 1,000 lesson plans, 4,000 student-facing activities, 300 tasks and 100 instructional strategy videos and pedagogy documents. Also, we regularly add content as part of our quarterly Teacher Advisor tool updates.

Q: Through your testing, what has been the feedback from users? How will this feedback refine the process?

A: Engaging directly with our teacher-users has been a top priority since Day One. In addition to meeting with teachers at national and regional education conferences, we regularly follow up with teachers who leave in-tool feedback comments, and also convene focus groups and webinars to speak directly with educators.

The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive and has in a very real way helped us determine what features to add. For example, teachers told us that they wanted a resources library, so we added the “My Library” section. Similarly, we added the ability for teachers to quickly and easily leave feedback for specific resources, if they so choose, to help the larger Teacher Advisor community.

Ultimately, teacher feedback will be used to further train Watson, which will lead to even more targeted in-tool search results.

Q: What’s next for the database? Will it be expanded to more grades and/or more academic subjects?

A: While our current focus remains on K-5 mathematics, we will continue to listen to our Advisory Board and teachers who are using the tool to determine what the next steps are in terms of adding content, grades and/or subject areas.

One possible addition is resources that help meet the needs of students with learning disabilities, as well as resources for English language learners — but this is still to be determined.

Q: How can teachers get more information?

A: The best way for teachers to learn more is by signing up for a free account ( teacheradvisor.org ). After signing up, if teachers have questions or ideas for new features, we’d love to hear from them.

Update from Capitol Hill on the Trump administration’s budget proposal

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 17:19:00 GMT

It’s been seven months since the Trump administration released its budget proposal for the U.S. Department of Education. With the budget’s proposed shifts in some funding priorities, educators nationwide have wondered how the measure would stand up to congressional scrutiny. For an update on the proposal’s progress on Capitol Hill, we checked in with Thomas Phillips, a congressional affairs specialist for Battelle:

Q: Since the release of the Trump administration’s federal budget proposal for the Department of Education earlier this year, what has been its fate in Congress? Have the House and Senate adhered to it, or have they come up with their own versions?

Thomas Phillips, congressional affairs specialist at Battelle, updates us on policy on STEM education

A: The answer is a mixed bag. On the whole, both the House and Senate versions rejected the severe cuts proposed by the administration, though each in its own way. The House did make some cuts but justified them with larger increases in other places, while the Senate maintained a lot of funding that the administration had eliminated but at levels that matched the previous fiscal year.

Q: How do the House and Senate versions differ from the president’s? What are the basic differences in the House and Senate versions?

A: The biggest difference is that both the House and Senate version provide an increase to the Title IV Part A “Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants,” which the administration had eliminated. Whereas fiscal year 2017 saw those programs funded at $400 million, the House proposed $500 million and the Senate $450 million.

Ultimately, between the House and Senate versions, it can be said that the Senate’s protects the most programs, whereas the House appropriates more for specific programs at the expense of others. If you view the chart, you can see these differences in more detail.

Table courtesy of the STEM Education Coalition

Q: Under the Trump administration proposal, many areas of education funding, including money for teacher training, would see cuts. Are these funds, and others, still in jeopardy?

A: Although the House and Senate have not yet conferenced their two versions, and fiscal year 2018 appropriations are still uncertain, I can say with relative certainty that none of the programs that the administration eliminated is at risk of being defunded. While the House zeroed-out Title II (teacher training) funding, the Senate included full funding at fiscal year 2017 levels.

It’s critical to remember that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was just passed during the last Congress — by a Republican majority — with the specific objective of returning power and flexibility to individual states. When the Trump administration chose to zero-out key elements of ESSA, it failed to consider that Congress would not appreciate seeing its brand-new education authorization dismantled. While not every program will receive funding at fiscal year 2017 levels, there’s no reason to believe that any of the programs will be eliminated.

Q: What about money for career technical education, or funds tied to the Perkins Act reauthorization?

A: Despite the fact that the legislation for the Perkins reauthorization remains stalled in the Senate over a disagreement around “secretarial authority and prohibitions,” both chambers of Congress remain fully committed to funding the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act state grants, and both the House and Senate included $1.1 billion (the fiscal year 2017 level) in their appropriations bills.

Q: What are the next steps in the budget process? Could there be a government shutdown? And when will we see a full budget?

A: As I have mentioned in previous posts about the budget and appropriations process, we are currently operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR). At the moment, the government is heading for a shutdown if a budget deal isn’t struck by December 8, 2017. It is unlikely that Congress or the administration will reach a deal by that date, and it is equally unlikely that they will let a shutdown happen.

As such, before December 8, we can expect another “short-term” CR, funding the government through December 22. This should put enough pressure for a full budget deal to be reached before members of Congress go on their holiday recess and creates the opportunity for an omnibus spending bill, covering many budget appropriation areas, to be passed in early January.

That said, there are many high-profile policies that are weighing on the process, and we’ve already seen the president publicly claim he doesn’t “see a deal.” Amid this uncertainty, we can count on Congress’ reliance on the CR.

Decades later, National Science Foundation’s past still guides grants today

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 18:45:00 GMT

No matter where you are in the STEM education world, it always seems like the National Science Foundation is just around the corner. Everyone knows that they support cutting edge scientific research, but since when have they been involved in STEM education?

The first National Science Board in 1951

The short answer? About 70 years.

NSF’s first Chairman James Conant highlighted education early

The National Science Foundation was established by Congress through the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 under Harry S. Truman. The foundation’s central function was “ to develop and encourage the pursuit of a national policy for the promotion of basic research and education in the sciences .” Since that day in May, research and education were two sides of the same coin.

In the NSF’s first annual report , Chairman James Conant wrote that there must be “an intensive effort to discover latent scientific talent and provide for its adequate development.” He wrote about assisting promising young college graduates in need of require postgraduate training. From there, the foundation could help foster the nation’s next leaders in science and engineering.

Today, we know that we have to start much earlier than college graduates, but they were on the right track.

In the 1971 Director’s Statement , William McElroy stressed that the NSF must emphasize curriculum development, teacher improvement, and student support. He wanted to focus more directly on multidisciplinary problems, including social and environmental ones, and training science educators as specialists within their own institutions. “By concentrating more of our resources for science education on these types of activities,” McElroy wrote, “we expect to sustain a high-quality science education program which will affect a wide range of students and teachers.”

Director William McElroy devoted space in his formal statement to educators

At around the same time, the NSF took specific initiative to begin providing specific opportunities to historically black colleges and universities and broadening participation in underrepresented communities. Today, over 50 programs make up their broadening participation portfolio , with focus areas ranging from Kindergarten to Career.

National Science Foundation funds more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations, and other research organizations throughout the United States. About a quarter of federal support for academic research comes from the NSF.

So how can the STEM education community find NSF support?

Several initiatives are aligned with STEMx goals and aims within the Directorate for Education and Human Resources . Programs like ADVANCE focus on reaching women in STEM, while programs like Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) and NSF INCLUDES focus on a wider range of students and teachers. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program encourages STEM professionals to become K-12 teachers to inspire students in the classroom. Follow the links above for more information.

Do you have any experience with NSF? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Hope Street Group connecting future employees with needed skills

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Sun, 19 Nov 2017 17:56:00 GMT

What job skills should be taught in a STEM-based curriculum? What knowledge is in demand in the workforce? Answering those questions can be tricky, as educators and trainers are not always on the same page as employers. To bring these groups together for the benefit of workers is the aim of the Hope Street Group. The nationwide organization is trying to bridge the gap between the skills that are taught to future employees and the skills that are needed on the job so that workers are better prepared and can reap the benefits of career advancement. To find out more, we contacted Martin Scaglione, president and CEO of Hope Street Group:

Q: Tell us about your organization.

A: Hope Street Group is a national, nonprofit organization formed in 2003 to fix social systems for the 21st century by:

Our mission is to ensure that every American has access to economic opportunity through education and a career path that offers advancement and income growth.

Q: How do you go about accomplishing this mission?

A: Hope Street Group is working to revolutionize our country’s approach to education, training, hiring and career advancement.

Currently, the signals between the key stakeholders in the education and workforce systems are not aligned: Employers are not effectively signaling the skills they need for the jobs they need to fill. As a result, educators and training providers are unable to develop effective training to prepare workers to meet those needs, and workers are not in a position to attain their desired job or communicate their ability to meet employers’ needs.

This bears out in skills-gap data: There is a significant deficit in the supply-demand ratio when it comes to middle-skills jobs. Forty-nine percent of the jobs in America require a middle-skills level, yet only 25 percent of the nation’s workers are at that skill level.

Workers are not being brought into jobs with an eye toward their “moving up” a career path and, with that, meeting the long-term-skills needs of the employer. As a result, workers are churning at the low-skills level and not moving up into middle-skills jobs, where the critical gap exists.

Hope Street Group is working with employers to help them strengthen the collaboration and “signaling” between them and workforce training and education organizations, as well as adopt “in-and-up” strategies when it comes to filling entry-level positions so that workers have a clear career path and access to the training that gives them the ability to move up that path.

Q: What are Hope Street Group’s major accomplishments/programs/initiatives? How have they helped specific groups?

A: Our major initiative, Sync Our Signals, is changing the way that employers source and hire talent, to improve the signaling among them, educators and workers on the skills and competencies needed for success and advancement.

Our goal is to achieve 25 by 2025 — that is, to see 25 percent of the workforce advance one level on their career path by 2025. On average, that will equate to more dollars of income for workers and their families, more dollars being pumped into local economies and more dollars in taxes to fund education, infrastructure and other investments that fuel economic growth and opportunity.

By taking an employer-led approach, Sync Our Signals is mobilizing blueprints for change in industry sectors that make up approximately one-third of the nation’s workforce — manufacturing, retail, health care and education — thus offering significant economic opportunities for millions of Americans.

For example, in the health-care sector, Hope Street Group is working with hospitals on three fronts: aligning the skills needed in their workforce with training and education programs; ensuring that workers have better access to this skills training; and adopting “in-and-up” career-path strategies. As we are seeing successful models, Hope Street Group is helping share and mobilize those across the country.

We have seen strong outcomes from these efforts, including with a medical assistant apprenticeship model at Trinity Health in Michigan that is being adopted by other hospitals across the country. It has had a positive impact on their pipeline for qualified medical assistants in terms of numbers and in other key areas, including Mercy Health, also in Michigan, seeing reductions in first-year turnover, from 25.3 percent to 18.7 percent, and Trinity Health seeing an increase in workforce diversity, with non-white hires growing by more than 30 percent.

Another example, in the manufacturing sector, is the Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT) program developed by Toyota that is being shared with more than 300 companies through our work with the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education.

AMT offers workers an opportunity to gain on-the-job experience with a leading manufacturer while attending college. Each week, participants spend two days in the classroom and three days on the job. They earn a starting wage of $12 per hour, with the potential for $16 per hour.

Participants learn skills and competencies that employers need on the factory floor and in other positions, increasing their job prospects exponentially. Ninety-five percent of graduates are placed into full-time positions with the sponsoring employer at a salary of $50,000 to $75,000 in the first year.

Q: What groups/organizations/companies do you partner with? How do these partnerships work, and how do they further your mission?

A: Hope Street Group’s operational model takes a network-based approach. We are a small organization by design (18 people) because we believe in the power of building and leveraging a network of stakeholders required to drive system change. We work and partner with employers, government, community colleges, K-12 institutions, workforce boards other non-government organizations and philanthropy on a regular basis.

Some of our national-level partnerships include:

Q: Tell us about the partnership with Innovate+Educate: What will you do together, and what is your shared goal?

A: Innovate+Educate (I+E) and Hope Street Group are launching the Innovative Business Hiring Council 2020 (IBHC2020). This effort will build on the already strong relationship between the two organizations as well as their unified vision around shifting employer hiring, training and advancement strategies to focus on skills and competencies.

The IBHC2020 will be a unique, employer-driven council of companies across industries that are focused on shifting their talent acquisition and development models, with an emphasis on implementing competency-based solutions, sharing their findings with others and receiving technical assistance from like-minded corporate partners.

The council will work with companies across the services (retail, hospitality and food); health care; IT; cybersecurity; and financial sectors to identify effective competency-based talent sourcing models and support these companies in shifting their practices.

Q: Give us some programs/initiatives you will work on together and how you will do this.

A: Hope Street Group and I+E will work together through the IBHC2020 to work with Fortune 500 companies to revolutionize the way that employers source, hire, manage and advance talent. We will work together to get alignment and commitment from these companies on the actions they are willing to take to drive this change and what resources and external partnerships they need to make this happen.

Q: How will this partnership benefit workers and employers?

A: The impact of the work of this partnership will ultimately provide workers with a career pathway that provides for advancement opportunities and income growth. For employers, it will decrease their turnover rates and time-to-fill rate and increase their diversity rates and their quality of hires — resulting in significant cost savings.

Innovator profile: Rural Sourcing connects high-tech to small towns

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 10 Nov 2017 02:58:00 GMT

So, you’re a STEM-loving student who wants an exciting tech career but dreads moving to the big city to chase that dream job? No worries. Future programmers with rural roots needn’t pull them up to grow a fulfilling IT career, says Monty Hamilton.

The CEO of Rural Sourcing says his company can ensure such tech-savvy graduates the small-town experience they cherish while tackling the big-city projects they crave — all while pleasing customers with a lower bottom line. To give us some details, we contacted Hamilton at Rural Sourcing, which is based in Atlanta, Ga.:

Q: Describe the mission of your company. What prompted its creation?

A: Our mission is to create thousands of high-tech careers in smaller cities where these jobs would not otherwise exist. We’ve created hundreds already and are well on our way to fulfilling our mission.

What fueled the passion around Rural Sourcing is the fundamental belief that there are good, smart, hard-working and well-qualified talent pools in the smaller cities that have been underleveraged and untapped for far too long.

In 2009, the U.S. economy was struggling with the worst recession in our country’s history. Unemployment was close to 10 percent, and new college grads faced an abysmal job-market outlook. Yet, since the mid-1990s, U.S. corporations had shipped millions of IT jobs offshore, which, at the time, probably made sense.

But in 2009, when 1 out of every 10th person needed work, it occurred to me that we needed to rethink where we were outsourcing jobs. We believed at the time, and have since proven, that by using U.S. labor in smaller, midsize cities, Rural Sourcing could provide a better experience, lower the risk of outsourcing and do the work for a lower cost than what was being charged offshore.

Further, having grown up in a small, rural community in Mississippi, I saw firsthand how we forced individuals to make a choice or trade-off: They could either remain in the places where they had grown up with deep roots, a support system and a pace and quality of life that they enjoyed, or they could chase the bright lights of the big city and their vocational dream. But they could not do both.

Rural Sourcing changes that paradigm. By bringing the “big-city” programming jobs to the smaller, high-quality-of-life locations, our colleagues get the best of both worlds. They live in a low-cost-of-living, high-quality-of-life location and do work for Fortune 1000 companies that have headquarters in the major metro areas. Everyone wins. The colleagues get exciting, challenging work without having to leave home, and our clients get high-quality software development for a much lower cost.

As we like to say, you are no longer forced to make the trade-off between your location and your vocation.

Q: How does your company accomplish its mission?

A: We are focused on taking care of three groups: our colleagues, our clients and our community. We accomplish the mission by continuing to expand to smaller cities that meet our site-selection criteria.

We currently have four Software Development Centers (Dev Centers) — in Albuquerque, N.M.; Mobile, Ala.; Augusta, Ga.; and Jonesboro, Ark. — with plans to expand to a new center every 12-18 months. We have more than 300 colleagues and are growing rapidly because for us to expand we must please our clients and generate new ones. Fortunately, we have a phenomenal client-satisfaction ranking, which makes it easier to get new business.

Finally, we want to be a catalyst in our communities for growth and change and be a caring, corporate citizen. Each Dev Center determines how it would like to spend its volunteer time and which causes it will support, such as animal shelters, food banks and other nonprofit organizations. Additionally, they are all heavily involved in promoting the tech scene in their communities.

Q: Does Rural Sourcing have outreach programs for students?

A: At all levels we are involved with the schools in our communities. Beginning with the elementary level, we participate in STEM education days, field trips to our office and presentations to classes about what we do.

Recently, the Mobile office participated in the Hour of Code program with the Bright Beginnings Academy and helped the students write more than 100 lines of code as they went through the Minecraft tutorial.

At the local high schools, we’ll speak about careers in technology, help the students put on hackathons (intensive collaborations on software projects) and host the students in our offices where they get firsthand exposure to what it’s like to have a career in technology, including the breaks for quick games of foosball or Mario Kart.

We also work with the local colleges and universities. We have a robust internship program where we hire interns who work with more-experienced developers. We will begin working with students in their junior and senior years with the goal that they will eventually join us as fulltime colleagues.

Additionally, we guest-lecture, advise on curriculum and host competitive hackathons to see who has the best coding chops among the colleges.

Q: How does the mission of Rural Sourcing impact students interested in IT careers?

A: We believe that by doing all the above, and, even more important, by being a significant employer of tech talent in town, that we will open students’ eyes to the realm of career possibilities. Sometimes, a bit of self-doubt creeps into the psyche of individuals who come from smaller communities. They might not come across as being as confident as their larger-metro-area counterparts. This is often due to a lack of exposure to bigger corporations or role models who might have worked in bigger companies. We provide our colleagues with this exposure and this softer-skill training.

Once that’s in place, there is absolutely no ceiling to what these students can do. They then hear about exciting projects such as a Game of Thrones app and, suddenly, they light up knowing they have everything necessary to be successful in a technology career.

Q: Is there anything else you can share about your company and its mission?

A: We love giving a first chance at a second career. We have hired numerous colleagues who might have started in another career but decided to get into the technology world. We’ve provided these first chances to a former Detroit police officer concerned about returning home to his children after a shift on the streets; to a Bronze Star-awarded military veteran from Afghanistan who used his G.I. Bill money to learn how to code; and to a retail worker who was undervalued and underemployed.

We love to get these people into our organization, give them that shot and watch them go.

New Center for Equity in Learning at ACT focused on underserved or working learners

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 18:29:00 GMT

With a goal of helping underserved and working learners achieve education and career success, ACT, the college-readiness testing organization, established its Center for Equity in Learning in June 2016. The center aims to examine and address barriers to opportunity for young people such as income, race, ethnicity and accessibility. To give us an overview of the organization’s first year of achievements and its plans for the future, we contacted the senior director of the center, Christina Gordon, in Washington, D.C.:

Q: Why did ACT establish the Center for Equity in Learning? Did ACT already have a similar initiative?

A: ACT established the Center for Equity in Learning as a way to double down on our mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success, with a focus on the need to close gaps in opportunity and achievement. We have a long history at ACT of working to ensure that all people have what they need to be successful.

The center combines the work of ACT’s former Office for the Advancement of Underserved Learners and the now-shuttered ACT Foundation and focuses on people who come from underserved backgrounds and underserved working learners.

We’re at a critical crossroads in our society, and we believe that ACT’s reputation, strong evidence base and relationships in education and workforce research uniquely position us to address matters of equity in learning.

Q: What ages are you targeting and why?

A: The center aims to reach underserved and working learners ages 14-26. These young people are in various transitional points in their lives, from high school to college, or certificate programs to career and beyond, and hold much promise for our society’s future.

In ensuring that they have the supports needed to be successful, we also help ensure the health of our society, democracy and economy. We expect that our focus will grow to include younger and older learners over time, as ACT expands its research and engagement across a broader spectrum of age and experience.

Q: At the center, what initiatives have been launched, or are in the pipeline, to help these learners, and how will these initiatives accomplish your mission?

Chart from the ACT Center’s August report: Equity in Working and Learning. Read more here: https://equityinlearning.act.org/research-doc/equity-working-learning/

A: The center focuses in four areas: accessibility, research, partnerships and social impact. We believe these four pillars allow us to capitalize on ACT’s strengths, while providing maximum opportunity for success. So much of what we do is grounded in evidence that informs our work.

We’ve used our strong background in research to help us forge partnerships and relationships that can move the needle and level the playing field.

Since our launch in June 2016, we have released research on the state of working learners (those who are working while going to school) and the importance of disaggregating (breaking down) data to better understand racial and ethnic heterogeneity; partnered with organizations such as Univision, the American Council on Education’s American College Application Campaign (ACAC), and Roadtrip Nation, among others, to build capacity and strengthen efforts to share “college knowledge” with diverse populations; celebrated the work we do in our communities to empower young people, women and others; and advanced accessibility for all learners.

As we look ahead, we will deepen these activities, even as we take on new ones such as exploring the role of social-emotional learning in education equity, the critical function that school counselors can play in college and career success and other projects designed to directly improve education for underserved learners.

Q: Will the center be partnering with other organizations to further its mission, and how will these partnerships work?

Chart from the ACT Center’s July report: The Racial Heterogeneity Project: Implications for Educational Research, Practice and Policy. Read more here: https://equityinlearning.act.org/research-doc/racial-heterogeneity-project-implications-educational-research-practice-policy/

A: Our partnerships are a critical and foundational pillar of the work that we do. We are only as strong as those organizations with whom we partner. ACT brings a strong research and evidence background — in many cases our partners reach directly into underserved populations with critical information to empower their success.

We recently launched Steps2College alongside the National College Access Network, ACAC, Better Make Room and the Center for Postsecondary Readiness and Success at American University to ensure that the key milestones in the transition from high school to college are clear and easily achievable.

In many cases, our partnerships help us advance our research agenda — which can help us identify problems, solutions and opportunities to further empower student success. Our recent partnership with UCLA’s Institute for Immigration, Globalization and Education yielded an incredibly compelling report on the power of data disaggregation among racial and ethnic groups and what that can mean for providing services and support to them.

And we have worked with Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, and other scholars, to support research on topics related to working learners.

Q: How can leaders throughout the STEMx network advance the center’s work or apply knowledge gained from the center’s initiatives to advance STEM education in their own states?

A: Building awareness is a quick and easy step. By sharing our research and connecting with us via our Equity in ACTion blog or on Twitter , leaders can stay up to date on what we’re working on.

Beyond that, we are always exploring new partnerships and research opportunities, as well as ways to directly reach young people with ACT’s resources such as the fee waivers for low-income students (which includes free online test preparation).

And we love to hear stories and learn best practices from our colleagues who are making magic in their states and across the country. Tell us!

Q: Would you like to share anything else about the center?

A: The Center for Equity in Learning celebrated its first anniversary in June 2017, and we are determining how we can best leverage our resources to advance efforts to close gaps in equity, opportunity and achievement. We’d welcome information and feedback that can help inform our thinking.

Webinar: Two states, two new models for rural STEM

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 19:27:00 GMT

November 15, 2017: 4-5 p.m. (EST) Register

A recent survey by the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network reported more than half (53%) of rural educators didn’t know of resources to help them teach STEM. To close that knowledge gap and build new solutions, the network launched the Tennessee Rural STEM Collaborative this fall.

Sixteen hundred miles away in Idaho, the STEM education team at Idaho National Labs has tackled the rural STEM engagement issue with a new strategy focused deeply on teachers and families. Growing STEM talent is a critical need at the lab, where up to 30% of the workforce will retire in the next five years. Join us on November 15 to hear from Anne Seifert, Idaho National Lab’s K-12 Education manager and Brandi Stroecker and Evan Curran at the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, managed by Battelle.

Panelists

Register to attend

About these webinars

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

STEMxchange 2018: Save the Date!

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 15:07:00 GMT

The 2018 STEMxchange will take place on Tuesday & Wednesday, May 8-9, 2018 at the Nashville Airport Marriott in Nashville, Tennessee.

This year, we’re excited to join the fourth annual Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit. The summit brings together leaders, innovators, and champions from across Tennessee who seek advance excellence in STEM education.

Registration opens November 1. Registration will include admission to both STEMxchange and the Innovation Summit. Attendees from Tennessee or states/territories who are current members of STEMx will pay a reduced rate, $199. Attendees from states which are not members of STEMx are invited to attend for $299. Check your state’s membership here .

This year’s program will feature sessions drawing on the expertise from around our network and showcase the lessons learned by our 2017 STEMx Challenge Grant winners .

To learn more, read our profiles of last year’s presentations:

Challenge Grant: Catalytic change rallies South Carolina leaders

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 19:55:00 GMT

In June, STEMx awarded Challenge Grants to its members in three states so that each could hold a meeting (or series of meetings) on a pressing STEM education issue. One grant winner, South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science (SCCMS), used its $15,000 award to host the Grand Challenges in SC STEM Summit on Oct. 17 in Columbia. For first impressions gathered from the summit, we contacted Tom Peters, executive director of SCCMS. Collaborating with him on this Q&A is Susie Teague, Upcountry regional coordinator for S ² TEM Centers SC, an innovation partnership managed by SCCMS:

Q: What prompted you to convene this meeting, and what did you hope to learn from it?

Tom Peters and Susie Teague take our questions on the Grand Challenges in SC STEM Summit

A: We had two goals when planning this convening. First, we intended to plant the seed for future STEM education partnerships and collaborations. Second, we sought to identify STEM education challenges that are critical to South Carolina through a process relevant to the STEMx Network by asking questions about the broader system of STEM learning in South Carolina including out-of-school time learning and learners of all ages.

Our end was to commit to five systemwide grand challenges within our state that we might successfully master within five years’ time, if we act together to maximize our individual and organizational strengths and resources.

Q: How was this meeting different from others you have held? Did you have speakers, panels, small group discussions or a different format altogether?

A: While we have held STEM summits in the past, dialogue during this convening was centered on research conducted by 100Kin10 — a national network committed to adding 100,000 excellent STEM teachers to U.S. classrooms by 2021 — to identify root causes and possible actions to address the critical shortage of STEM teachers.

Thought leaders from across South Carolina added to this knowledge base through their responses to interview questions designed by 100Kin10 and analyzed by our staff.

Unlike other SC STEM summits, the focus of thought and action came from the participants themselves and was not generated by external speakers, panelists or other presenters. Together, we explored the 100Kin10 Challenge Tree System Map to identify challenges most relevant to our state.

Q: How did you select the attendees?

A: Attendees were known thought and action leaders with interest in STEM. They came from across the state and from all walks of life including business/industry, the arts, out-of-school learning places, government, classrooms and more.

Participants were nominated by regional leaders from the statewide S ² TEM Centers SC network, managed by SCCMS (South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science). Additionally, an invitation was extended to representatives from STEMx states.

Q: Were there particularly effective strategies used to provoke discussion?

A: Our team worked very closely with Grace Doramus, director of strategic initiatives at 100Kin10, to devise protocols to engage the participants in networking, exploring the vastness of the STEM Challenge Tree System Map, and then taking a deep dive into a subset of challenges of each participant’s choice.

Particularly effective was the use of South Carolina interview data to identify a set of Super Themes for the challenge map, as organizers for the themes, challenges and catalysts already identified by 100Kin10.

Also, having an expert facilitation team from the S ² TEM Centers SC network helped greatly to ensure that dialogue and discussion stayed on point and yielded the results we were after.

Q: What were the main takeaways from the meeting and any ideas about implementation?

A: First and foremost, the meeting validated our contention that STEM leaders would rally around the strategy of identifying a few catalytic challenges to move STEM teaching and learning forward.

As we had expected, the task of reviewing more than 100 challenges and whittling them to five was too daunting for a single day. That said, we are many steps closer, and Grand Challenges summit participants have made personal commitments to broaden their networks in the SC STEM community and to share what they have learned with their colleagues.

Q: Is there anything else you could share about this session?

A: This session, while extensive and effective, is only a beginning. Findings from the summit will be presented to multiple audiences in the coming months and refined into actionable challenges. We look forward to sharing our work at the STEMxchange in May.

Below, read the complete “Systems Map” created by 100kin10

From farm to lab: Meet Evangelina Galvan Shreeve

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 19:58:00 GMT

Evangelina Galvan Shreeve was the first person in her family to graduate from high school. Then, she went on to college. And today she’s connecting Washington students with one of the country’s leading laboratories.

Galvan Shreeve took over as Director of STEM Education at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) at the beginning of this year. The previous director, Jeff Estes, retired with nearly three decades under his belt. Shreeve will continue to bring STEM opportunities to students across the Pacific Northwest.

Galvan Shreeve grew up in Prosser, Washington, as a first-generation American. Her parents were farmworkers, living just 37 miles away from the national lab. But they never knew about the groundbreaking science happening nearby.

“If I would have known what I know today about PNNL and its mission, I would have become a chemical engineer,” Galvan Shreeve said. “But, having grown up in a secluded rural area as an immigrant who was still learning American culture and ideals, I didn’t even know what a bagel was when I went to college.”

Now, as the Director of STEM Education, Galvan Shreeve is committed to making sure PNNL is a place that can inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers across the entire continuum of learning, from K-12 and beyond.

“How do we offer the excitement and engagement of a national laboratory to inspire STEM careers?” Galvan Shreeve asked. “How do we collaborate with our community to leverage the benefits of a national lab as a STEM leader?”

As Washington state focuses more on career-connected learning – using STEM experiences as a mechanism for developing competencies and the needed skills set, PNNL is partly realigning its STEM education efforts to emphasize the Lab’s Science & Technology priorities and is focusing on the “T” in STEM.

Computer science is a growing need for the STEM workforce as it touches on all things STEM. Office of STEM Education is collaborating with technical staff to develop unique and interesting efforts that will engage all students from all educational levels to get inspired about computing and computing related careers. From its annual Pink Elephant Unicorn cybersecurity competition, to computing and cyber summer camps for middle and high schooler students and teachers; PNNL is ensuring students are exposed to cyber opportunities early on.

There is also an effort to help prepare teachers with the knowledge and tools to assist them in preparing students to the new state computing science standards. For post-secondary students, PNNL and Columbia Basin College worked together to launch a new cybersecurity bachelor’s program at Columbia Basin College. That program is also preparing students to become interns, and later professionals, at PNNL, the greater Department of Energy system and the nation.

When Galvan Shreeve started working at PNNL it was the month of April. During the “bring your kids to work” day on April 26, Galvan Shreeve’s then nine-year-old shook her manager’s hand, saying, “Thanks for hiring my mom at the Disneyland for scientists.”

Galvan Shreeve hopes to foster this sense of wonder and excitement in students across the region, and provide the support needed to build the next generation of STEM professionals.

PNNL is just one of many national labs under Battelle’s management, each with its own approach towards STEM education outreach and engagement.

Celebrating Colorado teachers and schools with The Succeeds Prize

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 19:16:00 GMT

Many states and local districts honor outstanding schools and teachers. But those that win The Succeeds Prize will really hit the jackpot. The Succeeds Prize, which celebrates outstanding schools and innovative teaching in Colorado, is sponsored by Colorado Succeeds, a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of business leaders focused on improving the state’s education system. To find out more about the sponsoring group and The Succeeds Prize, we contacted Scott Laband, president of Colorado Succeeds:

Q: Can you give us an overview of Colorado Succeeds and its mission?

A: Colorado Succeeds was founded in 2006 by a group of CEOs who wanted to lend their leadership and experience to serve as the state’s business voice for improving education.

Since then, Colorado Succeeds has connected the skills and expertise of hundreds of businesses and thousands of individual business leaders from across the state to the education system and the legislative process. Ours is the only organization in Colorado to bring these three critical players together to improve schools, streamline government and strengthen business.

Our mission is to apply our unique expertise, leadership skills and influence of the business community to improve Colorado’s schools. Colorado Succeeds envisions a Colorado in which all children are educated to their greatest potential, and all of the state’s businesses have the talented and innovative home-grown workforce they need to thrive.

Put simply, we believe that great schools are good business, and we know that when Colorado schools improve, everybody wins.

Q: Describe The Succeeds Prize — who is honored and why, and what are the awards.

A: The Succeeds Prize is an evolution of the 9Teachers Who Care campaign that Denver television station 9NEWS has put on for 16 years. Over the past year, we collaboratively designed The Succeeds Prize with 9NEWS to become the most prestigious awards and recognition event for Colorado’s public schools and educators.

We know that educators are the unsung heroes working each day to ensure all students have access to opportunities that will propel them to success in postsecondary education and careers. We will celebrate them on Oct. 3 during an event at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver.

The event will award public schools making the greatest gains in academic achievement as measured by three weighted factors: growth of all students, overall achievement of students and growth of the school’s underserved students.

An external committee made up of former educators and leaders in Colorado’s educational landscape conducted a data-driven process with a third-party evaluation company. The committee selected the top five schools in four award categories based on data. The school name, district and school type were masked during this process.

The committee recently finished conducting site visits with the top three finalists to gather qualitative data and determine which schools will win.

The four data-based awards are:

A $15,000 will be given to the winner in each category to support continued growth and success.

Q: Tell us about the Excellence in Education Innovation Award — who could apply, how did they apply, what will the winner take home and what are you looking for in a winner. Is this a STEM-based award, and is it unique in the state, or the nation?

A: The Excellence in Education Innovation award was an open-submission process for any public-school educator in Colorado. Educators had until Sept. 1 to submit a brief description and 2-minute video pitching their innovative idea.

We received 60 submissions and narrowed it to 10 semifinalists. Those chosen not only had great ideas, they also demonstrated scalability, promised implementation within six months and articulated the potential impact the ideas could have. The semifinalists pitched live on Sept. 18 to our Innovation Award Committee.

The committee will select three finalists to have the chance at $15,000 to fund their innovative ideas. This award is not STEM-based, though many of the submissions featured STEM as the core theme, indicative that it’s a major priority for educators.

While other avenues exist for educators to receive money to fund innovative projects, many of them come in the form of a foundation or government grant, which have guidelines on how the money can be used. This award had minimal restrictions because we wanted “ground up” ideas and innovation, and we wanted teachers to bring those ideas forward without direction or priority setting from us.

Teachers are doing the hard work in their classrooms each day, and we wanted to give them an opportunity to problem-solve. This award gives educators the funds and flexibility to fully implement their innovative ideas for maximum impact.

Q: Will the winner’s progress in his/her project be tracked after the award is presented, and how will this be done? Does the winner have any obligation to share his/her progress or otherwise make public appearances?

A: The Excellence in Education Innovation funding is just the beginning. We plan to be a connector for educators and industry or business to partner on these innovative ideas. Educators aren’t just seeking funding. They are looking for experts to collaborate with, learn from and expose their students to.

We want to connect educators with each other. Great things are happening across the state, and the awards can serve as a platform for sharing that great work. We want to follow the winners and continue to support finalists in their endeavors. It’s our hope that this is just the starting point.

Q: Can you describe some of the projects proposed by the contest entrants?

A: What’s exciting is, among the 60 submissions, there was such a range of ideas. Educators truly are problem-solving each day in their classrooms, and this shed a light on all the ways they want to spark change.

Among the 10 semifinalists, we saw ideas involving work-based learning; connecting families with the STEM education they expose students to; supporting teachers through professional development; and reimagining school through personalized, community or industry-facing connections and opportunities.

Q: Tell us about the event where the winners will be announced. Why was a dramatic “reveal” chosen?

A: We wanted to ensure that the process of identifying top performers in the state was based on quantitative and qualitative data. No one but the external evaluator will know who has won the award come Oct. 3.

The live reveal adds to our theme of the evening being a special, prestigious celebration for educators, much like the Academy Awards. Educators should be the celebrities across the state. We want to create energy and a buzz around the event and a yearlong storytelling campaign that continues to highlight the great work.

Q: Who is sponsoring the awards?

A: All the awards are sponsored by our members — the business community.

We also have several supporting and in-kind sponsors, as well as community partners.

Webinar: How counselors work to prepare STEM school students for college success

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 13:31:00 GMT

October 11, 2017: 4-5 p.m. (EST) Register

For many students, the jump from high school to college is a leap. In this webinar, we’ll take you inside the new ways some schools are helping students prepare for the challenges of college that content knowledge doesn’t cover.

Liz Mechling/Tim Latta will detail the class every student at Metro Early College High School takes to prepare them for everything from college applications to financial aid.

Yureka Pirtle of the Maxine Smith STEAM Academy will talk about innovative methods her school has developed to integrate community partnerships and technology to develop STEM-focused thinking in students.

Finally, we’ll moderate a discussion with both presenters about the do’s and don’ts of helping STEM school students succeed after graduation.

Panelists

Register to attend

About these webinars

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

NSTA: Partnering with scientists

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 13:39:00 GMT

With permission, we’re cross-posting this information this piece by Debra Shapiro for the National Science Teacher Association. See the original post here.

While it’s common for many teachers to have a scientist visit their classroom once or twice a year, some teachers have formed long-term partnerships that enable scientists to spend significant time with their students. Cindy Hopkins, science teacher at Kaffie Middle School in Corpus Christi, Texas, met one of her scientist partners— Janel Ortiz, a graduate student from Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK)—at a professional development session on quail that Ortiz led at TAMUK. “There is no extra money for field trips, so I actively seek science professionals to come to my class and connect students with real-world science,” Hopkins explains.

“This past spring, I had Janel come to my class [twice a week for two months] and teach a unit about quail (her area of expertise)…Researchers and scientists are another voice for my students, and they pay more attention [to them],” Hopkins contends.

“Janel brought good binoculars, and my students used them…to [examine] bird bands…She asked students to give her evidence, and taught them how to do it…When [scientists do] this, students make connections from the classroom to the field,” Hopkins maintains.

A Vanderbilt University Scientist in the Classroom Partnership fellow helps middle school students in the Nashville, Tennessee, area test their car design for speed.

“I did activities alongside the students. They got to see me as a learner. I asked questions to help students connect her material with what I’ve taught them,” she relates. Having Ortiz teach the unit also “allowed me to sit down with students that need one-on-one attention and connect with them,” she notes.

David Lockett, middle-level science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teacher at Edward W. Bok Academy in Lake Wales, Florida, benefitted when Principal Damien Moses helped bring Keith Young, CEO of Detroit-based Ecotek—a research organization promoting science education and careers for students ages 10 to 17 ( www.ecotek-us.com )—to the city’s charter school system for two semesters. Young co-taught “and deliver[ed] lessons on citrus greening and alternative battery and fuel options with our STEM classes,” says Lockett. “We had a community need because a plant and tree disease was affecting citrus crops.”

Young even took some middle school and high school students to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Lab for Genetic Research Preservation in Fort Collins, Colorado. “Students made bactericide and did directional drone studies of infected trees. [The trip] showed students how something in Florida could also affect the rest of the country and the world,” Lockett reports.

“In grad school, one of my friends was working on his thesis and was required to do outreach as part of his own graduate work. That school year, Dr. J. P. Trasatti ( J.P.) came to my classroom to share his research with the students,” recalls Nichole Mantas, a biology teacher in New York, “then he and I designed a hands-on activity to simulate his research. He had been worked similar[ly] to a zipper in the blood-brain barrier,” Mantas notes.

“In recent years, J.P. has moved on from his graduate work, and our lessons have changed as well…For two years, J.P. came [to my classroom] and shared how tissue engineering works,” she relates. “It helped engage a group of students who might have just considered science a hobby.”

Forming Partnerships

Scientist in the Classroom , a program of the National Center for Science Education in Oakland, California, connects scientists with middle and high school teachers “because teachers feel more confident teaching potentially contentious issues” like climate change and evolution “with a scientist [there] to answer questions,” says program coordinator Claire Adrian-Tucci. Early career scientists, such as graduate students and postdocs, participate because they “tend to have more flexible schedules,” she points out.

After the program’s required two visits, some teachers continue their conversations with the scientists, often via Skype, Adrian-Tucci notes.

“Teachers need to plan ahead and communicate with scientists,” she advises. “Don’t set your goals too high; find a fun activity, and get everyone involved.”

The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) Scientist-in-Residence program matches scientists from all disciplines with public school teachers in New York City, Syracuse, and Utica. Scientists commit to 10 hours a month, January through May. “Teachers are becoming more comfortable with outside experts visiting. Scientists can seem intimidating, [but we’re finding they’re] more welcome than in years past,” says NYAS Director of Education Kristian Breton.

The program’s graduate students and postdocs “are interested in checking out possible teaching careers. [About] 10–15% of [these] scientists go into teaching,” he notes.

Schools chosen to participate “are [located] 35–40 minutes from where the scientist lives or works” to spare scientists a long commute, Breton explains.

In Vanderbilt University’s Scientist in the Classroom Partnership Program , scientists work in classrooms in the Nashville, Tennessee, area “one full day per week all year,” says program director Jennifer Ufnar. Scientists have “run competitions (middle school), developed PBL [Problem-Based Learning] units, infused science across the curriculum, started science clubs, pushed science into other disciplines, infused inquiry-based science and PBL across the school, and co-taught curriculum they’ve developed with the teachers,” she reports.

In addition to taking teachers to meetings and conferences at universities, “fellows provide an extra set of hands, plus materials and kits. It takes a load off the teachers,” she asserts.

A Scientist’s Advice

Retired scientist and engineer Rick McMaster of Austin, Texas, regularly visits classes. The first teacher who invited him “provided all the details— schedule, location, asked what I needed, etc.—to minimize the effort on my part,” McMaster recalls.

Teachers should support visiting scientists with “logistics, materials (if needed), [and] classroom discipline. They should arrive early to meet the visitor,” he emphasizes.

Teachers should also “follow-up with feedback. Thank-you notes from the students go a long way. The local administration should also provide encouragement for a long-term relationship,” he stresses.

And be sure to invite students’ parents who are scientists, McMaster suggests, because some “continue to visit…even after their children are no longer there.”

Large scale, long-term study concludes STEM schools work

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 20:46:00 GMT

Does attending an inclusive STEM-focused high school have long-term effects on students? A study conducted by SRI Education and George Washington University aims to find out. The iSTEM research project , with funding from the National Science Foundation , is touted as “the first large-scale controlled longitudinal study of the impacts of inclusive STEM high schools in the United States.” To find out more about the study’s findings so far, we contacted Barbara Means, formerly the director of the Center for Technology and Learning at SRI International and a principal investigator on the study. Dr. Means is currently the executive director for learning sciences research at Digital Promise , an organization that works to improve learning through technology:

Q: What, in general, were the conclusions drawn from your multi-state study on the effectiveness of inclusive STEM-focused high schools?

Two years after high school graduation, Texas students who attended an inclusive STEM high school are more likely than similar students who attended non-STEM high schools to still be in the “STEM pipeline” — that is, to have declared a STEM major at a four-year college.

Analyses of student high school experiences and grade 12 outcomes for students in both North Carolina and Texas found a number of impacts of attending an inclusive STEM high school that might lay the foundation for greater persistence in STEM studies at the college level. Students who attend inclusive STEM high schools undertake more advanced STEM coursework, have higher test scores in science and express more interest in STEM careers as 12th-graders than do students with similar grade eight achievement and demographic characteristics who attend non-STEM high schools.

Q: How would you define an inclusive STEM-focused school? What did the schools you studied have in common, and how did they differ from other STEM-focused schools?

A: For purposes of our research, we defined an inclusive STEM-focused high school (ISHS) as a secondary school (1) providing all of its students with a more intensive STEM curriculum than that required for high school graduation in their state and district, and (2) using a nonselective admissions process (either open admissions or admission by lottery).

In all, we studied 49 inclusive STEM high schools, and, except for the defining attributes cited above, they varied in their instructional approach and curriculum emphasis. Nearly all of the ISHSs in our sample would be categorized as “schools of choice” in that students had to indicate their desire to attend them in an application or lottery process, but there were a few exceptions that were the only public high school in their districts.

Most, but not quite all, of the inclusive STEM high schools in our study were small in size (125 or fewer students per grade level). Some were charter schools, but many were not. Some were formed out of public high schools that were in need of improvement.

The mission of serving students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields set these schools off from selective STEM high schools such as the Bronx High School of Science or the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. ISHSs aim to develop STEM talent rather than select for it.

The fact that both students and staff choose to be part of an inclusive school with this distinctive mission combining social equity and rigorous STEM content appears to breed a distinctive school culture of high expectations coupled with pervasive student supports.

A: The STEM-focused schools we studied were attended by large proportions of students from groups underrepresented in STEM.

In North Carolina, for example, our sample of ISHS students from the class of 2013 was 50 percent African American and 63 percent from families where neither parent had earned a bachelor’s degree.

In Texas, our ISHS students from the class of 2014 were 67 percent Hispanic and 71 percent first-generation students (neither parent with a bachelor’s degree).

In Ohio, our ISHS sample from the class of 2015 was 57 percent African American and 68 percent low income.

Impacts of the ISHS experience on students overall were described in response to the first question. For subgroups, African-American students in North Carolina took more advanced math and science courses, participated in more STEM extracurricular and informal activities and had stronger science identities if they attended an inclusive STEM high school.

In Texas, Hispanic students attending ISHSs took more advanced math courses, participated in more STEM extracurricular and informal activities, had stronger science identities and were more interested in STEM careers than their counterparts who attended non-STEM high schools.

Q: Do state policies, in general, help or hurt inclusive STEM high schools?

Read about the implications for policymakers of this study in this brief from SRI

A: Some state policies support STEM high schools while others make it more difficult to establish and sustain them.

In each of the states where we conducted our research (North Carolina, Texas and Ohio) there was some level of public-private partnership to support multiple inclusive STEM high schools. In some cases, these partnerships provided early-stage funding to start new ISHSs. (This is important because new schools that start small with a single grade level have low enrollments and hence very limited per-pupil state funding in their initial years). These partnerships also provided professional support (in the form of coaching and teacher training) for STEM school staff.

On the other hand, state pressure around performance on state achievement tests that are not well aligned with college preparatory STEM courses can take attention and resources away from the kind of teaching and learning needed for these schools to fulfill their core mission.

A state’s charter-school policies can have a big effect also; it is more difficult to start an inclusive STEM high school in a state that limits the number of charter schools.

Q: Based on your study, what recommendations would you make for stakeholders in STEM-based education?

A: I believe that inclusive STEM high schools can be a worthwhile policy initiative for states trying to build the STEM capacity of their citizens. I would recommend that stakeholders:

Q: How will this study affect your work at Digital Promise?

A: One very direct effect is that I will be continuing this work at Digital Promise as more data on postsecondary outcomes for our North Carolina and Ohio samples become available. More generally, I want to continue doing research on education innovations that are powerful enough to change students’ lives for the better.

Many of the innovations we try in education — and certainly many of those involving technology — are one-off experiences that might be inspirational and effective at teaching one narrow concept but are unlikely to change the course of a student’s educational trajectory in a way that will have a lasting impact. The desire to be part of more consequential education initiatives will guide my choice of research projects and partners.

Four states, five new resources to grow your STEM network

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 31 Aug 2017 18:45:00 GMT

STEMx was created as a platform for connecting state STEM networks together to share breakthroughs and support each other. In February, we unveiled a new, searchable database of resources pulled from around the country.

That database is growing. Throughout the year, a team of leaders from around the network met to evaluate potential resources. Today, we proudly grant the STEMx Seal of Approval to the following tools:

States are devoting resources to STEM schools for a clear reason: Research continues to build showing that STEM schools work. Last June, STEMx Director Michael Feder highlighted emerging work from George Washington University and SRI about the impact of inclusive STEM schools. SRI just published a set of policy recommendations based on the findings of that study, read them here .

We’re also bringing you a playbook from Washington STEM on hosting an event for students on STEM careers. Another resource details how Ohio’s STEM network coordinates with the state’s department of education.

As always, each resource we add includes a link where you can download the original documents. Through this service, we aim to accelerate the growth of STEM education through the United States and inspire more students to fulfill their potential.

STEMx webinar: Creating successful STEM mentorship systems

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 20:03:00 GMT

September 13, 2017: 4-5 p.m. (EST) Register

Access to quality STEM mentors has been linked to student and teacher success. Creating a process to develop, manage, and sustain mentorship relationships between STEM professionals and teachers and students isn’t easy. Tune in this month to learn about the steps being taken in New York and Utah to create meaningful STEM mentorships.

You will have the opportunity to learn about two very different strategies from the NY Academy of Sciences (including the 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures campaign) and the STEM Mentor Exchange or STEM MX (whose supporters include Boeing and the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development) that can inform the work within your state.

Register to attend

About these webinars

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

New member: STEMx welcomes Arkansas!

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 16:34:00 GMT

STEMx is welcoming a new member — the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC). To find out more about the center, its accomplishments and future projects, we contacted Dr. Lisa W. Todd, director of education at the organization, based in Little Rock:

The mission of APSRC is to improve public education by providing technical support and advocacy services to schools in the state with an emphasis on assisting charter schools and public schools in rural districts.

Since 2008, APSRC has been a leading nonprofit advocate for quality education in Arkansas by providing valuable technical assistance to schools across six critical subject areas: charter development, communications, financial analysis and management, legal services, technology and teaching and learning.

APSRC members receive access to specialized content and tools while benefiting from the guidance and assistance of a highly qualified and supportive APRSC staff.

Q: How do you promote STEM-related education through the center?
A: APRSC’s Education Department serves on the Arkansas committee of Advancing Coherent and Equitable Systems of Science Education and has brought together key stakeholders in the state to share ideas and advance the committee’s vision for STEM education in Arkansas.

Arkansas is one of 13 states selected to participate in this National Science Foundation grant aimed at creating equitable and coherent systems for advancing science education for all students. This project is a partnership among the Council of State Science Supervisors and researchers at the University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of Washington.

Our committee and the other participating states are creating a network to develop and test state-level strategies and tools for advancing systems of equitable science education. A primary goal has been to evaluate and better understand the role formative assessments can play in aligning curriculum, instruction and assessment.

In addition, APSRC has been working in partnership with Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s Computer Science Initiative to support programs that enhance STEM curriculum. One such program is Learning Blade, a supplemental online curriculum for middle and early high schools that is uniquely focused on increasing awareness and interest in STEM careers.

Through a grant, APRSC provided middle school students across the state with free access to the Learning Blade software. This was done as part of a statewide effort to increase student interest in computer science careers, as well as those in science, technology, engineering and math.

Learning Blade has been validated as a supplemental tool for increasing STEM career awareness and interest by Battelle Education.

As a further outgrowth of APSRC’s participation in the governor’s Computer Science Initiative, Facebook donated 500 virtual reality kits to a number of high-poverty schools in the state. The expressed intent of this special technology program was to increase exposure to, and interest in, technology and encourage students to consider technology careers.

To assist in the rollout of the program, APSRC’s Technology and Education Departments organized and provided professional development assistance to participating EAST Labs and technology teachers on how to best introduce and use these virtual reality kits. To further promote and maximize the impact of the program, APSRC showcased student-created work on the APSRC website and awarded student prizes for the most innovative VR content.

With this and other technology initiatives, APSRC participates and works closely with the Arkansas STEM Coalition.

Q: What would you consider the center’s major accomplishments, both STEM-related and otherwise?
A: APSRC played a critical role in bringing Summit Learning to Arkansas. Summit’s founder, Diane Tavenner, enlisted help from Facebook engineers to design a learning platform that generated tremendous success in turning around failing high-poverty schools in California. This personalized learning platform has been replicated in several states.

Arkansas has 13 Summit pilot schools, all APSRC members, that are implementing this exciting new initiative. Members of our APSRC education staff are being trained as certified Summit third-party partners so that we can provide needed technical support and intensive professional development to Summit personalized learning schools in the state.

APSRC is also playing a key role in expanding internet capacity for all schools in Arkansas and supporting programs such as Project Lead the Way.

Q: Why did APRSC want to join STEMx?
A: APSRC consistently strives to help our rural and charter schools keep abreast of cutting-edge technology and promising new opportunities for students. A significant factor in our choosing to join STEMx was the success we enjoyed through our initial collaboration with Learning Blade and the Arkansas STEM Coalition.

We felt that STEMx could help us build upon what we had developed through our productive partnership with these programs and assist us in expanding our overall portfolio of services in this important and rapidly evolving area of technology.

Q: What are your plans for future STEM promotion in Arkansas?
A: Our overall goal is to continue to encourage the expansion of internet capacity for students. More specifically, we are focused on increasing access to one-to-one devices for students, families and communities through their schools, and expanding the number of schools implementing Summit Learning.

Q: Does Arkansas pose unique challenges or have unique needs as far as STEM education is concerned?
A: As a rural state, Arkansas has long faced the challenge of delivering the same degree of high-quality education and instruction to all of its public schools, especially those located in more remote areas. In terms of internet access and technology, lack of sufficient bandwidth and overall connectivity has been a hindrance.

Fortunately, however, with the development of increasing bandwidth and connectivity in Arkansas, the barriers that once limited the use of technology in overcoming long-standing physical barriers to the free flow of communication and instruction have begun to fall. Access to technology is the great equalizer in providing educational services to a rural state such as Arkansas.

As such vital technology becomes more cost-effective and available to teachers and students, it provides increased access to the kinds of tools and technical assistance provided by APRSC and permits increasing access to one-to-one devices.

The highly innovative EAST Lab program, which originated in Arkansas more than 20 years ago, is expanding into middle and elementary schools. More public schools are placing smart technologies in every classroom, with many schools providing their students with one-to-one devices.

Technology is helping to open doors for rural students that were once closed. High-quality coursework and instructors that were once inaccessible are now available at the touch of a key or the click of a mouse. As technology increases accessibility and connectivity, the overall challenge remains as to how to successfully open up and make available these expanded educational opportunities to all school districts in Arkansas. (APSRC provides free access to Lynda.com, which offers 700 design courses, 600 software development courses and 700 web development courses.)

Q: What can the Arkansas Public School Resource Center share with other STEMx members that might help them meet challenges or establish new programs?

A: As defined by APSRC’s mission to advance public and charter education in the state, much of the center’s ability to effectuate change and improvement hinges on its ability to effectively collaborate and network with other creative and innovative entities. APRSC’s partnership with organizations such as STEMx provides unique opportunities to further expand our contribution to education and extend our networking activity across the globe.

For APRSC, as well as other STEMx members, the key to our effectiveness also rests on our ability to openly share ideas and take risks. Educators, businesses, parents and students all are trying so hard to be relevant and competitive and contribute to the enhancement of educational opportunities in Arkansas.

With the support of APSRC, the Summit pilot schools are re-envisioning education in Arkansas. It is exciting and a bit overwhelming. For our children’s sake, we must be prepared to grab a hand, hold our breath and take a heartfelt leap of faith into the future.

Policy update: White House budget and Perkins Act outlook

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 16:27:00 GMT

What does the Trump administration’s proposed education budget mean — if anything? Will its planned cuts and funding realignments survive congressional scrutiny? What can school administrators, teachers and parents expect by way of federal support? To find out more, we asked Thomas Phillips, a congressional affairs specialist for Battelle, what might be next for federal education funding:

Q: The Trump administration’s proposed budget for the federal Department of Education would cut the department’s funding by $9.2 billion, or about 13.5 percent — reportedly the largest percentage cut for the department since 1982. Is it likely that this budget blueprint will survive Congress intact?
A: While the administration’s budget request could send a distressing signal to many educators and administrators, it is important to note that it is only a request .

Thomas Phillips, congressional affairs specialist at Battelle, updates us on policy on STEM education

Many in Congress have called the president’s budget request “dead on arrival” and have noted its blatant disregard for the congressional intent of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which is entering only its first full year of implementation.

For instance, the request would eliminate the new academic enrichment grants of Title IV of ESSA, but from the appropriations bills that we have seen moving in Congress, funding for this section got an increase of $100 million from last year’s appropriation.

Q: The Trump proposal would eliminate Title II of ESSA, cutting funds for teacher training, and after-school and summer programs, yet increase funding for voucher programs in public and private schools as well as funding for charter schools. How do you think these proposed changes will fare in Congress?
A: Unfortunately, it appears that Title II might still be an area of contention in Congress. Even though there is clear support for Title IV, the appropriations bills that we have seen match the administration’s request in eliminating Title II. That said, our partners in the STEM Education Coalition continue to deliver the message that one of the best investments that can be made remains high quality teacher professional development.

Q: Do you think funding for career technical education, or money tied to the Perkins Act, will increase, or decrease, in the final budget?
A: The president’s budget request would make cuts across the board to almost all programs, including $168 million from the Perkins Career and Technical Education Grants. Because Perkins has yet to be reauthorized, it is likely that in the final budget approved by Congress, Perkins will maintain relatively stable funding when compared to last year — despite the cuts in the request.

One important note: Although there were drastic proposed cuts to the Perkins grants in the administration’s request, there was also a line of new funding for the creation of a National STEM Competition grant to the tune of $20 million. Whether Congress will include any such program in its own budget proposal or reauthorization remains to be seen.

Q: What should stakeholders watch for in the budget process?
A: Despite the passage of many appropriations bills by the House, and a flurry of Senate activity, do not expect a normal budget process. We are headed for yet another short-term continuing resolution (CR).

Because we are, once again, approaching the deadline for Congress to raise the debt ceiling, there is talk about another bipartisan budget agreement. This agreement, sought by Republicans and Democrats alike, would not only raise the debt ceiling but also attempt to relieve the caps imposed by sequestration.

Republicans hope to lift the caps on defense spending, and, to garner enough Democratic support, they will likely raise the non-defense caps as well. However, if no agreement can be reached, and the caps remain in place, it’s likely that we will go from the upcoming short-term CR to another yearlong CR.

CRs are the new budget.

Q: Do you think that, when it’s all said and done with the federal education budget, as one pundit put it: Federal aid is out, and school choice is in?
A: That would certainly be the message that the administration’s request sends. However, while many Republicans in Congress support school choice, they also recognize that elimination of federal aid comes at great cost to their constituents, and I see them striking a balance of funding for newly authorized federal programs (Title IV, Part A, of ESSA) and the administration’s school choice projects.

Q: Is there anything else stakeholders should know about the Trump administration’s federal education budget proposal and its path through Congress?
A: I’ll reiterate that the appropriations bills we have seen are largely symbolic, and, until Congress gets down to business on a new, bipartisan budget agreement, stakeholders can expect relatively stable funding by way of continuing resolutions.

Additionally, be on the lookout for an update from me in September as this process unfolds.

Teaching resources for the eclipse

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 14:20:00 GMT

Total solar eclipses aren’t too rare, in principle. As Vox notes in this video , they happen around once every 18 months. But they don’t land in the U.S. very often. The last time you could see one in the continental states was 1979!

This year, you can be anywhere in the continental U.S. and see at least 60% of the eclipse.

Early this month, the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network shared a full packet of materials about the eclipse, and it’s too good not to pass along. TSIN is helping schools as well. They’ve already given out 5,000 pairs of solar eclipse glasses and received requests from more than 30,000.

Take a look at the materials below. In the comments, we’d love to hear about what your network or school will do to take advantage of this awesome stellar opportunity.

One cool example: South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science will pause their STEM Festival for an event they’re calling “ Total Eclipse of the Park .”

Project-Based Learning Unit

Download this Eclipse PBL Unit for grades 6-12 that has student teams create and present their total solar eclipse findings.

Elementary Resources:

Celebrate the Great American Eclipse with Prescott South Elementary School teachers! PSES teacher teams have developed lesson plans, compiled videos, free downloads, and online activities that they want to share with K-4 teachers that are looking for resources. Share this valuable resources page with others!

The NSTA Press offers an excerpt from When the Sun Goes Dark , by Andrew Fraknoi and Dennis Schatz, that provides a thought-provoking story between family members that gives a detailed explanation into how eclipses have a cyclic nature and why new eclipses are always on a different part of the Earth when they happen.

Middle and High School Resources:

The Lunar and Planetary Institute offers an in-depth teacher’s guide to solar eclipses that includes:

The Sun, the Moon, and Us –in this hour-long video lecture , Scott McIntosh, director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s High-Altitude Observatory, shares his expertise and excitement about the Great American Solar Eclipse. He discusses the Sun and its layers, why we study the Sun, and what we can learn from it—as well as how a total solar eclipse occurs and how viewers can participate in the Eclipse Megamovie 2017 . While the lecture was recorded for an adult audience, the content is suitable for students ages 12 and up and for astronomy fans of all ages.

Webinar: Working with the Army on STEM outreach

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 14:46:00 GMT

August 16, 2017: 4-5 pm EST Register

The Army Education Outreach Program, or AEOP, is the Army’s platform for advancing STEM education and literacy through STEM experiences, internships and competitions. From solar car competitions to bringing teachers into military research facilities, the program is very broad. More than 31,000 participants benefited from AEOP just last year.

For the Army, that’s not enough. They aim for it to grow 68,000 participants by 2025. To get there, the AEOP consortium is reaching out to new partners. Hear from a few of these new partners and learn how your organization might join.

Presenting on the goals of AEOP outreach
Dr. Stephanie Johnson is also the Project Manager for Battelle’s work with the Army Educational Outreach Program. She aims to make the world a better place, especially for kids and those in need. Stephanie earned a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from The Ohio State University and later earned her Master’s in Public Health and Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of California.

Representing AEOP outreach partners
Katia Grigoriants is the Strategic Partnerships Manager for the DC STEM Network and the Carnegie Academy for Science Education. Through the DC STEM Network, she works to increase access to high quality STEM learning opportunities for students in the District of Columbia. As a Strategic Outreach Partner of AEOP, the DC STEM Network launched communications and outreach initiatives to broaden participation in the GEMS, eCYBERMISSION, UNITE, and RESET programs.

Dr. Sue Kane has served as the Executive Director for the Apple STEM Network for the last two years, in Wenatchee Washington. She earned bachelor of science at the University of Colorado in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and a PhD in Infectious Disease and Immunology at South Dakota State University. Dr. Kane has been teaching and mentoring undergraduate research scientists for the last decade in higher education.

Jill Lansing is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for the Education Pipeline at the State University of New York where she provides leadership for the Empire State STEM Learning Network. Empire STEM is a statewide collaborative of educators and business & industry partners working together to advance STEM teaching and learning in New York. SUNY and Empire STEM are proud to have been named strategic partners with Battelle and the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) to broaden participation in eCYBERMISSION and all of AEOP’s excellent programs and initiatives that engage students across the country in STEM.

Pete Phillips has 18+ years of professional experience including classroom teacher, staff development, technology program management, technology education instruction, and director of technology for 29 school districts. Currently helping teachers make the “Shift” to integrate technology into all subject areas.

Register to attend

About these webinars

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

We join 1,800 other STEM advocates with NSTA

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 22:03:00 GMT

Last year, I traveled to Denver for the 2016 NSTA STEM Forum with a mission: Evaluate whether this conference could be a good fit for STEMx members to join.

I left Colorado impressed. More than 1,000 attendees had participated and I’d met an enthusiastic coalition of STEM educators. But our team wanted to do more than just attend.

Working with David Evans, president of NSTA (and member of the STEMx Advisory Board), and his team, we built a plan for 2017. STEMx would provide a full track of sessions. Including six presentations before the formal start of NSTA’s forum.

Throughout all three days, members from around STEMx would learn and chat with the NSTA members.

Now, as I get back on the plane to D.C., I get to look back.

What a ride! This year’s STEM forum was packed, with more than 1,800 attendees. I was able to attend many of the sessions by STEMx members, and see powerful presentations and full rooms. Our six pre-conference sessions each boasted more than 100 participants. And I understand South Carolina’s Jodi Zeis filled her 200 person room to overflowing. Congratulations to all our presenters!

Best of all, many of you were able to join us. I counted representatives from nine different STEMx member states.

And NSTA, I hear, is headed to Pennsylvania next year. Science educators, we’ll see you there!

Webinar: Join us for a STEM survey sneak preview

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 06 Jul 2017 14:26:00 GMT

Statewide nonprofit Washington STEM conducts a statewide survey every other year to determine support from Washington voters for issues surrounding STEM education. During this webinar, you’ll hear about the reasons behind the poll, steps Washington STEM took to partner with a contractor to develop questions and carry out the poll, and applications for poll results.

Gillia Bakie is the Foundation Giving Manager at Washington STEM, where she oversees relationship building and grant-seeking with private philanthropic organizations to fund Washington STEM’s mission that every student leave school Future Ready.

Register to attend

About these webinars

Every month, we organize an opportunity for STEM organizations to learn from each other. Past webinars have covered STEM school design, teacher training, and engaging industry in STEM partnerships. This service is offered thanks to the membership of more than 20 states and territories in the national STEMx network.

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

Why Amgen, a biotech company, backs a new report on high school lab science

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 18:18:00 GMT

More than a decade ago, a groundbreaking report looked at the learning taking place in high school science labs. America’s Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science (2005) — with multiple national science agencies as contributors — examined the effectiveness of such laboratory experiences. The report helped science educators shape their lessons by linking various teaching approaches to learning outcomes. Much has changed in science education since the report’s publication, and a coalition of education groups called for a new edition. The sponsors of this update will be the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Amgen Foundation, based in Thousand Oaks, California. The foundation is the principal channel of corporate philanthropy for Amgen, a biotechnology company. For more about the report update, we contacted Scott Heimlich, foundation vice president:

Q :  Can you tell us about Amgen and the Amgen Foundation ’ s mission?

Scott Heimlich details Amgen’s philanthropic goals and why the company’s backing a new report

A: Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has reached millions of patients around the world.

Long-term innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry depends on a highly-educated scientific workforce, as well as a deeper appreciation and understanding of the critical role science plays in addressing the major challenges of our time, including the fight against grievous illness. As our main philanthropic vehicle, the Amgen Foundation seeks to advance excellence in science education to inspire that next generation of innovators as well as invest in strengthening communities where Amgen staff members live and work.

To date, the foundation has donated more than $250 million in grants to local, regional and international nonprofit organizations that impact society in innovative ways. We fulfill our mission of inspiring tomorrow’s scientists and deepening scientific literacy through multiple initiatives, including Amgen Scholars, Amgen Biotech Experience, Khan Academy and the Woodrow Wilson Academy of Teaching and Learning.

We were particularly interested in updating America’s Lab Report given our long-term support of the molecular biology labs through the Amgen Biotech Experience ( www.AmgenBiotechExperience.com ), which now reaches 80,000 students per year in high school biology classrooms. Through our recent survey with Change the Equation, we also know how important hands-on, real world experiences are in inspiring and exciting students about science, which are too often lacking for many American students.

Q: Tell us why Amgen is involved in a rewrite of the America’s Lab Report .

A: We believe strongly in the power of hands-on learning and meaningful professional development for teachers and thus have supported programs such as the Amgen Biotech Experience for over two decades to bring real science to the fingertips of students (600,000 students to date through the Amgen Biotech Experience alone).

Given our focus — and given the major reforms in science education since the original publication of America’s Lab Report — we’re proud to partner with Carnegie to support the update of the report through the Board on Science Education at the National Research Council.

Informed by the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards, the new report will provide strong evidence-based guidance for designing new approaches to investigation and design for middle and high school students. This type of report can inform all stakeholders — including science education funders — about different pedagogical approaches to science laboratory experiences and how they link to students’ learning outcomes.

Q: How does this project fit in with the foundation’s mission , and what role will the foundation have in the project?

A: Our mission allows us to foster meaningful opportunities for students and teachers to do real science both within and outside classrooms across the country and, indeed, the world. Projects such as this one allow us to partner with important stakeholders to generate critical new knowledge and evidence, informing future directions and magnifying our impact beyond that which we achieve through any one initiative.

It’s not just about reaching more students with engaging laboratory experiences, but reaching students in a more effective manner guided by the premier experts and the latest research.

Similar to the May meeting where both the program director at Carnegie and myself from the Amgen Foundation had the opportunity to address the expert committee, we plan to participate where and when appropriate in accordance with the National Academies’ extensive procedures.

Q: What changes, if any, does Amgen aim to promote in today’s science curriculum through this project?

A: Ultimately, we hope to empower educators and other stakeholders in this space to have greater impact. Informed by the latest research on science investigations and engineering design problems, these stakeholders should be well-positioned to excite more students about STEM disciplines and careers through the design and implementation of engaging and meaningful investigations and experiences.

Join us at NSTA STEM Forum and Expo in July

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 17:46:00 GMT

The STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA brings together educators and representatives from exhibiting companies interested in STEM education. STEM Forum & Expo is intended to provide resources for educators and organizations seeking to learn more about STEM education, associated outreach programs, partnerships, schools, and curricula.

The conference will be held at Gaylord Palms Resort and Conference Center in Kissimmee, Florida from July 12 ^th through 14 ^th . Register for the conference here .

This year, STEMx is partnering with the National Science Teachers Association to provide a major presence at the conference. From fostering leaders of innovative schools engaging rural communities, we’ve got topics to help you make the most of STEM education.

We would love to see you at the STEM forum! Below are the descriptions, times, locations, and Twitter handles for the presenters from around STEMx:

STEMx sessions at NSTA STEM Forum 2017

STEMx grant award winners will identify solutions to persistent STEM education challenges

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 13:32:00 GMT

This spring, we launched the STEMx Challenge Grant Program to provides STEMx states with up to $15,000 to develop solutions to pressing STEM education issues.

The Challenge Grants will not fund big new departments or long-running research studies. Instead, each of these modest awards will help the STEM education leaders implement and assess strategies for tackling a specific issue.

Today, we’re announcing the three states awarded these grants. Each will host a meeting (or meeting series) on a specific, critical topic. Then, at our next STEMxchange meeting in 2018, these groups will share what worked and what didn’t.

In turn, this will help our network tackle two critical goals. First, the awards will generate breakthroughs in a series of key challenges. Second, these ideas will add even more resources we can share across the STEMx network to advance our goal of providing a quality STEM education for every child.

The STEMx members awarded Challenge Grants in 2017 are South Carolina, New York, and West Virginia.

The South Carolina Coalition for Mathematics and Science will convene STEM education stakeholders from across the state and relevant experts from across the country to identify grand challenges in STEM education that South Carolina and other states can collectively address. The convening will result in a framework to address the identified grand challenges and follow-up actions. The convening will model a process for identifying shared areas of concern and a model for developing state-wide momentum for improving STEM education.

The Empire STEM Network (New York) will hold three regional meetings on middle-skills jobs with a focus on rural communities. These will culminate in a state-wide meeting on the same topic. From these conversations, the network will create a state-wide action plan. The convening and statewide plan will serve as models that other STEMx members can adopt or adapt to create career pathways that address the “Middle Skills Gap” in rural areas.

West Virginia University Center for Excellence in STEM Education will hold a convening that explores how to provide equitable access to computer science, with a particular focus on rural STEM education. The convening will bring together a wide range of stakeholders from educators, to state policy makers, to professional development providers, to education researchers. It will result in a summative report that lays out how the various stakeholders can work together to provide computer science for all students across West Virginia. The lessons learned from the convening and follow-up actions will provide other states with strategies for expanding computer science.

Indiana tackles college and career readiness at state STEM meeting

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 31 May 2017 16:29:00 GMT

Organizing a statewide conference of STEM educators and administrators can be daunting. Even with the best planning, unforeseen problems happen. Paul Ainslie, managing director of the I-STEM Resource Network, knows about planning big meetings and handling last-minute glitches. The network recently co-sponsored its Spring 2017 Indiana STEM Education Taskforce Meeting in Fishers, northeast of Indianapolis. The STEM taskforce focused on College and Career Readiness or CCR, a critical area with many different stakeholders. There were some hiccups, but many insights were gained. He shared this about the meeting:

Q: In general, what was the goal of the conference?

A: The meeting was a joint effort of the I-STEM Resource Network and the Indiana Afterschool Network. The meeting was titled: “College and Career Readiness: Building Learning Ecosystems Across Indiana.”

Paul Ainslie details the latest meeting of the Indiana STEM Education Taskforce

The goal: share best practices and foster collaboration to expand college and career readiness in and out of school.

Q: Has participation grown over the years that you’ve held this get-together? How has the session evolved?

A: Participation in the Taskforce has grown from a little over 150 people to nearly 400 from across the state. We had about 130 attending this meeting. Over the four meetings we have held, we have evolved the messaging and focused topics to make it clear what the meeting was about, including goals and expected outcomes. It helps to write all the thinking down and argue about it for a while.

Q: Why was the theme chosen, and can you elaborate on it?

A: We have been working with the STEM Learning Ecosystems program from the STEM Funders Network for about two years. We decided that taking advantage of the integration of resources championed by STEM Learning Ecosystems was a good plan for improving College and Career Readiness (CCR).

We brought together leaders from different aspects of CCR (education, programs, employment) to address the opportunities. Ideally, local groups can see the power of identifying the resources in their community that can support CCR goals: business, higher education, K-12 education, nonprofits and government offices.

We probably don’t need more programs, but a better integration of the efforts. Most communities have more resources than they realize.

Q: Can you give us some highlights from the sessions, especially from the presentation by keynote speaker Dr. Jennifer McCormick, superintendent of public instruction at the Indiana Department of Education?

A: Probably the biggest insights came from the panel discussion in the morning and breadth of programs in the breakout sessions in the afternoon. Attendees were able to hear many views of the CCR issues and see the overlap in goals and resources. In particular, specific programs highlighted the financial, business and educational aspects of CCR programs.

Dr. McCormick had to send a sub at the last minute. Kelly Wittman, the state Department of Education’s chief academic officer, was on the panel and presented the keynote. One highlight: STEM education is one of the highest priorities for the department. This aligns with the workforce needs from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and with the governor’s office.

Q: What organizational tips and/or lessons learned could you share with other statewide STEM networks thinking of holding such a gathering?

A: Statewide meetings are always a balance of speakers, location and topic(s). We scheduled this meeting based on Dr. McCormick’s availability, which didn’t pan out. Being flexible helps a lot.

Also, in almost every state, there are regional issues. We started at 10 a.m. because some parts of the state are on Central Time and travel is an issue for meetings starting earlier, and ended at 3 p.m. so people can get home. Still, most of the participants were from central Indiana.

Finally, we always look for a speaker/topical “hook” to capture some interest and get people thinking. Don Wettrick from Noblesville High School, just north of Fishers, teaches a class in entrepreneurship to 11th- and 12th-graders. His approach to learning is to start with “unlearning”: Stop learning the facts for the test and start thinking. This usually takes a few months for most students. Students create their own project to identify a need and create a solution. Not everything works out neatly, but there have been patents, business launches and successful apps released. And the students are forever changed by the experience.

After the meeting’s agenda is done, time to network is always essential. Lunch time is good, and some breaks, too. We also have breakout sessions for people to pursue their own interests and maybe meet some new people. In a five-hour meeting there is only so much you can cover.

It’s important to have a follow-up survey, if possible. And get permission to post presentations online.

Q: How do you plan to change things up, if at all, for the next session?

A: We want to find a way to get a broader audience to join us. Possible ideas include more social-media coverage and possibly a big-name speaker for the keynote. We are working on that.

We might also include more commercial vendors to help offset the costs, though that idea is not without issues.

Edited by Patricia Bitler , freelance writer and editor.

Webinar: Tested tools for managing STEM networks

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 22 May 2017 23:53:00 GMT

June 14, 2017: 4-5 pm EST Register
The webinar will focus on STEM network management tools from two states. Both Oregon ( STEM Hub Backbone Effectiveness Tool ) and Indiana ( Indiana STEM Strategic Plan ) have created tools earning the STEMx seal of approval.

From the key functions of regional STEM organizations to tying your state’s plan to economic needs, join us to learn more about how to ensure your network succeeds.

Register to attend

About these webinars

Every month, we organize an opportunity for STEM organizations to learn from each other. Past webinars have covered STEM school design, teacher training, and engaging industry in STEM partnerships. This service is offered thanks to the membership of more than 20 states and territories in the national STEMx network.

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

Bringing STEM to Pennsylvania preschoolers

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 15 May 2017 15:48:00 GMT

Q:Tell us about ASSET STEM Education and its mission.

A: ASSET STEM Education is driven by a mission to advance teaching and learning to engage, inspire and empower all learners. ASSET’s work is premised on the belief that a strong foundation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) will help prepare all learners to work, live, contribute and lead in a global community.

Founded in 1994 by industry leaders and community partners, ASSET systematically improves STEM education through the following programs/services offered to all schools and educational organizations, pre-K through career:

Independent evaluations have confirmed ASSET’s positive impacts on educator effectiveness and student achievement. Based on these proven results, the organization passed rigorous screenings to become a member of Change the Equation’s STEMworks national registry of evidence-based programs.

ASSET also leads the statewide Pennsylvania STEMx Network and represents the commonwealth on Battelle’s national network to foster collaboration among stakeholders, bridge gaps, test innovative approaches and scale up what works.

Today, ASSET impacts more than 2,500 educators and 150,000 students annually across 14 states and territories, including Pennsylvania, Idaho, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Q:   In 2016, ASSET made a commitment to help bring innovative STEM content to the nation’s youngest children. What did that commitment entail , and how has it turned out?

A: This was our Commitment to Retain Excellence: By 2021, ASSET STEM Education will significantly improve teacher excellence in STEM by increasing the annual number of pre-K-3rd grade educators served by 40 percent through teacher-designed and -facilitated professional development in STEM content, pedagogy and leadership.

Leveraging this commitment to inform program- and grant-planning opportunities, we exceeded this goal in our second year, increasing the annual number of P-3 educators served from 798 (baseline) to 1,178 (2016). With this growth, ASSET has impacted teaching and learning for more than 10,000 children ages 3-5 — in addition to those impacted through grade 3.

Based on the tremendous needs nationally for high-quality, evidence-based professional development, we will continue to build on this commitment.

Q:   Why does ASSET think that very young children should be presented STEM-related lessons?

A: High-quality early learning is associated with increased student achievement in later grades, decreased grade repetition and decreased special education placements. ¹ Recipients of a high-quality preschool education report higher earnings, increased job stability and fewer criminal offenses by age 40 — and are more likely to graduate from high school. ²

There is a tremendous opportunity to apply these compelling findings to the current national needs and demands for competencies in science, technology, engineering and math.

Research has shown that by third grade, nearly 50 percent of U.S. students lose interest in STEM subjects ³ — resulting in steadily declining performance throughout middle school and high school.

Clearly, educational systems must adapt their approach to better prepare students for tomorrow’s workforce. It is increasingly apparent that these changes must begin with the youngest learners.

Q:   What has your organization learned after making the 2016 commitment?

A: For children living in poverty, early child care and education programs can be an antidote against difficult circumstances. Through its work during the past few years, particularly with pre-K educators, ASSET has seen positive outcomes for children, educators and early childhood centers in high-needs settings.

Children are spending more time engaging in hands-on, STEM-related learning daily, compiling their own science notebooks and showing the emergence of skills related to problem solving, basic logic/reasoning, teamwork, communication and creativity.

Educators are increasing their STEM content knowledge, acquiring new strategies to facilitate high-quality early learning and demonstrating new knowledge, skills and strategies to facilitate early STEM-related learning in their center.

Participating centers are integrating standards-aligned STEM-related education programming into their curriculum.

Q:   What advice would you give to others who are promoting STEM education for very young children?

A: Community context and engagement are important. As the nation’s educational systems expand to support high-quality pre-kindergarten education for all learners, solutions must be tailored to the unique needs and circumstances facing public (e.g., school-based), private (e.g., center-based) and family (e.g., home-based) providers.

Supporting educators is vital, and it’s important to empower them with both STEM content knowledge and skills as well as confidence in their ability to utilize an inquiry-based approach that builds on young learners’ inherent curiosity.

Traditional pre-service programs develop early grade educators as “generalists” with responsibility for teaching multiple subjects. These teachers rarely specialize in science or math and often progress through their careers without adequate professional development in STEM disciplines. Consequently, the majority of early childhood educators are not confident in their abilities to teach science. ⁴

Q: What do you think the future is for early childhood STEM , and will ASSET have a role?

A: Stakeholders are beginning to acknowledge the imperative for early interventions in STEM education through revisions to state early learning standards and national calls to action.

On April 22, 2016, the White House, in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and Invest in US, hosted an “Early STEM Symposium” to highlight the importance of promoting active science, technology, engineering and math learning for our youngest children.

The event also celebrated a broad range of public- and private-sector leaders committed to promoting STEM learning across the country in the areas of:

We believe there is an important role for ASSET in supporting early educator preparation and professional development and developing partnerships with education researchers to expand the knowledge base of practices that lead to effective teaching and improved learning.

Citations

1: Barnett, Jung, Youn; Frede, 2013

2: Schweinhart, Montie, Xiang; Barnett, 2005

3: Weinburgh, 2000

4: Trygstad, Smith, Banilower, & Nelson, 2013; National Science Foundation, 2014

Meshing STEM and career tech education

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 05 May 2017 20:21:00 GMT

Helping students prepare for today’s highly skilled jobs is a goal of STEM-based education. Such job preparation also has been a longtime aim of career technical education (CTE). Because the two training paths have such similarities, they naturally converge, say educators and policymakers in Oregon, who have been working on meshing the two to better train the state’s students. To find out how that’s going, we contacted Mark Lewis policy director for STEM and CTE in the state’s Chief Education Office.

Q: Describe your mission as the CTE and STEM education policy director in Oregon’s Chief Education Office.

Mark Lewis in Oregon works to bring STEM and career technical education together

A: The mission of Oregon’s Chief Education Office is to build and coordinate a seamless system of education that meets the diverse learning needs of every Oregonian from cradle to career.

Given the evolving social and economic challenges facing our communities and our employers, the Oregon Legislature established the STEM Investment Council to leverage industry and education expertise to better meet our changing talent needs. In my role as policy director for STEM and CTE at the Chief Education Office, I work with Oregon’s STEM Investment Council, our Department of Education and other state agencies, the Legislature, business and industry, and a diverse network of regional partners to develop and implement a comprehensive set of initiatives and investments aimed at increasing student motivation, preparedness, attainment and access to opportunities in STEM and CTE —particularly for those students historically underserved and underrepresented.

Q: Why has Oregon made it a priority to integrate STEM and CTE efforts?

A: The authentic and applied learning approaches of STEM and CTE engage students in similar ways — treating them as creators of knowledge, not just consumers of it. Couple this with interdisciplinary connections and a career-connected focus, and we see incredible impacts on student outcomes and graduation rates, not to mention a fantastic effect on their interest in school.

Furthermore, 15 of the 20 fastest growing occupations in Oregon require the skills developed in most STEM and CTE programs. However, data show that Oregon relies heavily on imported talent to meet the needs of many high-wage, high-demand job openings. These openings often defy traditional categorization and require a whole spectrum of skills and knowledge that go beyond just having a degree or certificate in a particular content field.

Some of these jobs might require a four-year degree, but many require experience and skills that aren’t necessarily gained from a university education. Critical thinking, problem-solving, motivation, collaboration and creativity are the new currency that our employers need to innovate and remain competitive.

Although STEM and CTE programs in our education system traditionally have had different funding sources, delivery structures and societal expectations, they are highly complementary and develop the technical and cognitive skills needed in the changing economy.

Q: How have you accomplished this task? Describe your major successes.

A: With tremendous advocacy from our STEM-CTE Employers Coalition and recommendations from the STEM Investment Council, the Legislature chose to invest in targeted and interrelated initiatives over the past two bienniums. These investments are closely aligned with Oregon’s STEM Education Plan, which was developed through 18 months of collaboration among multiple stakeholders.

Working closely with our Department of Education, we provided support to communities throughout the state to establish a network of Regional STEM Hubs, which are guided in part by the principles of “collective impact.”

These STEM Hubs serve 11 regions throughout the state and convene local partners from P-20 education, business/industry, economic development, community-based nonprofits and civic leaders to drive individual and community prosperity in their regions. They do this by improving access to high quality learning opportunities both in and out of school, focusing on professional development, industry partnerships and community-based education programs.

Q: How have schools, teachers and students benefited?

A: For students and educators, the results are clear. Our data show that students who take two or more classes in a CTE program of study (most of which are STEM-related), graduate at a rate that’s 14 percentage points higher than Oregon’s average. The increase is even more pronounced for our students of color and our students in poverty.

In classrooms with math educators who have participated in our Math in Real Life professional development series — in which teachers design and implement contextual, project-based approaches — students are deeply engaged and excited to come to class. Those teachers are saying, “I’ll never teach math the same way again!”

Moreover, throughout our investments, we strive to create multiple opportunities for educators to connect with one another throughout their profession, as well as connect with STEM employees and out-of-school programs, breaking down the isolation that traditionally exists in our education system.

Q: What have been the major hurdles you have encountered?

A: Most of the challenges have been in breaking down silos within and across the educational ecosystem and in building a sense of shared responsibility that broadens our definition of education to include experiences that happen beyond the school day. Educators and employers share the same beliefs and values about the skills and attitudes mentioned above, but they tend to talk about the strategies and outcomes in very different ways.

The biggest hurdle in bringing CTE and STEM closer together has been addressing the split within our education system that historically has pitted “academic core” subjects with applied, CTE programs.

In a society that emphasizes the importance of college for all and performance on high-stakes, standardized assessments, CTE programs often have been treated as the “less than” option, even when those pathways lead to highly skilled, well-paying and fulfilling careers. In such a system, math and science have been the quintessential academic content areas that, unfortunately, have come to be seen as the domain of those who are bound for a university.

However, the Next Generation Science Standards, with their inclusion of engineering and an emphasis on the practices of science and engineering, are leading to a dramatic shift toward applied learning approaches and multidisciplinary connections. We have seen tremendous synergies when math, science and CTE teachers work together to deepen student understanding through working on problems that are worth solving — not just ones that will be on the next test.

Q: What would you advise other school districts and/or state education departments that might want to explore a similar path?

A: First, it’s important for educators and administrators to visit today’s businesses and industries to get a firsthand perspective of how the world of work has changed and to see how academic standards manifest in the real world. They will also see that the attempt to distinguish between what’s a STEM job and what’s a CTE job is not practical, nor helpful.

Whether it’s precision agriculture, advanced manufacturing, biomedical research, high tech or computing, such industry visits invariably give educators a much richer sense of the world that they are preparing their students for.

Second, provide time and money to create opportunities for math, science and CTE teachers to work together and share their expertise in the co-planning of lessons. At the state level, it’s critical to listen to the practitioners in the field to create policies and investments that transform the system, rather than add unfunded mandates.

But, most important, be mindful of the potential biases in the messages that we send to our students. Be focused on helping them identify, develop and apply their talents in a way that increases their opportunities to contribute, no matter which pathway they choose to pursue.

What’s up in Washington D.C. on STEM?

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 15:11:00 GMT

Q: How’s the policy calendar looking today compared to what you were seeing in March ?

Thomas Phillips, congressional affairs specialist at Battelle, updates us on what’s going on at Capitol Hill.

A: We are still seeing delays in the release of substantive legislation, particularly around the Perkins Reauthorization, because right now the priority is coming to an agreement on the FY17 budget ahead of this week’s spending expiration. Additionally, the Senate has taken a long time to confirm the administration’s cabinet nominees, and there are many who have yet to be named, let alone confirmed. All of this adds up to a slower process, one which will hopefully pick up pace after the final FY17 Budget is in place.

Q:Before we go too deep, can you refresh us on the basics of the budget bill?

A: Speaking very generally, the federal government has been operating on a Continuing Resolution, or CR, because during the last appropriations process, Congress and the former administration were unable to agree upon the necessary appropriations bills. The CR allows appropriations to continue at pre-existing levels, for a set amount of time, or until a regular appropriations bill is passed. The current CR expires this week, and without an omnibus appropriations bill in place, a new CR, or a “cromnibus” (a combination of the two), the federal government will face a shut down.

Currently, the chance of a shutdown occurring are very low – Congressional staff have been working throughout recess to make spending deals that will, if nothing else, allow Congress to avoid the shutdown, while kicking the proverbial can further down the road.

Q: What are the central education issues at the forefront of this budget debate?

A: The biggest issue at stake in this budget for education, and particularly STEM, is around the spending authorized in Title IV Part A. As you may recall, when the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was passed, it authorized $1.65 Billion in spending on the academic enrichment grants of Title IV Part A. These grants were block grants, to be distributed equally to all school districts. Unfortunately, neither the House nor the Senate were able to reach that $1.65 Billion figure when working on their appropriations bills. The House settled on an even $1 Billion, and the Senate on $300 Million. As it stands, discussions with committee staff in both the House and Senate indicate that an agreement has been reached that will appropriate $350 Million, but that will also change the structure of the program from be a block grant, to being a competitive grant. This is not what the program authorizers intended, and threatens the opportunities for direct state-level STEM funding. Should this agreement be included, the very nature of the program as authorized would change, but hopefully only for the next year. Additional language has been discussed to ensure that for FY18, the program be executed as originally authorized. I will provide more detail once the budget is confirmed.

Q: Other big updates?

A: It’s been a busy time on Capitol Hill; I’ve been attending numerous hearings and meetings with the STEM Education Coalition and the Perkins CTE Coalition and trying to find inroads to establish a STEM and CTE coherence.

Additionally, Caroline King the Chief Policy and Strategy Officer of Washington STEM, testified on the critical role of STEM before the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies. She did an incredible job representing

Washington STEM and STEMx, and I was fortunate enough to see her powerful testimony live and in person.

Webinar: What’s next for the Million Women Mentors movement?

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 14:15:00 GMT

May 10, 2017: 4-5 pm EST Register
To increase the interest and confidence of girls and young women in STEM careers, Million Women Mentors has recruited male and female professional to complete a detailed mentorship program with mentees. The movement aims to change the face of career choices and advancement for women and girls. More than 30 states host pledges and committees for the program. Sixty corporations are engaged nationally, along with other partners. And the global pledges are increasing.

Join us as we review the Million Women Mentors efforts and find out ways you can connect to the program in your states. We will hear from a state leader, Minnesota, and one of the program’s corporate partners, Cisco.

Register to attend

About these webinars

Every month, we organize an opportunity for STEM organizations to learn from each other. Past webinars have covered STEM school design, teacher training, and engaging industry in STEM partnerships. This service is offered thanks to the membership of more than 20 states and territories in the national STEMx network.

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

Charting the path from teacher to STEM education leader

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 14:45:00 GMT

Sandy Watkins, the road to STEM education started with the conviction there wasn’t enough time in her classroom to cover all the content her students needed. We spoke to Sandy about how she has directed her passion for improving the educational experiences of her students to improve STEM learning for students across Tennessee. She founded an award-winning STEM school in Tennessee and is now a consultant with Tennessee STEM Innovation Network and Purdue University. Our interview with Sandy reveals how she is using the lessons learned from her classroom to change education policy and practice:

Q: Tell us about your background in education, and, specifically, in STEM education.

Our chat with Sandy Watkins from Tennessee

A: My career in teaching started in a self-contained elementary classroom where I quickly discovered there was not enough time in the day to teach the content information required for each subject.

To better manage our class schedule, I implemented an interdisciplinary approach in teaching that generated a deeper learning in content knowledge for my students.

I continued my teaching career in science education at the elementary and secondary levels while also serving as an adjunct professor at the graduate level. Whether teaching at the elementary or graduate level, my classes always included hands-on activities to keep students excited and engaged in learning.

My career in education evolved into leadership positions. While serving as STEM coordinator in the Sullivan County (Tennessee) school system, I implemented STEM education throughout our elementary and middle schools. I later became the founding principal of one of seven Platform Schools in Tennessee.

Both roles have afforded to me unique opportunities to design STEM programs and to lead in the writing of a K-8 STEM curriculum framework.

I currently serve as a STEM consultant for the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network (TSIN) and Purdue University in Indiana. As a consultant, I assist school leaders in creating a STEM design for their schools and provide training and professional development in STEM education for their teachers.

Q: Can you give us some details about the Platform School you established?

A: I served as the founding principal of Innovation Academy (IA) in Kingsport in northeastern Tennessee. IA is one of seven TSIN Platform Schools designed to function as demonstration sites, where educators and other stakeholders from across the state can observe STEM teaching and learning in practice.

Platform Schools often try new methods of teaching and learning and share local innovations with Regional Hubs to be disseminated more broadly with surrounding schools.

The Platform Schools utilize problem- and project-based learning in partnership with local STEM industry partners; feature integrated curricula; and emphasize technology as a way to enhance teaching and learning.

Innovation Academy includes grades 6 through 8 (ages 11-14) and provides an inclusive STEM learning environment. Our staff created a strong and engaging curriculum in a unit format that included problem- and project-based teaching and learning strategies, strengthened by a strong interdisciplinary program. Deep, strong, project-based learning focused on STEM exposed IA students to specific roles they will eventually encounter in their future careers.

Unique in IA’s success has been its active engagement of business partners in the community. IA was able to make use of STEM professionals from the region’s businesses to integrate rigorous content with the practices that scientists and engineers routinely use in their own work. IA students experience a paradigm shift from just being told about the STEM disciplines and memorizing facts to becoming engaged in the process of learning.

Central to the design of Innovation Academy’s curriculum is the integration of the arts. The arts at IA equip students with the intellectual curiosity to keep learning and tangible skills that will eventually make them marketable in the work environment. Innovation Academy views the arts as more than just isolated courses but as a method and philosophy that create a personal connection and added depth in the classroom through a creative inquiry-based process of teaching and learning.

Technology is at the forefront of Innovation Academy’s curricular innovation. Teachers at IA have used technology to disrupt traditional ways of delivering the curriculum as they have engaged students in much more authentic, immediate, and hand-on, minds-on STEM learning experiences. In recognition of IA’s intentional use of technology, the school was designated as an Apple Distinguished School. This recognition is reserved for schools that meet criteria for educational excellence, innovation, leadership and a demonstration of exemplary learning environments.

In summary, IA is a dream school. It provides the opportunity for students to learn the best way – the STEM way.

Q: In your recent appearance before the Ohio STEM Committee, what was the gist of your presentation?

A: The main point emphasized was the importance of teaching the STEM way — with motivating lessons and real-world connections. It is critical to engage students in their learning.

In STEM education, lessons provide real-world issues and problems. This type of authentic learning provides a more meaningful and deeper learning for students. Project- and problem-based lessons provide a hands-on, minds-on learning environment in which students not only acquire content knowledge, but also become independent thinkers who can solve problems and develop ideas.

Q: Did the committee have questions?

A: The committee had questions regarding the challenges of STEM education in the primary grades, teacher selection and training, developing community and business partnerships at the elementary level, and pre-service teacher preparation in STEM education.

In answering their questions I stressed the importance of building community, business and postsecondary partnerships with schools. Such partnerships provide valuable resources for offering examples of workplace tasks that can be replicated for the classroom. Both higher education and business partners can provide invaluable professional development for STEM teachers in order to offer expert content information and 21st-century skills to classroom lessons. This is essential for guiding our student toward college and career readiness.

Q: Do you have other roles involving STEM education in your state?

A: I currently serve as a faculty member for the Tennessee Innovative Leaders Institute that provides administrators throughout our state opportunities to view models of STEM integration and acquire best practices and resources to design a plan for implementing STEM education within their schools.

Q: What advice would you give others who are considering founding a STEM school or a STEM program in an existing school?

A: It is important to visit a variety of innovative schools to examine different models of STEM education. When visiting a school, schedule a time to speak to the principal and teachers. Ask about their STEM design plan, the challenges they faced and lessons learned.

Next, invite postsecondary educators and community and business leaders to a roundtable conference to ask about their work and how it could be replicated for the classroom. Develop a strategic community alliance to give students the dynamic, connected learning experiences they need.

Then, take the information that best meets the needs of your student population and custom design an amazing STEM school.

Program takes teachers inside Army labs for extensive training

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 20:35:00 GMT

Conducting research in a real lab with professional mentoring, then taking knowledge gained back to the classroom. Is that the dream of many STEM educators? The year-old RESET program aims to make that dream a reality. RESET, or Research Experiences for STEM Educators and Teachers, offers 60 hours of online summer learning to a select group of teachers and then places some of them in an Army lab to work for a month. To find out more about the program, we contacted its creator, Sally Pardue, director of the Millard Oakley STEM Center , a state-of-the-art STEM-education facility at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville:

Q: What was your motivation for creating the RESET program?

Dr. Sally Pardue created the RESET program for teachers

A: My motivation to develop and implement the RESET program for the U.S. Army Education Outreach Program (AEOP) is driven by my appreciation for the Army’s commitment to providing access to unique and highly engaging STEM learning opportunities for teachers and, through these teachers, for their students.

I had worked with a National Science Foundation project, Research Experiences for Teachers, that brought teachers to our university research labs, and I knew what a powerful learning experience this could be for both STEM educators and for the STEM professionals who provide mentorship. I was excited to be invited to pitch a modified version of this program for the AEOP consortium. Our first year, RESET 2016, was an incredible success, with 20 teachers from seven states participating.

Q: Describe the RESET program. Who can apply to participate?

A: RESET provides an experiential learning opportunity for STEM educators interested in conducting research with an Army scientist or engineer mentor. Selected teachers participate in a cohort during the summer, completing 60 hours of online learning in two segments, for Level I status. The online learning is facilitated by the RESET staff at Tennessee Technological University; upon completion, participants receive a stipend ($1,000-$1,700, typical range commensurate with education level and experience).

A subset of the cohort will experience four weeks of research time at an Army research lab, as Level II status. The location for the 2017 research sites is still being determined based on mentor availability.

While at the Army research lab site, the Level II cohort members continue to interact with the RESET staff at Tennessee Tech as well as with their mentors on site. The Level II participants receive four weeks of stipend ($4,200-$6,300, typical range commensurate with education level and experience), along with travel support (airfare and/or mileage, car rental, etc.), housing costs and per diem.

Eligible applicants are STEM educators of students in high school or upper middle grades, with a focus on teachers coming from high needs areas working with underserved populations.

Underserved populations include students from low-income families; students belonging to race and ethnic minorities that are historically underrepresented in STEM (i.e., Alaska natives, Native Americans, blacks or African Americans, Hispanics, native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders); students with disabilities; students with English as a second language; first-generation college-bound students; students in rural, frontier or other federal targeted outreach schools; and females in certain STEM fields (e.g., physical science, computer science, mathematics or engineering).

Q: Why partner with the Army and Department of Defense scientists?

Q: How is the RESET program linked to classroom learning?

A: The RESET cohort members create lesson(s) and/or units of lessons inspired by the research work that the Level II cohort members have conducted with the mentors at Army research labs. These lessons are developed over 30 hours of online time during Module 2: Taking Research to the Classroom, by teams of cohort members using the Legacy Cycle format to generate project-based learning challenges that place students at the center of their own learning.

How research is conducted in Army research labs and how Army and DoD scientists and engineers do research can be modeled in the stages of the Legacy Cycle. Students using these Legacy Cycle challenges will be learning important STEM concepts, along with how and why research is done, thereby enhancing their 21st-century skills while exploring what various careers in STEM look like.

Q: I recently read some blog postings from RESET participants. One described her experience after RESET of creating a lesson for business students to work with engineering students on a robotics question . The other RESET “grad” helped create a lesson on concussions and football helmets . How could the RESET experience have helped these two teachers better create their lessons.

A: The Legacy Cycle lessons developed during the RESET program are only possible because the cohort participants have first learned how this format works. In fact, they themselves first experience a Legacy Cycle as adult learners responding to the challenge question: To teach students about how research is conducted in science and engineering, what do I need to know about how to research ?

During 30 hours of online learning in Module 1: Introduction to Research, the RESET cohort members develop responses to this learning challenge by going through the stages of the Legacy Cycle (Challenge, Generate Ideas, Multiple Perspectives, Research and Revise, Test Your Mettle and Go Public). The example lesson plans mentioned above are outcomes of the RESET 2016 program. The Legacy Cycle on concussions and helmets, and the one on critical decision making about whether or not to use robotics, are generated from the research work that the Level II cohort members conducted at two Army research labs.

Q: The collaborative element seems to be a big part of the RESET program. Why is this factor so important?

Q: What other important takeaways do participants gain?

The Level II teachers make lasting connections with Army and DoD scientist and engineer mentors working with exciting research projects within the Army research labs.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about this program?

A: The deadline to apply for this summer, RESET 2017, is April 14. In subsequent years, the RESET program will take applications from November-February for the following summer’s cohort. (For example, apply in November 2017 for RESET 2018.)

For ongoing information, visit: http://www.usaeop.com/programs/stem-enrichment-activities/reset/

Edited by Patricia Bitler , freelance writer and editor.

Webinar: Fund STEM instruction through DonorsChoose.org

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 18:05:00 GMT

** Date change to Thursday, April 20 **
April 20, 2017: 4-5 pm EST Register
DonorsChoose.org strives to make it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need, moving us closer to a nation where students in every community have the tools and experiences they need for a great education. Teachers in 75% of the country’s public schools have requested classroom materials through DonorsChoose.org, receiving more than half a billion dollars in classroom supplies over the last decade.

Join Katie Vallas, DonorsChoose.org’s School & Partnership Engagement Manager, to learn about how STEM teachers in your state can get the funds they need for everything from graphing calculators and microscopes to field trips.

We will also discuss special funding initiatives that specifically support STEM educators, like the recent Science Everywhere Innovation Challenge .

Register to attend

About these webinars

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

Teacher interview: Funding science with DonorsChoose.org

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 20:48:00 GMT

For teachers, finding cash to buy classroom “extras” can be difficult. A school’s parent organization can help, but so can generous strangers. That’s the aim of DonorsChoose.org, a web site where teachers at public schools can submit proposals for things their classrooms need, and then individuals, companies and foundations can pledge funding to support that classroom. Last year, DonorsChoose.org shipped more than $110 million in classroom materials to 98,000 teachers nationwide, helping students have access to everything from graphing calculators to 3-D printers.

Michelle Scheet teaches second grade in Omaha Public Schools and created a project called “Super Scientist” with help from DonorsChoose.org.

We contacted two teachers who entered a recent DonorsChoose.org contest — the Science Everywhere Innovation Challenge — by requesting materials to help their students do hands-on math and science learning outside of class time. Their projects were funded by the Overdeck Family Foundation and Simons Foundation , and the teachers are now awaiting word if they have won one of five prizes of $5,000 from those foundations to purchase more classroom materials. The teachers are Michelle Scheet and Linwood Starling:

Q: Tell us about yourselves, and your schools and students.

Michelle Scheet: I have been teaching second grade for 17 years for the Omaha Public Schools. Our school — Saddlebrook Elementary in Omaha — is unique in that we have a school, community center and public library under one roof. Saddlebrook is home to the Green Wave! We pride ourselves on our “green” roof, rain garden, bioswale (drainage course to remove pollutants from runoff water), surrounding prairie and environmental sustainability. My class consists of 25 eager second-graders who enjoy learning. We love science and are always looking for ways to learn more about our world.

Linwood Starling teaches science at Pine Forest High School and created an “on the go” science experience with donations.

Linwood Starling: I have been teaching high school for four years. I teach science, particularly biology, physical science, and anatomy and physiology, at Pine Forest High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Our school serves a diverse group of students including low income, military families and homeless students.

Q: Describe the projects you posted on DonorsChoose.org and the supplies you were seeking.

MS: My project, called “Super Scientist,” was posted to replace my worn-out science experiment books and materials. The items I received provided my students and their families with up-to-date materials to conduct modern experiments at home. Some of the materials I requested, such as the Magic School Bus Chemistry Lab and the Unofficial Minecraft Lab for Kids, were meant to spark interest in science for students who might not otherwise find it exciting.

LS: I posted a project titled, “Making Science a Real World on the Go Experience!” for which I requested scientific calculators, K’NEX DNA kits, magnetic sets, an Amazon Fire Tablet, Airzooka Air Gun and a GPS system.

Q: How will your students use these materials?

MS: In my classroom each week, one student — the Super Scientist — takes home a bag of science books and materials to conduct experiments with his or her family. The following week, the student shares one of these experiments with the class. Wearing a lab coat and goggles, the Super Scientist walks us through the experiment showing the results. The student then takes questions from the class to further explain his or her learning.

LS: My students use the calculators during physical science. The K’NEX DNA kits give my students the ability to see how DNA is formed and translated in a hands-on approach that they can’t get from a picture. They will use the Airzooka Air Gun to learn about the Bernoulli effect (the relationship between fluid flow speed and pressure), vortices and how air is a state of matter.

The magnetic sets will give them a hands-on approach to learning about magnetic poles and forces of magnetism. The Amazon Fire tablet and GPS system are student favorites, allowing the students to conduct speed, acceleration and force experiments. These materials have been grouped in take-home packages so the students will conduct these activities outside my classroom, ensuring that learning does not end when the bell rings.

Q: How will the out-of-class activities further students’ in-class education?

MS: This extra exposure to science helps support our Nebraska science standards by allowing students to ask questions and conduct investigations that lead to observation and communication of findings. Their newfound knowledge is then shared with the class. It is my hope that the experience that the children gain from being a Super Scientist will spark an interest in science that will carry on with them for many years.

LS: Having the ability to send kids home with materials that they can learn from is so important. I don’t want my students to go home with a worksheet to fill out. I want them to have a meaningful activity that they will remember, enjoy and bring back to my classroom for us to discuss and compare with other students’ outcomes.

These types of kits also help to make sure that my students’ families stay involved in their education, as they can learn with them. These materials are helping me to break down my classroom walls to make learning endless and everywhere. It is amazing to see how much students grow when you are challenging them with learning goals through activities rather than worksheets and textbook assignments.

Q: Why did you turn to DonorsChoose.org?

MS: I saw that there was a funding match opportunity through the Science Everywhere Innovation Challenge (from the Overdeck Family Foundation and the Simons Foundation), and that motivated me to submit this project. Because I have had success getting other projects funded through DonorsChoose.org, I thought this would be a great opportunity.

LS: DonorsChoose.org has been a blessing, giving me the ability to provide my students with opportunities they normally would not have. We have had amazing support from donors, and their support has provided my students with hands-on learning activities, technology and basic necessities that my students didn’t have access to.

With school budgets getting smaller and classroom size getting larger, without the help from programs such as DonorsChoose.org, my students would be limited on the amount of enrichment activities they could receive.

Q: Will you turn to DonorsChoose.org again?

MS: I have had 29 DonorsChoose.org projects funded over the past four years. I have materials in my classroom that I would not have had otherwise. I have been able to receive books, reading center activities, math manipulatives, a worm compost, butterfly garden, Hokki stools (flexible, ergonomic seating), iPads, STEM materials and many classroom supplies thanks to DonorsChoose.org. I will continue to use DonorsChoose.org to support my students’ needs.

LS: Without a doubt, I will be using DonorsChoose.org again to help make my classroom the best place for my students’ learning.

Q: If you win the $5,000 in materials credits, what will you purchase?

MS: I would be so excited if I won $5,000 in credits! My top idea would be to get more STEM materials for my classroom such as engineering supplies. I would also like my students to get products that will help them learn how to code. I am interested in obtaining some professional development or training on these areas as well. It would also be great to get more materials for the students to use at home such as math games to practice various math objectives. Any credits I have left would be used to make other teachers’ projects come to life. I know how exciting it is to get a project funded, and I want them to have that experience, too.

LS: Wow! First, that would be an amazing opportunity. I would continue to work on getting materials and resources to create more take-home science kits that would expand and cover all the objectives for the classes I teach. Winning these credits would open so many doors for my students’ learning and help to prepare them for college. I want them to leave my class with ideas and questions that keep them searching and learning for years to come.

Tools to get your message heard

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 17:10:00 GMT

Just a few weeks ago, we unveiled a major re-design to the STEMx website, including a major expansion to our list of STEMx-endorsed resources . We invested in these upgrades (and devoted a full section of the resources to communications) having getting your messages heard matters. It takes serious time, practice, and energy to be heard.

We aren’t done yet. Today, we’re releasing a set of six communications assets: Five graphics and one video. These were developed for us under the leadership of the STEMx Communications Working Group to help our members drive home key points as they campaign for STEM.

The group sought to find broad, powerful messages about STEM that could be used any time. And we’re pleased to share them with you. Tweet, post, embed, email. However you get your message out, you’re welcome to add these graphics. We’ve included download links to the files below.

In return, here’s our request: Go forth and do great work. The case from STEM education has never been stronger.

Secretary DeVos, school choice, and Perkins in President Trump’s first 50 days

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 14:56:00 GMT

With Donald Trump in the White House, what changes might be in store for education in the United States? When a new administration led by a different political party takes office in Washington, action on important issues is often difficult to predict. We asked Thomas Phillips, a congressional affairs specialist for Battelle, what the first year of the Trump presidency might mean for education:

Q: In general, how do you think education policy under President Donald Trump might differ from the policies of the Obama administration?
A: The stated goals of President Trump regarding education are limited, save for the fact that he wants to massively expand “school choice” opportunities through a new $20 billion block-grant program.

Thomas Phillips, congressional affairs specialist at Battelle, updates us on education’s place in President Trump’s agenda.

Unlike President Barack Obama, Trump has not identified specific goals for the federal Department of Education outside of school choice. For instance, President Obama branded early childhood education as a key issue and worked with his education secretaries to expand access to preschool — and that’s just one example.

We have yet to see President Trump speak about education with any specificity — which might be indicative of a new hands-off approach by the federal government.

Q: Does the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education herald an attempt at the federal level to shift power in educational matters from Washington to states or to local school districts?
A: Absolutely. Keeping in mind President Trump’s campaign goal of a “school choice” block grant program, the nomination and confirmation of an outspoken “school choice” advocate to lead the Department of Education indicates a desire to shift decision-making power out of the hands of the federal government and into the hands of state and local educational agencies.

Q: Do you think the Trump administration’s goal is to shutter, or possibly scale back or streamline, the Education Department?
A: While that is not an explicit goal of President Trump or Secretary DeVos, shifting power from the federal government to states and localities will most certainly result in a streamlined federal department.

Q: Do you think the new administration might revisit the Every Student Succeeds Act?
A: During her confirmation hearings, Secretary DeVos made it clear that she would enforce the current law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). That said, the Republican-controlled Congress has taken steps this legislative session to strip certain accountability measures from ESSA — a move in line with the administration’s education ideology.

Using the Congressional Review Act, the House of Representatives and Senate have already voted to do away with certain teacher preparation regulations, and President Trump has said that he’ll provide the final signoff. Additionally, once these regulations are phased out, the department will be unable to create similar ones.

Q: How might other education legislation that is up for reauthorization, such as the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, fare in the new administration and Congress?
A: As we saw during the previous Congress, Perkins came very close to reauthorization, passing out of the House with 405 “yea” votes. Unfortunately, it was held up in the Senate due to concerns regarding secretarial authority.

That said, the reauthorization of Perkins is a bipartisan, bicameral goal. Career and technical education are favored by Congress and the administration as vehicles for job creation and infrastructure revitalization.

This session of Congress, work on Perkins is well underway. While no legislation has been officially introduced, the House Education and Workforce Committee already held a hearing in the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education titled “Providing More Students a Pathway to Success by Strengthening Career and Technical Education.”

An educational hearing, the session laid the foundation for the introduction of the legislation, which is expected in the coming month. It is expected to pass out of the House with relative ease, and while there is less information regarding the Senate’s version this time around, it is expected to become a law before the end of the year.

Q: Do you think a federal school vouchers program is on the horizon?
A: President Trump campaigned on the promise of a federal voucher program and nominated a secretary of education known for her “school choice” advocacy. The program has been on the horizon for some time but is now tangible in the form of legislation that has been introduced.
House Resolution 610, or the Choices in Education Act of 2017, is a bill to “distribute Federal funds for elementary and secondary education in the form of vouchers for eligible students.” It was introduced by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, on Jan. 23.
No further action has been taken with respect to the bill, but based on the high priority the administration has placed on school choice, a federal voucher program is certainly not out of the question in the near future.

Q: What other changes in education might we see from Washington this year?
A: In addition to a possible voucher program, Perkins’ passage and regulatory reductions, expect work on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Additionally, don’t be surprised by structural changes within the department that might come from a more state-focused administration.

STEMxchange: David’s message for leaders

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 18:51:00 GMT

In our continuing series of essays reflecting on our annual gathering, STEMxchange , here’s an essay from Battelle’s David Burns that reflects on his messages for leaders of state STEM organizations at STEMxchange 2016.

by David Burns, Director of Battelle STEM Innovation Networks

At Battelle, we don’t just partner with folks because it feels good.

I don’t know why you all are into this, but I know why I am; I saw a way to teach kids differently and a way for kids to show how they were smart differently. Spreading these differences became a passion of mine 10 years ago, drove my work 5 years ago, and as a matter of fact, it’s a passion today.

Battelle operates a couple of schools. My boss, Dr. Kennedy, has a child in the school that I’m chairman of the board for. And I report to her.

I feel the pressure.

But, in the day-to-day grind, we sometimes find ourselves stuck in the muck. We tend to do this as leaders. We worry about who’s in charge. Which way is it going? Does the commissioner like us or not?

Making large-scale change is a long and difficult process, and sometimes we need to re-center. At STEMxchange, I talked about why Battelle is involved in STEM education work, and what’s important to keep in mind as we continue our work with STEMx partners.

Battelle is in this because we want to steal every good idea that you have. And I hope that you steal every good idea that we have.

So as you reflect on what was discussed at STEMxchange and think about how to make your vision for STEM education a reality here are a few things to keep in mind:

Act on these ideas, join #successwithSTEM

To help you show your leadership we have partnered with 100Kin10 on the Everyone Succeeds with STEM campaign. We created this partnership because it gives us a shot as a coalition to do big things. We can move federal policy, we can move state policy, but we can only do it if we do it together.

Webinar: Tools to build STEM schools

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 21:26:00 GMT

March 15, 2017: 4-5 pm EST
Register

STEM schools can be engines of academic achievement and innovation. But how do you build them well? And build them to last.

In our next webinar, we’ll be joined by Dorothy Earle, Wes Hall, and Denise Devora. Each represent a state who’s published tools for building great STEM schools. All three tools have been certified by STEMx and were recently featured in our revamp of the STEMx website .

Panelists

Register to attend

About these webinars

STEMx members are encouraged to forward this invitation to others in their state who would find the information useful.

You can sign up to hear about our webinars along with our weekly blog posts here: www.stemx.us/sign-up

Opening up the STEMx archives

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 16:53:00 GMT

by Michael Feder, Director of STEMx

Today, we’re rolling out a major upgrade to the STEMx website, which includes a cleaner look and the launch of the STEMx endorsed resources.

It’s my great pleasure to recognize the work of STEMx members who have created the tools that received the STEMx “seal of approval.”

Today, we get to open the books to you with our first 17 committee-approved tools. These resources come from STEMx members across the country, from Washington to South Carolina. In each entry, you’ll find brief descriptions. These cover questions like: What’s the goal of the tool? What were its impacts in the state or community it was used? And of course, we’ve included links to download or access every single one of these resources. You can learn more about the tools in the upcoming STEMx webinars .

Here are a few key questions I hear from STEM advocates all the time with answers from our new database.

We will be looking for additional tools to review beginning later this month, so start thinking about which of the tools you have developed could benefit other networks.

STEMxchange: The Six E’s of Engagement

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 06:00:00 GMT

When STEMx was launched, we chose three words to sum up the goals of the organization: Educate. Engage. Exchange.

As STEM learning professionals, we do the first every day. At STEMxchange 2016, we exchanged ideas from across the country. But how do we engage with the broader community? And how do we engage effectively?

In Dallas, Anthony Shop of Social Driver spoke on the engaging use of social media to drive each partner organization’s visibility and online presence. STEMx has worked closely with Social Driver to enhance the approach to communications that STEMx has taken over the years.

Shop emphasized that organizations don’t need to generate interest and energy from scratch. Instead, we only have to create a channel to harness the energy that is already there, engaging our audience:

“Our role is to be a conduit.”

Shop shared six easy ways to engage your target audience, whether they are students, parents, educators, policymakers, or even STEMx partners. He calls these “The Six E’s of Engagement.”

Elevate: This is very often overlooked by users of social media. The idea of elevating is, I make you look good to your peers. You are getting some sort of extrinsic response, and that’s why you do it. If you’re showing off the great work that someone did, you’re elevating them.

Empower: You make people feel good through an intrinsic type of motivation, giving people the tools they need get involved in the conversation. This can be as easy as giving them a certain hashtag to use.

Ease: What’s a problem, or a concern, or an issue someone’s dealing with, and how can you help them solve that? Think about what problems people can have and how you can help them solve that problem. This content should make it easier for your audience to find information or useful materials.

Entertain: How do you catch someone’s attention? How do you make them smile? How do you make something enjoyable? By creating fun content that people will remember!

Entice: What is something that would be irresistible to get that person to take an action? Sometimes that’s a discount, or a special VIP offer. Sometimes, it’s by not giving them the answer so their curiosity forces them to click. This should drive your audience to take an action so they can get something in return.

Educate: How can I take information that people want to know, put it in a context that matters to them, and how do I make it digestible? Give your audience facts or information to that they don’t already have.

Do these Six E’s change how you see online engagement? How would this change how you share a video like this one from Washington STEM?

Check out Social Driver’s quick Mini-Masterclass on the Six E’s of Engagement if you want to learn more.

Ohio students present solutions to opioid crisis

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 06:00:00 GMT

This is a cross-post of a piece originally published by the Ohio STEM Learning Network

Ohio’s opioid-abuse crisis has affected countless individuals and families, and long-term solutions have seemed elusive. In response, the state’s Department of Education and the Ohio STEM Learning Network (OSLN) called on schools to tackle the problem. Officials suggested a design challenge — a long-term project in which students research and propose resolutions to a real-world problem. But students at North High School in Akron Public Schools in Summit County were already at work, digging up data, doing interviews and brainstorming solutions. To find out more, we contacted the district’s Sam Crews, a 20-year educator and founding staff member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM School . He also manages OSLN’s Akron Hub Training Center :

Sam Crews, a 20-year educator and founding staff member of NIHF STEM School, spoke with us about North High School students battling the opioid crisis.

Q: What prompted students at Akron’s North High School to look into the problem of rampant opioid use?

A: The 10th-grade teachers at North have been implementing problem-based learning since being trained at the Akron OSLN hub. As they moved into the 2016 school year, the opioid epidemic presented itself as an authentic, real-time issue that they designed their unit around. All of this came before state School Superintendent Paolo DeMaria and OSLN issued a call for design challenges on this topic.

Q: How did the students research the problem?

A: The teachers developed a three-phase, problem-based learning unit in conjunction with the Summit County Opiate Task Force .

First, the task force came to the high school to “roll out,” or present, the problem to learners. Learners then developed collaborative teams to begin their research based on what they knew and what they needed to find out.

In the second phase, the task force brought out primary source experts for learners to receive information from the perspectives of the courts, first responders and prevention specialists.

Last, the task force came out to listen to solution proposals from the students during a presentation of learning.

Q: Some of the students presented their conclusions and proposed solutions in a public forum. Tell us about that.

A: The task force invited two of the student groups to present at its quarterly meeting on December 14, 2016, at the Summit County Public Health auditorium in Akron.

One group designed a concept around “safe houses.” The focus of this idea revolved around the safe harbor of children and other family members affected by someone using heroin or prescription opiates. The students identified many wraparound services the safe house would provide, including counseling, educational support and hotline services.

The other group, citing a six- to seven-week waiting list for local, affordable treatment for those addicted to opioids, identified a drastic need for more treatment options.

North High School students presented their findings at the Summit County Public Health auditorium.

It never ceases to amaze me how well students do when they take ownership of their learning. The key for me in listening to problem-based learning presentations is how conversational students become when relating to an expert. The evidence of learning is undeniable.

Q: How have the students benefited from working on this project?

A: In an interview I did with the kids the day after their presentation, they all talked about feeling like they had made a difference in the community and how amazing that feeling was.

Problem-based learning is a driver of this kind of powerful learning where students feel valued and they are invested in an outcome that demonstrates hard work, collaboration and the gathering of knowledge that leads to solution making. For many of these kids, this opportunity represented their first attempt at real civic engagement.

Q: Would you recommend other schools take up this challenge?

A: What I learned from these now-expert students is that Ohio, in particular, is becoming overwhelmed by this epidemic on many fronts, some that I wouldn’t have thought of.

I also believe in the power of young people who, when challenged, become excellent problem solvers. So, yes, I encourage any school or team of teachers to let their students contribute!

Interview
Sam also sat down with the students and recorded a brief interview with them. Be sure to take a listen and here about what they learned, in their own words.

Edited by Patricia Bitler , freelance writer and editor.

STEMxchange: Focus on local career pipelines leads Lancaster ISD forward

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 06:00:00 GMT

At STEMxchange 2016, presenters were challenged to share their successes during “STEM in 400 Seconds.” Lancaster Independent School District was represented by Kyndra Johnson, Executive Director for Academics and Innovation.

Kyndra Johnson, Executive Director for Academics and Innovation, highlights her school district’s successes.

Recognized as a T-STEM designated district in 2012, Lancaster ISD has since become an exemplar for STEM education in the state of Texas.

“In Lancaster ISD, our vision is to ensure that all students achieve self-sustaining success and leave a lasting legacy. In my role in the district, I believe that I am living my legacy in real time, because I grew up as a STEM student.”

The “it takes a village” mentality is integral to Lancaster ISD’s success.From administrators and teachers to students and parents, every link in the chain works together to prepare students for the future.

The school board has been honored at the national and state level as the “ premier, first honor board in the state .”

But Lancaster ISD is more than just honored; they’re proven. They have the highest graduation rate and science performance in the Best Southwest Region .

How did they get there? In large part, they established pipelines with a local focus to take advantage of what their community had to offer.

“Each of these pipelines connects to resources as well as human capital that exists in our area: engineering with an aeronautical focus, entrepreneurship, global arts communication, health science technology, and information systems and software design.”

These comprehensive pipelines then set up students for college and careers.

“Each of our students are able to matriculate, beginning in Pre-K, through each of these pipelines, such that when they are ready to graduate from our high school, they have endorsements at the state level, as well as a plan for what they could potentially enter into as a career field.”

Most importantly, Lancaster has leveraged their local partnerships to offer spectacular project-based opportunities for students in their pipelines.

“Our students have built a street-legal race car, in partnership with Experience Aviation and Captain Barrington Irving Jr… Our most recent initiative is a service learning problem based learning unit that is going to partner us with Experience Aviation one more time, as well as the Wings of Hope Foundation. Our students are building a Cessna 182 aircraft that will be used in mission projects throughout the next year with Wings of Hope, to provide medical supplies, food, and other resources to other countries.”

“You can’t do this without the strategic alliances and the partnerships that are continuing to thrive in STEM education.”

Connect with Kyndra Johnson to share tips on working with your community partners by contacting her at kyndrajohnson@lancasterisd.org .

How Washington STEM advocates for public funding

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 06:00:00 GMT

Garnering public funding for STEM-based education can be difficult and time consuming. Many STEM promoters know that it takes persistence and savvy to lobby for a portion of state taxpayer dollars. To find out more about the process, we contacted Caroline King, chief policy and strategy officer for Washington STEM , and asked about her organization’s recent successes:

Q: STEM education in Washington state has received increased funding from the state legislature. Tell us about the legislation that was approved and what it aims to do.

We spoke with Caroline King, chief policy and strategy officer for Washington STEM, about succeeding in garnering public funding.

A: In 2016, the Washington legislature, along with the governor, Jay Inslee, sustained ongoing STEM education investments and prioritized new ones. Here’s a list of what happened:

Q: What specific groups/programs will be helped with this funding?

A: Students served by a variety of education service districts, schools and nonprofits across the state will be supported by the computer science education funding and the STEM Capital Pilot funding. You can find specifics here:

Q: How will your organization be involved in the efforts that will be funded?

A: Washington STEM has worked with the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to review and issue grants for computer science education and STEM capital grants. We have also offered support to raise funding for the private matches for computer science education.

Q: How long will this funding last? Why is that important?

A: At this point, the computer science and STEM capital funding was issued for the two-year 2015-17 budget cycle. We’re working with the state legislature to renew and increase funding, as the state funding for computer science, for instance, covers only 11% of students in the state. We’d like to make sure every student has access to state-funded quality computer science education.

Q: What was Washington STEM’s involvement in writing/promoting/lobbying for this funding legislation?

A: Washington STEM has been deeply involved in promoting STEM education efforts to the legislature. We work with a wide range of partners in education, business and the community to determine key cross-sector priorities for legislative funding. We then work with our regional networks to identity legislative support and meet with legislators to establish a plan. When communicating with legislators, we always strive to show need, impact and value for their specific legislative district.

Q: What have you learned from efforts to acquire such state funding? What would you tell other STEM groups looking for dollars from their state legislatures about a successful approach?

A: Working to acquire state funding is a long game. We have found it is key to work with regional networks to build ongoing relationships to identify and support community needs. The state can and should be a crucial partner in supporting STEM education, and, as with any other supporter, it is key to identify their interests and needs, address them and move forward in order to support Washington students.

Q: Do you have projects in mind that you will be promoting in your state legislature in 2017? Will you change your lobbying approach in any way?

A: This year our legislature is tackling education in a major way, as lawmakers must respond to a state Supreme Court case requiring them to fully fund basic education. We’re continuing our lobbying approach as we have in the past (see our accompanying 2017 legislative agenda). However we find it even more crucial to work in coordination and collaboration with our local and state partners.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about the importance of state funding for STEM?

A: We’re thankful for the work of the governor and our bipartisan legislative partners – their leadership is creating pathways for students who previously did not have access to STEM. We look forward to a busy and interesting legislative session!

Smithsonian center puts experiential learning to the test

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 06:00:00 GMT

At STEMxchange 2016, Dr. Carol O’Donnell briefed attendees on a five-year validation study by the Smithsonian Science Education Center .

“We believe in lifelong learning, experiential learning. In 1985, the Smithsonian and the National Academy of Science got together and decided that they wanted to create an institution that would bring that kind of experiential learning into classrooms everywhere. Now, in 1985, that seemed really novel.”

“Today, it doesn’t.” The idea of experiential learning isn’t so novel anymore. However, O’Donnell and her partners have conducted a deep study into the impacts of this idea. That’s a huge contribution to the education field.

The Smithsonian Science Education Center was awarded a US Department of Education i3 grant to evaluate the effects of their Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) Model . This model is an inquiry-based approach to science education that provides students in classrooms across the country and world with captivating, first-hand learning experiences. They recently completed the study, yielding promising results for their approach.

O’Donnell stressed that regardless of their theory of action, the work will fall flat without adjusting it for each unique situation.

“I don’t care what about the infrastructure I have in front of you. If I don’t understand what your local context is, what you believe in your state is your vision for instructional improvement, we can’t do this work.”

Student materials and professional development all focused on inquiry-based learning, well rooted in research. When teaching through inquiry, teachers act more as a facilitator or coach than an instructor, guiding an activity alongside their own students. Students are encouraged to ask questions and engaged with each other, discovering knowledge instead of receiving it directly from the teacher.

The inquiry process encourages carrying out investigations and grappling with data to generate conclusions. Inquiry in action aligns closely with the scientific method, and is intuitively implemented in the science classroom. Listen to one participant talk about inquiry-based learning here .

A North Carolina LASER teacher examines convection tubes at professional development training in the STC unit Understanding Weather and Climate.

LASER teachers received a Science and Technology Concepts unit produced by the SSEC as well as high-quality, differentiated professional development. This combination helped teachers implement new pedagogical strategies through engaging science lessons, fully resourced by the LASER program.

After three years of implementation, Dr. O’Donnell and her colleagues had the data they needed to evaluate the program’s effect on student outcomes.
In other words, did the work actually work?

That’s what the Smithsonian had to prove through regimented implementation and rigorous evaluation by a third party. Their research question?

“After three years of participation in the study, do students who receive those components of LASER have higher student achievement in science than schools who don’t?”

“Schools were demographically paired and then were randomly assigned, either to receive all the components of LASER, or to get nothing, to do their business as usual for five whole years, with the promise that if they stuck with us that we would give them the professional development and all the student materials in the fifth year.”

What did the study show? Were the results as anticipated?

“Surveys showed that teachers felt more prepared to teach inquiry. Classroom observations showed students were demonstrating more collaboration, working in teams, solving problems. Students were applying what they had learned to real world situations.”

“Underserved students scored higher on the science performance task compared to underserved students in the non-LASER schools.”

“The interdisciplinary approach to teaching science, the integration of math and reading into science, led also into higher schools on the math state tests and the reading state tests.”

“We believe this kind of learning actually promotes not only interactive critical thinking, but also specifically doing science, for especially those who were economically disadvantaged, English learners, females, and those students who have disabilities. Those were the subgroups that seemed to have the greatest impact.”

She had three pieces of advice for partners interested in doing similar evaluation studies.

“One, you need some type of infrastructure or coordination in your state in place – that’s that collective impact model. Two, you need to have access to reliable funding. For us, for five years, that was the I3. Third, you need to put some kind of evaluation in place to make sure that what you’re doing is working.”

Dr. O’Donnell’s team was awarded an i3 extension grant to continue their research, this time evaluating the effects of LASER after the active intervention is removed.
In her words, “it’s allowing us to study what happens when you take the money away… We are stepping away from the system, and all that the evaluator is doing is assessing sustainability.”

With rigorous research from the Smithsonian Science Education Center, STEM education will benefit from a proven theory of action, expanding the toolkit of school improvement to include another vetted approach.

For a deeper dive into the study’s outcomes take a look at the Smithsonian’s Executive Summary .

Has your organization been involved in grant-funded studies like this one? Let us know! Email STEMx to help us spread the word on the research.

Building relationships with top state leaders in New York

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 06:00:00 GMT

Education conferences are a great way to share best practices and new STEM initiatives among teachers and school administrators. Such meetings also can spread the word about STEM achievements to significant state officials. But how do event planners attract such major players? Late last year, the Empire State STEM Learning Network held a conference that featured speeches by New York’s lieutenant governor, among other prominent officials. To find out how the network scheduled such luminaries, we contacted Jill Lansing, assistant vice chancellor for the education pipeline for the State University of New York, which oversees the STEM network:

Q: Tell us about the Empire State STEM Learning Network and its role in promoting STEM education in the state of New York.

A: The Empire State STEM Learning Network is a statewide collaborative of educators, business and industry partners, and government leaders in New York working to expand access to high-quality STEM teaching, increase the number of students in STEM disciplines, and communicate and advocate for STEM policies, programs, platforms and partnerships.

The network is made up of 10 regional hubs that are aligned with New York’s Regional Economic Development Councils. The State University of New York (SUNY) serves as the steward for the Empire State STEM Learning Network.

Q: At the recent conference of the Empire State STEM Learning Network, presenters included New York’s lieutenant governor and the SUNY chancellor. Tell us about that.

A: On December 6, 2016, the fourth annual convening of the Empire State STEM Learning Network was held at the SUNY Global Center in New York City. More than 50 education and business leaders from across the network’s 10 regional hubs came together to celebrate achievements, share best practices for providing students and teachers with high quality STEM learning opportunities, and to discuss priorities and next steps for the network for the coming year.

We were honored to be joined by New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul; SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher; Stanley S. Litow, vice president of corporate citizenship and corporate affairs and president of the IBM International Foundation; and SUNY Senior Vice Chancellor Johanna Duncan-Poitier.

Having such prominent state and national leaders join us at the convening provided the opportunity to discuss strategies for how the rich education and industry partnerships that are a hallmark of the Empire State STEM Learning Network can advance the future of STEM education and economic growth in New York State.

Q: What were the main points of their presentations?

A: Lieutenant Governor Hochul chairs New York’s 10 Regional Economic Development Councils that have transformed the state’s economy by building upon regional strengths through long-term strategic plans.

The councils include leaders from academia, business, labor and not-for- profits. The lieutenant governor also chairs the State Workforce Investment Board, which addresses a serious concern of businesses: the lack of skilled workers. At the convening, she discussed ways we could build upon the rich education/business partnerships in the Empire State STEM Learning Network to help more students graduate from high school and college prepared for 21st-century careers in information technology, manufacturing, health care and other high-need STEM fields.

SUNY Chancellor Zimpher shared with network members the work she is leading with New York State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia to advance TeachNY — a campaign to promote the teaching profession while improving the state’s delivery of teacher preparation programs by expanding clinical practice, generating investment for professional development that spans the career of a teacher and creating regional councils to ensure future teachers will meet projected demand ( https://www.suny.edu/teachny ).

Duncan-Poitier, SUNY senior vice chancellor for community colleges and the education pipeline, shared examples of ways SUNY is working to strengthen the STEM education pipeline by bringing evidence-based strategies to scale.

For example, through a partnership with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, SUNY is leading a major initiative to scale-up the Carnegie Foundation’s highly successful Math Pathways Quantway/Statway across SUNY. Quantway and Statway are mathematics competency programs for students that have a national student success rate double the average of traditional remedial classes. Also, in 2016, SUNY was designated as one of 13 Jobs for the Future Student Success Center Networks to benchmark and scale-up “best-in-class” strategies to help community college students complete degrees and certificates.

IBM’s Litow is a founder of Pathways in Technology Early College High School, a grade 9-14 school model where students earn a high school diploma and an industry-recognized associate degree while gaining relevant work experience in a growing field. The schools create a seamless program for students to acquire the academic, technical and workplace skills and knowledge employers need.

There are currently 37 schools in the New York State P-TECH Network. P-TECH partnerships are being established across the United States and the world ( http://www.ptech.org ).

Q: How did the STEM network build relationships with these VIPs that led to their conference appearances? What steps would you recommend to other state STEM networks if they want to nurture relationships with major education officials in their states?

A: Hard work and communication. The Empire State STEM Learning Network is fortunate to have dedicated and driven education and industry leaders working tirelessly to improve and expand STEM learning opportunities for teachers and students.

At STEMxchange 2016 (December in Dallas), David Burns, director of STEM Innovations Networks for Battelle, stressed the importance and power of hard and consistent work at the goals that are important to us as STEM leaders, even when the going gets tough or when you might not think anyone is paying attention. That is what our Empire State STEM Learning Network leaders do every day.

During Lieutenant Governor Hochul’s recent visit to Long Island, Catherine Osiecki, senior educational programs administrator at Brookhaven National Laboratory and project director for the Long Island STEM Hub, described the work of the Empire State STEM Learning Network to the lieutenant governor’s team. After learning about the coordinated network of education, business and industry partners dedicated to STEM teaching and learning and workforce development, Hochul was eager to meet with network leaders to share her priorities and learn more about the work that is underway to help prepare more students for careers in STEM fields.

Hard work pays off, and when you are achieving the results that our Empire State STEM Learning Network leaders have over the past 5-plus years, people cannot help but pay attention. And communicating that hard work is equally important.

At the recent convening of the Empire State STEM Learning Network, SUNY Chancellor Zimpher challenged us to clearly identify the key characteristics and priorities that define the network. Now, at every opportunity, members share key strengths and leverage points of the network that might support the goals shared by key leaders and potential partners for advancing STEM teaching and learning and strengthening workforce development, including:

We are fortunate to have developed relationships with such prominent leaders in the state’s educational system. These relationships are extremely beneficial to our efforts to promote STEM education in New York State. The Empire State STEM Learning Network is looking forward to working with our state and national leaders and other collaborators in 2017 to help engage more students in STEM and encourage and support students in pathways to STEM careers.

Edited by Patricia Bitler , freelance writer and editor.

Looking to 2017 after STEMxchange

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 06:00:00 GMT

Last week, we gathered more than sixty STEMx leaders in Dallas for the 2016 STEMxchange conference. Each year, this is the extended meeting for STEMx members to sit down, chat, and plan collective action.

STEMxchange moves around the country each year. This year, Educate Texas, a founding member, played host. Coming from DC, it was easy to appreciate the warmer weather. I also got to meet many of the leaders from the network, and listen to their organization’s plans for 2017.

Mike Feder, Director of STEMx, on the 2017 STEMxchange meeting

One piece was immediately clear: our network is growing. For the first time, we sat down with representatives from the networks that joined in 2016. From South Carolina to the Virgin Islands , Utah to West Virginia , we met many new faces, ready to get to work for students across the country.

But gathering is the easy part, what did we get done? Here are three tidbits from our discussions that you’re welcome to steal even if you couldn’t make it to the conference.

#1 – Make your case on the Every Student Succeeds Act with allies: We’ve talked at length about “ESSA” and its impact. At the conference, I heard from states who are working *with* potential competitors for funding. These states are sitting down with groups like their local afterschool networks to present a strong, collective message to policymakers. This is how we can make real, lasting change.

#2 – Education groups want to partner with state STEM networks: Education organizations have heard ESSA’s message for state-based leadership loud and clear. We hosted experts on the STEM Works database, Connectory Exchange and Learning Blade. Each group has worked in detail with a STEMx state network to bring their programs to scale. For example, the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network and Learning Blade worked together to offer the product to every school in the state. The schools get a new tool, and the network builds a relationship with teachers and principals. Most importantly, students benefit.

#3 – STEM schools in Texas are innovating far beyond what most people expect. Kyndra Johnson, of the Lancaster Independent School District shared some of their achievements, thanks to a lasting partnership with Experience Aviation. A few years ago, they built a street-legal race car, and now they building an airplane. Wings of Hope joined the team, challenging students to build a Cessna 182. The aircraft will be used in mission projects next year, bringing medical supplies and food to other countries.

Tackling the big problems of the world through STEM education is impossible without strategic alliances and savvy partnerships. Like 100Kin10’s Talia Milgrom-Elcott said, “Each of us has a piece of this work, and it’s only going to get solved if each of us plays our part in concert with one another.”

Finally, I can’t miss the opportunity to thank our sponsors. STEMxchange wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of the Overdeck Family Foundation , Battelle , Educate Texas , and Communities Foundation of Texas .

Look forward to more STEMxchange debriefs in the coming weeks, and keep doing your part to bring STEM education to kids across the nation.

Welcome the U.S. Virgin Islands to STEMx

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 06:00:00 GMT

STEMx is branching out again — this time into the Caribbean. The STEM network of the U.S. Virgin Islands, whose main islands are St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas, is joining STEMx. To find out more about the Virgin Islands Department of Education (VIDE) and its efforts to promote STEM, we contacted Shamika Williams-Henley, state STEM director:

We spoke with Shamika Williams-Henley, STEM director for the Virgin Islands, about the implementation of STEM education in the islands.

Q: Give us some background on VIDE: What are its duties, and how many schools and students are within its jurisdiction?

A: The Virgin Islands Department of Education’s main duty is to provide quality education and learning experiences for the students of the territory. VIDE mainly oversees public education; however, there are some programs within the department that assist private and parochial schools.

We are composed of two districts: the St. Thomas-St. John District and the St. Croix District. We have approximately 13,800 students and 29 schools/activity centers.

Q: Tell us about the department’s efforts to promote STEM. How long has STEM been a priority, and are there specific STEM programs? How are you involved?

A: STEM became a priority for VIDE with its rise in popularity and importance on the national level. With the paradigm shift to STEAM (to include the arts), VIDE now focuses on STEAM education.

There are specific STEAM programs to include robotics and rocketry, and we also have smaller STEAM initiatives such as those focused on coral reefs, STEAM expos and fairs and green living initiatives. Future programs and initiatives will include collaborations with music education, cultural education and the humanities.

As the state director, I provide support and assistance to the districts to nurture their STEAM programs. I also develop and implement STEAM programs and initiatives for the students, schools and districts to participate in.

Q: Why did you decide to join the STEMx network? How do you think membership will bolster your efforts?

A: STEMx will provide the opportunity for VIDE to network and share best practices with other STEMx members. VIDE’s location makes it unique, and at times challenging, to bring meaningful experiences to the students and educators. I see STEMx as a great opportunity to discover a plethora of significant STEAM educational experiences.

A: I began my role as STEM director in January 2016. I implemented the SeaPerch underwater robotics program in both districts, and we took students to the National SeaPerch Challenge in May at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

Recently, I was awarded a grant to implement a coral reef initiative titled “Creating Local Stewards of the Reef through Targeted Marine Experience and Education.” This program is slated to kick off in January.

In September, I implemented the Engineering is Elementary program in all elementary schools in the territory.

Most important, the assistance that I provide to the districts to support their endeavors, such as identifying sources of funding, judging STEAM fairs and providing supplies for after-school robotics programs, I feel, can also be considered a great accomplishment.

Q: What are your plans for future STEM promotion?

A: Establishing strategic alliances with STEM partners throughout the territory, Caribbean and nationally.

Three-year study evaluates STEM pilot in Arizona schools

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 06:00:00 GMT

Introducing and nurturing STEM programs in schools and districts where finances are tight can be challenging. What is the best way to accomplish this task? To test its theories on implementing and expanding STEM education, the Arizona STEM Network conducted a three-year study among selected rural schools and districts in its state. The results are in. To provide information on, and outcomes of, the study, we contacted Linda Coyle, Director of Education at the Arizona STEM Network:

Linda Coyle, Director of Education for the Arizona STEM Network, details the three-year, state-wide study about implementing STEM education.

Q: Tell us about the study.

A: The three-year Helios STEM Schools Pilot program (HSSP) was part of a strategic partnership and investment by the Helios Education Foundation and Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) . The aim was to help the Arizona STEM Network develop a coordinated and effective STEM education system that provided the infrastructure, resources and metrics needed to improve educational outcomes and achievement for the state’s students.

The purpose of the HSSP was to identify models of effective implementation of STEM education teaching and learning that could be sustained, measured and replicated throughout Arizona.

To achieve this goal, the HSSP assisted sites with the integration of STEM programming by introducing the Arizona STEM Network’s STEM Immersion Guide as an overarching structure to equip educators with the knowledge, resources and skills they needed to provide their students access to quality STEM learning experiences.

To begin the process, Helios and the Arizona STEM Network released a competitive request for proposals in September 2012. This competition was open to all public and public charter schools in Arizona wanting to either begin or deepen their level of STEM implementation.

The resulting HSSP sites were selected through a competitive process from among 57 applicants. The selected pilot sites represented districts and schools in Maricopa, Coconino, Yavapai, Pima and Yuma counties and included:

Q: What is your STEM Immersion Guide? How did the study schools use the guide?

A: Educators from throughout the country are looking for a resource to establish and implement a vision for 21st century schools and classrooms. The STEM Immersion Guide (SIG) is written as an overarching framework to help chart a course for integrating STEM education in Arizona schools and districts, and, we hope, provide a resource for schools nationwide.

The SIG contains elements that support project-based, interdisciplinary STEM instruction by providing practical tools and information to enable teachers, schools, districts and administrators that want to improve student outcomes by integrating STEM.

The SIG is broken down into four STEM school models: Exploratory, Introductory, Partial Immersion and Full Immersion. Each model is further refined into six categories: leading, teaching, learning, evaluating, budgeting and sustaining. Each has specific design considerations, or attributes.

The HSSP schools began by taking the online STEM Immersion Assessment. Based on the results of their current STEM model, they dove deeper into the SIG by identifying three key attributes out of each of the six design categories. These became objectives, or “action items,” for further refinement of their existing model or could lead into a deeper model of immersion.

It is interesting to note that out of the seven districts in the HSSP program, each moved at least one to three models (levels) above where it started.

After each district identified its initial model (level) of immersion, it began to form Design Teams to create a strategic plan for school-/district-wide implementation. Throughout the process, all sites followed a carefully staged and supported process of STEM implementation that included:

Essential support provided by SFAz, helped the sites remain faithful to the process. Collaborative work with SFAz required sites to address competing factors across the system (e.g., budget limitations, teaching needs, community involvement); prioritize activities aimed at building capacity and reducing barriers; proactively address problems in one area that might negatively impact another; and utilize success in one aspect of implementation to strengthen another area.

Although site contexts and needs varied greatly, a structured process that included targeted and consistent support enabled all sites to increase the amount and quality of STEM educational experiences within their schools/district. The cumulative outcome was a higher level of STEM immersion that is likely to be sustained.

Q: Why were rural districts the focus of the study? Were any Native American schools involved?

A: The seven proposals that were funded represented a diverse range of geographic and demographic communities from across the state, spanning multiple grade levels, and represent varied educational opportunities.

Rural districts were selected due to the lack of available resources and opportunities for quality STEM professional development. In addition, Arizona is home to the second-largest Native American population nationally. Based on the tribe’s interest and commitment to integrating quality STEM programming, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community was chosen as part of this study.

During the three-year period, these sites received a total of $1.85 million in financial and on-sight technical support, professional development and targeted STEM immersion strategies to implement STEM programs and activities.

Q: What were the results of your study? Were some programs found to be more effective, or less effective, than others?

A: The STEM Education Evaluation Center at TERC (a nonprofit education research and development organization in Cambridge, Mass.) was contracted to conduct a three-year evaluation of the HSSP. Results of the mixed methods study were shared with stakeholders via quarterly updates and annual reports.

In the final report, TERC provided data on the overarching evaluation goals established for the project, providing evidence of:

Programmatic improvements influenced teacher and student growth. Descriptive T-STEM survey data indicated that participating teachers (who were involved for varying amounts of time) developed more positive attitudes in all STEM areas.

More compelling were the results from additional and more rigorous analyses of teachers who participated in the entire project. These showed statistically significant positive changes in attitude on the science, technology use, student engagement and career awareness subscales.

Although students’ long-held beliefs and attitudes are often slowest to change, we typically expect changes in classroom instruction to impact student learning. This turned out to be the case.

Across all participating sites this year, the combined average gains in mathematics and science scores were statistically significant on Galileo assessments. The results mirror those of the previous year and suggest that students made steady progress, expanding their math and science knowledge and skills during years 2 and 3 of the project.

Moreover, the analysis of individual site data identified statistically significant gains in math and science in at least two grade levels per site, with most sites achieving significant gains for students in all or almost all grade levels.

Last, the data suggest that much of the work of the HSSP is likely to continue after the grant ends. Many of the sites carefully and systematically transitioned from having grant-funded project activities to embedding them in normal educational practice within their school system. Evidence of funding through school budgets and new grants will enable key STEM programs to continue.

In addition, recent and planned expansion of STEM activities, structures that allow staff to maintain and upgrade STEM resources, and STEM awareness and cultural shifts within the schools help to ensure sustainability.

At the same time, individual sites must be vigilant in carrying out these plans, for there is also evidence of barriers to sustainability. If addressed, the notable progress of HSSP sites may be sustained, and these strong STEM educational communities will thrive well into the future.

Q: How will the results be implemented in your programs or recommendations going forward?

A: The results of the HSSP program provided the necessary tools and data to support the use of the SIG to establish a baseline and create a plan that would help schools reach their goals; look at systemic changes that would need to occur across strands (leading, teaching, learning evaluating, budgeting, and sustaining); and evaluate progress over the long-term implementation phase. We also noted limitations and offered suggestions for improvement.

Overall, the benefits of the SIG far outweighed its limitations, and in Year 3, Guides were still in use, informing the work that would impact sustainability once the project ended.

Based on each site’s systematic evaluation of its STEM attributes, reported use of the SIG, and from SFAz monitoring reports, we found that all sites increased their level of STEM immersion. This encouraged us to try the process again with other schools interested in taking the challenge.

Q: How can other districts and states benefit from the results your study?

A: We are working with an additional 20 schools in eight new districts across Arizona using the same processes described above. While these schools will not receive funding for equipment or materials, we believe the structural process for program implementation will again produce the desired results.

By providing a tool for STEM immersion that can be individually tailored to grow STEM programs organically within a school or community, we feel that other districts and states can use our resources and the results of our study to foster STEM integration in their own communities.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the study, your programs or processes?

A: If you are interested in our STEM Immersion Guide or processes for STEM implementation, contact me at lcoyle@sfaz.org . We are always interested in finding the best possible tools and resources for our teachers and welcome the opportunity to collaborate.

First look at STEM in the Trump administration

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Sun, 13 Nov 2016 06:00:00 GMT

With a new administration in the White House, come new ideas and priorities. What will education and STEM look like under the Trump administration? James Brown, Executive Director the STEM Education Coalition answers our questions in this quick interview.

What direct information do we have about education priorities in a Trump administration?

Education issues were not a main focus in this presidential campaign, but we do have some clues. In many ways, what Trump has said publicly on education is pretty well in alignment with other Republican leaders on Capitol Hill. He has spoken about the need for more local control and less federal involvement, supported expanding school choice and charter schools, he opposes Common Core. He has also spoken about privatizing college loans. There has been a lot of speculative coverage in the education trade press about what a Trump presidency would mean for different aspects of policy, but I don’t think anyone has a firm idea about many of the specifics yet.

At this stage, are published pieces like the party platform good signifiers of the administration’s priorities?

James Brown is the Executive Director of the STEM Education Coalition

Not necessarily, as education did not get nearly as much attention in the RNC platform as it has at points in the past. By comparison, in 2000 George W. Bush campaigned extensively on a detailed education platform that eventually became the No Child Left Behind law. I think the best sign of a clear direction on policy will be Trump’s appointments for Secretary of Education and who he selects for key positions in the White House. President Obama had a very strong and close relationship with Arne Duncan, his first Education Secretary. We’ll have to wait and see.

One major near-term issue will be implementation of ESSA. What levers would the new administration have to change the direction of the act? Given that the act is already focused on state-based decisions, what might they seek to change?

Over the last year since the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act there has been enormous tension between the Department of Education and Republicans on the Hill about the implementation of the new law and the interpretations of key aspects of the law like the so-called “supplement, not supplant” rule and questions related to accountability rules. There will be a lot of changes on this front and we will get a preview of them during the confirmation process for the new Secretary. ESSA has already shifted a lot of authority to the states on key decisions, but the education department will have enormous influence over funding levels for new ESSA programs and over the details of their implementation. I would imagine that the new administration would roll back some of the recent guidance issued by the Department on topics that have been very unpopular in Republican circles.

How may the change in administration change the conversation about STEM?

Placing a greater priority on STEM education has always had a very bipartisan base of support and we expect that to continue. President Obama used the so-called bully pulpit a great deal to talk about STEM education themes and the need for 21 ^st century skills to compete in a global economy. As a candidate, Trump talked a lot about putting people back to work, especially in manufacturing. You can’t do that without focusing on STEM education themes. I also expect we will see a greater focus on career and technical education and it’s linkages to STEM, which are many.

Big thank you to James for jumping in to answer our questions. Follow the coalition’s work on Twitter at @stemedcoalition or check out their website for the latest news on STEM policy.

STEMx member feature: The Utah STEM Action Center

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Utah STEM Action Center , located in Salt Lake City, recently joined the STEMx multi-state network. Earlier this year, we published a story about their annual hands-on learning event called the Utah STEM Fest . To learn about the Center, its mission and plans, we contacted its director, Tami Goetz, who shared the following:

Q: Tell us about the STEM Action Center in Utah, its history and the work that it’s doing.

A: The STEM Action Center’s mission is to be a leader in promoting STEM, identify STEM best practices in education and connect with industry to ensure Utah’s long-term economic prosperity.

Tami Goetz, director of the Utah STEM Action Center, tells us about their work and programs.

The Center was defined by statute during the 2013 state legislative session. The key to legislative support was the strong advocacy by Utah business partners. Their collective voice was heard, and the STEM Action Center opened its doors with a combination of one-time and ongoing funding July 1, 2013.

The Center has a variety of programs that support STEM education and talent development. These programs are funded with state money and corporate donations provided through the Utah STEM Foundation (the STEM Action Center’s public 501(c)3).

The Center’s programs include:

Q: Why join STEMx? How will this membership benefit the STEM Action Center?

A: Our statute allows for the Center to join a national organization. In the beginning, it was like drinking from the “tactical fire hose” for the Center’s team. It was difficult to know what we really needed during the first two years of the Center’s existence.

We have watched how STEMx brings states together to share best practices and strategize collaboratively to address common challenges. We can benefit from those conversations and apply to them our mission and vision. We also can contribute in a more meaningful way to the dialogue between states.

Q: What are your biggest accomplishments so far?

A: Establishing a public 501(c)3. This was much more challenging as a state entity than anticipated, and it took two years and many iterations in the planning process. It has changed the conversation with corporate partners and given us a level of legitimacy that was missing.

Students at the 2015 Utah STEM Fest

I also want to give a big “shout out” to our partners at the Utah State Board of Education , school districts and charter schools. They have worked with us to design and launch the Center, which was a very different and disruptive model (see below). The relationships are strong and continue to grow and help us transform how we collaborate to help our educators and students.

The data are showing that math and science scores, along with interest in STEM careers, have been steadily increasing over the past three years. I think that our work, with our amazing partners in the districts and schools and Utah companies, plays some role in that success.

Q: What are your plans for the immediate future and beyond?

A: To work on a more robust and intentional strategic plan. This is a natural process in the Center, to outgrow a strategic plan that was more appropriate for the start-up. We are no longer in the “toddler phase.” We are now in the “awkward teenager phase,” pushing for greater independence and responsibility. We need a strategic plan that reflects how we get to “adulthood.”

We are also excited about our K-16 Computing Pathway initiative. We have been working closely with our industry partners to address the lack of access for our students to computing courses and provide solutions to a shortage of qualified teachers — all that resulting in articulated pathways, with stackable credentials, to fill the talent needs of Utah companies.

As for beyond, we want to grow an endowment with our public 501(c)3 and ensure that our programs align with the needs of our stakeholders in K-12, industry, higher education, as well as our community and cultural partners.

Q: What policies and practices of the STEM Action Center do you hope to share with other members of STEMx?

A: Our model for governance has been working well. The STEM Action Center was intentionally placed outside of the Utah State Board of Education to incorporate the idea of disruptive innovation. The decision has met with some controversy, but overall it is proving to be effective.

The relationships between the STEM Action Center and the partners at the Utah State Board of Education have grown stronger as a result of this model. We have learned over the past few years how the role and function of each agency can be leveraged more effectively to meet the needs of Utah students and educators.

Computer Science framework unveiled

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 05:00:00 GMT

by Mike Feder, Director of STEMx

In 1892, an influential group of educators released a document that outlined the eleven core subjects U.S. schools should teach. ¹ They aimed to create an academic core that would prepare students for college. Since then, we’ve dropped Latin and Greek. Other than that…the list hasn’t seriously changed. Until now.

Mike Feder, Director of STEMx

Across the country, schools are working to make computer science classes available to all students. With change on this scale, states are looking to guide the creation of computer science classes with standards that outline what students need to know as they progress from first grade through high school.

Authoring standards is a difficult, time-consuming process. To speed the adoption of computer science, a wide coalition has met for the past year. They didn’t aim to write new standards. Instead, this team has built a starting point for standards committees in the states. With the participation of several STEMx members, the K-12 Computer Science Framework is ready. Read the details below.

INTRODUCING THE K–12 COMPUTER SCIENCE FRAMEWORK, A MILESTONE FOR CS EDUCATION

Committee of computer science organizations releases framework to inform implementation of computer science education throughout US

The Association for Computing Machinery, Code.org, Computer Science Teachers Association, Cyber Innovation Center, and National Math and Science Initiative are pleased to announce the launch of the K–12 Computer Science Framework. The framework is intended to inform the development of standards, curriculum, and computer science pathways, and also help school systems build capacity for teaching computer science.

Developed through partnerships with states, districts, and the computer science education community, the K–12 Computer Science Framework is a significant milestone for computer science in the United States. It promotes a vision in which all students critically engage in computer science issues; approach problems in innovative ways; and create computational artifacts with a personal, practical, or community purpose. It is important to note that the framework is not a set of standards; instead, it is a set of guidelines put forth by the community that can inform standards, curriculum, and many other supports for computer science education.

A number of corporations, nonprofits, institutions, technology professionals, and notable members of the computer science education community have announced their support of the framework, including Google, Amazon, International Society for Technology in Education, Project Lead the Way, Southern Regional Education Board, New York City Department of Education, and professors from universities such as Duke, Harvard, and Stanford. A full list of supporters is available at http://k12cs.org .

“The K–12 Computer Science Framework not only includes technical concepts about computing, but also stresses the importance of creating an inclusive culture in the field, promoting collaboration among students, and communicating effectively about technology,” said Mehran Sahami, the Associate Chair for Education in the Computer Science department at Stanford University. “In this regard, the framework provides skills that generalize beyond computer science while also giving students an understanding of fundamental computing concepts that will serve them well in whatever career they choose to pursue.” Sahami also co-chairs the Association for Computing Machinery Education Board and Education Council.

As computing has become an integral part of our world, public demand for computer science education is high. Unfortunately, the opportunity to learn computer science does not match public demand. Most U.S. schools do not offer a single course in computer science and programming (Gallup, 2015), and many existing classes are not diverse and representative of our population (College Board, 2016). State and local education agencies have begun to adopt policies and develop key infrastructure to support computer science for all students and have expressed mutual interest for guidance in this new frontier.

As a step towards solving issues of demand and diversity in this learning field, the K–12 Computer Science Framework illuminates the big ideas of computer science through a lens of concepts (i.e., what students should know) and practices (i.e., what students should do). These concepts and practices are designed to be integrated to provide authentic, meaningful experiences for students engaging in computer science.

For more information about the K–12 Computer Science Framework, including a list of practices and concepts, visit http://www.k12cs.org .

Apply to present with STEMx at NSTA forum

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 05:00:00 GMT

by Michael Feder, Director of STEMx

STEMx will be featured at the 2017 National Science Teachers Association STEM Forum and Expo. NSTA’s STEM Forum brought together over 2,000 educators last year, including a few STEMx members.

Today, I’m proud to announce that there will be a STEMx track at the 6th Annual STEM Forum. Check out the details below for information about attending and presenting.

STEMx will be partnering with NSTA at the 6th Annual STEM Forum & Expo next July in Kissimmee/Orlando where we will highlight the innovative STEM education work going on across the network. Through this partnership, NSTA has designated six STEMx sessions on July 12. We are currently accepting proposals for these sessions and NSTA is accepting session proposals for all sessions at the NSTA forum.

This applications will be reviewed by STEMx. The deadline to submit your proposal is December 5, 2016.

To maximize your chance of being accepted to present at the conference, please apply through both STEMx and NSTA.

This applications will be reviewed by STEMx. The deadline to submit your proposal is December 5, 2016.

The Forum is a unique, focused event that brings together (informal and formal) educators and business representatives from across the STEM disciplines. Tools, resources, and network management strategies are shared across the three-day meeting. The Forum provides resources for educators and organizations seeking to learn more about STEM education. We’re excited to have a presence there! Read about the strands of presentations at the forum here .

Recapping the Next Steps Institute in South Carolina

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 05:00:00 GMT

We were eager to tell you about the Next Steps Institute, a recent education conference that featured no less than five different STEMx members. Here’s a brief summary from Dr. Carol O’Donnell and Katherine Blanchard about the full “State Leaders in STEM” pathway. But, just as importantly, we wanted to know how this conference changed minds. For that angle, see the answers from Dr. Tom Peters at South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science.

Dr. Carol O’Donnell
is Director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center which co-organized the Next Steps Institute

Dr. Carol O’Donnell and Katherine Blanchard: The Smithsonian Science Education Center teamed up with the South Carolina Coalition for Mathematics and Science and the South Carolina Afterschool Alliance to host the 2016 Next Steps Institute in Charleston, SC on September 26-28. Close to 300 individuals and teams from across the country came together to gain advanced leadership training in one of seven different Pathway topics. The Smithsonian Science Education Center hosted the “State Leaders in STEM” Pathway designed for those striving to create robust statewide or regional STEM networks. Participants engaged in problems of practice to develop an action plan for their own region while learning from experts around the country who are effectively building their statewide STEM initiatives. This took place over 5 blocks designed to support participants to:

1. Develop an understanding of the elements necessary to create a strong State or regional STEM education network.
2. Build a community of professionals committed to improving education for all students.
3. Draft an action plan for beginning or growing your State or regional STEM network.

Katherine Blanchard is a Professional Services Program Specialist for the Center

Block 1 included Jennifer Zinth from the Education Commission of the States, who identified three components necessary for a State STEM initiative to succeed: (1) statewide coordination/infrastructure; (2) adequate and reliable funding; and, (3) evaluation and quality assurance. These three components served as the foundation for participants to develop their own action plans. Carol discussed the Smithsonian Science Education Center’s LASER ( Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform ) model, as one model for infrastructure used by districts, States, and Ministries of Education around the world to systemically implement and scale-up STEM education networks.

Block 2 introduced participants to the process of starting a STEM initiative where they took an inventory of the programs and people already existing in their regions. Dr. Reo Pruiett, Director of Programs at Educate Texas and Dr. Paul Ainslie, Managing Director of STEMx member Indiana-STEM focused on key elements that help to identify challenges and support success for an emerging STEM network.

In block 3, “Growing Your STEM Network,” participants took a deeper dive into what it takes to scale up a STEM initiative across the entire State. Participants were introduced to different models for successfully managing STEM initiatives, followed by discussions with Dr. Samuel Houston, CEO of STEMx member North Carolina Science, Math, and Technology Education Center and Wesley Hall, Director of STEMx member Tennessee STEM Innovation Network who shared the work that they have done to scale their networks in different contexts.

Block 4 focused on “Sustaining Your STEM Network” and addressed the common challenges that States face is sustaining and growing an initiative. Presenters from three States—Amber McCulloch from the Washington State Office of the State Superintendent and Brenda Terry of the Alabama Math, Science, Technology and Engineering Coalition for Education (who both discussed how their States used LASER to scale up reform statewide); and, Tom Peters, of STEMx member South Carolina Coalition for Mathematics and Science—shared how they have implemented these models to scale up STEM reform across their State.

The Pathway closed with a discussion about “Developing Advocates and Partners for STEM Education at the National Level” focused on the work of national STEM Education Networks. Presenters included Dr. Michael Feder, Director of STEMx; Tedd Wells, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of STEMConnector; and Dr. Linda Rosen, CEO of Change the Equation. Resources were shared with participants, including Change the Equation’s “ Vital Signs ” portal, which examines the health of K-12 STEM education state by state, and “ A State Policymaker’s STEM Playbook ” published by the Education Commission of the States.

To learn more about the Next Steps Institute please visit: http://www.thenextstepsinstitute.org/ .

Dr. Tom Peters explains what he took away from the Next Steps Institute

Turning to Tom, what did you learn during the Pathway?
As a leader and sustainer of South Carolina’s STEM network, I have tended to operate on the principle of strategic opportunism. By this, I meant that when an an opportunity finds me, I figure out a way to make it fit it with strategy. The state leaders pathway was geared more to being guided by strategy in seeking opportunity. The difference may seem subtle, but it’s not. It’s also not an either/or approach for network success. As network leaders, we need to be mindful of both having a plan and being open to opportunity that was not included in our best laid plans.

What are you following up on from the Pathway?
On reflection, perhaps the way in which leaders balance strategy and opportunity is at least in part driven by history. Our network was born of strategy (an NSF grant) and sustains on opportunity. Returning to my statewide network, where I am mentoring three new regional leaders, I have to be mindful of my bias toward opportunity over strategy. Participating in the State Leaders in STEM Pathway has given me language and a planning framework that can guide our conversations about coordination of efforts, funding and evaluation of our work.

Washington school district believes in CS for all

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Should your school district be teaching computer science? If so, at what grade level should you begin? In the Bellevue School District in Washington state, students are learning the subject from kindergarten up. We contacted Greg Bianchi, the district’s STEM curriculum developer as well as a project consultant with Washington STEM , for some insight:

Q: How are you involved in the effort to incorporate computer science in K-12 classrooms? Is this just in your school district, or is it a statewide effort?

Greg Bianchi, Bellevue School District’s STEM curriculum developer and project consultant for Washington STEM, provides insight to why schools should teach computer science and when they should start.

A: As a STEM curriculum developer, I am focused on creating a K-12 computer science (CS) pathway for all students. This means developing and implementing CS curriculum, as well as providing professional development to teachers.

I am also involved at the state level, where I have worked with Washington STEM on the adoption of K-12 CS standards for our state. Washington STEM is now working with the state on a CS implementation plan, and I am assisting with this effort.

At a national level, the launch of the CS for All consortium is a great indicator of the momentum this work has acquired. Both the Bellevue School District and Washington STEM are members of this consortium.

Q: What prompted this effort?

A: This effort stems from the recognition that CS skills are relevant in every career field. In fact, the majority of CS jobs are found outside the software industry, and the gap between jobs and qualified employees is growing larger by the day. Therefore, equipping students with these skills is essential in preparing them for success in college, career and life.

Additionally, we believe that long-standing opportunity gaps related to gender and ethnicity in this field must be addressed. To reach all students, we need to prioritize the early introduction of these skills, and we need to integrate CS into core subjects.

Q: Are teachers and parents on board?

A: Both parents and teachers have welcomed the addition of CS to K-12 classrooms. They understand the value of these skills and recognize how engaging this subject matter is for students.

That said, we are constantly working to spread the message to all members of our community. One great strategy has been the family coding and engineering nights we run at all elementary schools. These outreach events are designed to build community awareness and support for this work. We think these events are particularly important in terms of reaching those who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.

Q: What is involved in the teacher training?

A: Quality professional development starts with communicating the rationale for the work, and then turns to developing the necessary skills in teachers. Fortunately, there are terrific open-source tools available that support the incremental development of CS skills in teachers and students.

Code.org is probably the best example. We have found that K-8 teachers quickly acquire the CS fundamentals they need to effectively teach this content to students. Part of our role in professional development is helping teachers build their confidence and recognize that teaching CS is great fun. In professional development, we model the same strategies we want teachers to employ in the classroom, such as pair programming. (In the classroom, students work collaboratively to tackle any challenge in computer science. One member of the pair is the driver, controlling the keyboard and entering the code. The other member is the navigator, providing guidance, focusing on the big picture and suggesting what to do next. Students switch roles often.)

Every professional development session we run focuses on equity issues in CS and how teachers can create inclusive environments for all students.

Q: Where is the funding coming from?

A: In Bellevue, we have received substantial funding from our schools’ foundation, which helped us get an early start on CS education. Scaling this work more broadly will require a significant investment of public and private funds.

For example, the state recently provided funds for our district to work in partnership with Seattle Public Schools on the development of curriculum and professional development resources. In turn, our commitment is to share the products of this work with all K-12 systems in Washington and beyond. Our open source materials will be available at cs4allkids.org within the next two weeks.

Ultimately, reaching all students in Washington will require a substantial investment in professional development at all levels.

Q: What special equipment is needed?

A: You can accomplish a lot of great CS learning with fairly basic equipment. In fact, many CS concepts can be taught in unplugged fashion with no equipment at all.

Ultimately, students will require a set of laptops or tablets that can be shared between classrooms. Even within a classroom, students often share equipment because we have emphasized a collaborative approach to problem solving.

Q: How is CS taught at the various levels from K through 12? Is it woven into existing courses, or is it considered its own course?

A: CS is taught in multiple ways in our district, depending on the grade level. We absolutely believe there should be time dedicated to developing CS skills at K-5. To that end, we intend for our elementary students to complete the Code.org CS fundamentals courses.

However, we also recognize the tremendous value of integrating CS within other subject areas. For example, our middle school students have used Scratch (a free website offering programming language) to model their understanding of scientific phenomena, such as the interactions of organisms in an ecosystem.

Art is another great example. We invested in littleBits , which are modular electronic components that students combine with conventional art materials to create kinetic sculptures. This type of project pulls together learning standards from art, computer science and science.

A student built a kinetic sculpture using littleBits.

At early elementary, we invested in Bee-Bots , which are small, programmable robots that can be used to teach math and literacy.

All of these additions to our curriculum complement our traditional, elective-based CS path at the secondary level.

Q: Are you especially reaching out to groups who might not be considered traditional CS students — girls, minorities and disabled students?

A: Eliminating opportunity gaps in CS education is foundational to our entire initiative. We are targeting every student, especially girls, students of color and those with disabilities.

Sarah Brewer created Braille coding blocks showcasing the concept of diversity in computer science.

We have quickly scaled our work across the district because the message of equity resonates with our teachers. The mindset of CS for All is infectious, and the results are inspiring.

One example of this is the LEGO WeDo robotics program, a free after-school opportunity for all K-5 students. Our teachers run these after-school clubs, and they do an amazing job of recruiting students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM. The Bellevue Schools Foundation covers the expense of the robots and a portion of the activity pay that teachers receive.

Another wonderful example are the Braille coding blocks developed by my colleague Sarah Brewer. She designed and 3-D printed these blocks for a student who otherwise couldn’t engage in the coding work with her peers.

That is what we mean by CS for All.

How ESSA will change K-12 STEM education: What state leaders and STEM professionals need to know

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The newly enacted bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes a flexible block grant program that will provide more hands-on learning for at-risk students, pay for these students to participate in STEM competitions, and bring other academic subjects, including the arts, into STEM subject programs.

Join state leaders, teachers and STEM professionals for a webinar on the new federal education law and its impact on K-12 STEM education, Wednesday, October 5 at 6:30 p.m. Speakers during this interactive, 90 minute webinar–co-sponsored by the National Science Teachers Association , the STEM Education Coalition and STEMx —will discuss key STEM provisions in ESSA, and how stakeholders can help to advocate and support continued STEM learning in their communities.

Learn more about the webinar and register here .
Learn more about ESSA here and here .

Is Ag the answer to STEM?

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 05:00:00 GMT

This week’s blog post is a piece written by Dr. Kristopher Elliott, Director of STEM for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools . The original post can be found at www.agfoundation.org .

Dr. Kristopher Elliott, Director of STEM for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, identifies agriculture to be a connection between STEM learning and students’ lives.

There is no doubt that STEM has become a hot topic in education. Teaching science and math with a silo approach does not reflect the real world and often falls short of giving students the ability to problem solve as critical thinkers, a vital skill set business and industry are becoming more and more vocal about. Moreover, the interest in STEM has started to materialize in the form of grants, private funding opportunities and block funding to many schools and districts across the country.

With all of this interest, it can seem like a no brainer to move toward more purposeful STEM instruction, but this is easier said than done. If you’ve ever done a search for STEM curriculum, you will quickly find that the problem is not a lack of information. It is actually quite the opposite; your browser will be full of lessons, resources and activities, often to the point it becomes overwhelming. Additionally, cherry picking cool lessons without a comprehensive approach to STEM instruction can cause confusion among students – they need to know where it all fits together in a way that connects to their own lives.

Agriculture may be the answer.

One thing is for certain, in order to survive, your students need food, fiber and shelter – all of which are provided by agriculture. Surprisingly though, most students don’t seem to make that connection, and furthermore, many teachers don’t recognize how agriculture can be a useful context to teach STEM. But without an agricultural background, how do teachers use this context as a teaching tool? How does an urban educator connect students with agriculture when many of them are generations removed from the farm and live far from production areas? The answer is pretty simple actually: Know the resources available to you. Organizations like the American Farm Bureau Foundation , Agriculture in the Classroom Organization and Beef Checkoff , offer numerous resources for teachers to incorporate agriculture and STEM concepts into the classroom. For example, when discussing genetics with students, teachers can explore how purposeful selection of breeding stock in beef animals has helped produce leaner animals with more efficient feed conversion ratios.

Students discover STEM connections to agriculture by learning the technology that farmers use.

Additionally, science, engineering and technology has produced equipment that can sort sperm cells in order to produce female offspring, which are much more valuable to beef breeders. And if ethical concerns arise in such discussions, the use of socioscientific issues can help guide discussion of how ethics keep up with our scientific and technological developments.

The technological advancements in agriculture, particularly with regard to sustainability, GPS and computers, are staggering. For example, computers and software can help farmers more precisely apply fertilizers, leading to less waste and potential runoff. Modern tractors drive themselves, can call the service technician when they need maintenance and even give their exact location so the technician will have precise directions. With all of this in mind, teachers will find just a few clicks can help them locate lessons rooted in agriculture that have standards based scientific, mathematical, technological and engineering applications. Agriculture is a great option for teachers to engage students in STEM concepts in a way that directly and indirectly impact their lives.

Get the resources! Learn about Beef!

Read more about STEM and agriculture: What is a Farmer? Mooving with STEM

Dr. Kristopher Elliott was a participant in American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture’s On the Farm STEM experience. Learn more here .

What’s next for the billion dollar Perkins Act

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Perkins Act , a major piece of federal legislation that provides more than $1.1 billion in funding annually for America’s career and technical education programs, is up for re-authorization in Congress. To pin down the status of this important measure, we asked Thomas Phillips, a congressional affairs specialist for Battelle , about what’s next for the act:

Q: What are the main provisions of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, and when does it run out?

Thomas Phillips, congressional affairs specialist at Battelle, provides background about The Perkins Act.

A: The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV) was the most recent re-authorization of the original Perkins Act (first authorized in 1984) whose original goal was increasing the quality of technical education in the United States.

As one of its main provisions, Perkins IV focused not only on technical achievement, but also on high academic standards. The goal of the re-authorization in 2006 was aligning secondary and post-secondary education outcomes and improving accountability.

The major new provision at the time was the inclusion of “programs of study” as necessary parts of the state plan. These programs of study were meant to link academic content with technical skill. Originally due for re-authorization at the end of 2012, Perkins IV was given a one-year extension to the end of fiscal year 2013. However, despite that extension, it has not been officially reauthorized, and although Congress continues to fund the grant program, it does so below pre-sequestration funding levels, leaving many states at or below their funding levels from 1998.

Q: Why should educators — and, in general, taxpayers — care about this legislation? What positive, or negative, changes in education has it brought about?

A: At its core, Perkins is concerned with expanding educational opportunity while allowing students to utilize alternative pathways to post-secondary education or a career. Educators and taxpayers alike benefit from programs that are designed to give students the necessary skills to productively enter the workforce, while affording them the opportunity to gain further education.

To this point, the Perkins grant program has been the federal government’s largest investment in high schools and post-secondary institutions offering career and technical education — an investment that continues to play a critical role in closing the skills gap.

Q: Perkins was due for re-authorization more than three years ago. Why is it coming up now?

A: Since the expiration of Perkins IV, there has been a lot of work happening in Congress on education issues, but there has also been a lot of gridlock. For instance, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) , which was signed into law this year, was written as the new — albeit late — re-authorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which expired in 2007.

That said, this new Perkins re-authorization is aligned with the goals of ESSA, and to answer your question, I think that before lawmakers moved forward with Perkins, they wanted to establish a more state-focused educational framework than the one they had with NCLB. In short, they wanted to tackle one problem at a time.

Q: What, if any, are the important proposed revisions in the Perkins re-authorization?

Additionally, H.R. 5587 advances the concepts of aligning career and technical education with the needs of the labor market (WIOA) and increased flexibility for states and localities (ESSA). Finally, it is a six-year authorization, beginning with $1.133 billion in fiscal year 2017 and gradually increasing to $1.213 billion in fiscal year 2022.

(These are authorization levels; annual funding legislation must be passed for such funding to be appropriated.)

In terms of major changes, H.R. 5587 eliminates the Title II program of Perkins IV known as “Tech Prep”; however, Title II hasn’t been funded since 2010, before Perkins IV expired.

Q: Where does Perkins stand in terms of re-authorization? What’s next in the process?

A: In terms of the process, many variables exist, but here’s what we know:

Q: If it does, what are the consequences? What would be its chances of success next year if the administration and/or Congress changes parties?

A: This is a tough question to break down without getting too far into the weeds — on the one hand, if no action is taken during September, there still might be time before the end of the year and before the administration changes. That’s the ideal scenario.

That said, if the Senate were to change hands, there is no guaranteeing that the proposed changes that ESSA makes would be around long enough to be implemented, and then it would be back to square one for this iteration of Perkins, which was shaped by ESSA’s focus on flexibility for states.

Q: If the Perkins legislation is not reauthorized, do other sources exist for the funding it provides?

A: As I mentioned earlier, despite Perkins being expired, Congress still provides funding for the grant program. If this legislation does not pass, Perkins most likely would be funded at a level similar to the past few years.

Paul G. Allen and Vulcan Inc. offer DIY grants and resources

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Dave Ferrero, Senior Program Officer for Education at Vulcan Inc., and his team have released project-based STEM resources for teachers and grants to incentivize early adopters. These “DIY project guides” were created by recipients of the Allen Distinguished Educator Award, a program that recognizes teachers who have developed innovative ways to teach computer science, engineering, and entrepreneurship. We wanted to know more about these resources and how they can encourage more innovative teaching and learning in K-12 classrooms.

Can you describe more about the projects, DIY Guides, grants and how these were developed?

Dave Ferrero joins us again to talk about grants for teachers (one due Sept. 5) and other resources

We’ve learned that creative and resourceful teachers are always looking for new ideas to try out with their students. When we created the Allen Distinguished Educators award we wanted not only to honor innovative teachers, but also to share their work with other teachers like them. We worked with the awardees to select projects they thought would travel well and turn them into “DIY Guides”—basically project plans with interactive “guided tours” to help teachers get started.

Teachers can now choose from eleven projects on the ADE website developed by the 2014 and 2016 cohorts of awardees. The projects are complete with interactive videos, detailed project materials, and collaborative discussion forums. Projects range from synthetic tissue design to ethnographic video game creation to arcade game engineering. We’re excited about them, which is why we’re offering micro-grants to teachers.

K-12 teachers in private, public, and charter schools are encouraged to select projects and apply for these micro-grants (up to $1,000) by Sept. 5, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

What is the purpose of DIY Guide grants from the Allen Distinguished Educators program, and how can they improve teaching and learning experiences in K-12 classrooms?

The ADE program is founded on the principles that student-directed, hands-on, and project-based learning leads to improved educational experiences for young people, regardless of geographic location, grade level, or socio-economic status. The purpose of DIY Guide grants is to accelerate early adoption of ADE-created projects and DIY materials in a diverse range of K-12 classroom settings to show that this type of teaching and learning can happen everywhere.

The grants range from $250 – $1,000 depending on the project and class size and fund the materials needed to implement the project and time needed to report back their experience. Feedback from the grantees will help us enhance the replicability of the DIY Guides.

You mentioned that teachers are encouraged to adapt these projects to suit their unique classroom environments, can you explain more about your expectations and experience when it comes to adapting these projects?

We want teachers to break, change and re-work the projects in a way that works best for them. Some of the projects were developed by teachers who have makerspaces, cutting-edge technology, or design labs, and we understand that not all teachers have access to these resources. Additionally, some projects developed for high school students can lead to great success, with the right modifications, in a third grade classroom.

Our first group of DIY Guide grantees have already produced creative adaptations to some of these projects. Annamarie Wyland, a middle school teacher from Bothell, WA, added a cardboard box prototyping to her 52-Minute Challenge project to engage students in a hands-on activity. Alaine Davis, a special education teacher from Waynesburg, PA, modified the math portion of the 53 Miles Per Burrito project to better suit the skill-level of her students. Davis also plans to use pizza instead of burritos the next time she implements this project in order to accommodate a tighter budget.

The grant deadline is coming up quickly on Monday, Sept. 5 – What are your suggestions for teachers still interested in applying for the grants?

The first thing I would say is, this is a very quick application to fill-out. It should only take 15 minutes to complete. As for the process, I recommend teachers explore projects they are interested in , and consider how they would adapt this to fit their class before applying. If they have any questions, they are welcome to reach out to the ADE program directly at info@allendistinguishededucators.org or join the discussion threads on the DIY Guide project pages.

Progress in Colorado and more from NSTA STEM forum

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 05:00:00 GMT

by Michael Feder, Director of STEMx

There seem to be an ever growing number of STEM education conferences convened each year. It can be difficult to know which conference is right for you and STEM educators in your state.

Why did you choose to present at the NSTA STEM Forum and were your expectations met?

Liz Kuehl represented STEMx member Colorado at the NSTA STEM Forum

The NSTA STEM Forum offered an opportunity to share information about the collective work of Colorado STEM with a broad, national audience. We believe our vibrant grassroots statewide effort has strong multi-sector industry engagement. We wanted to share our model with educators and STEM implementers to (1) share an example of what an infrastructure like Colorado STEM does to advance STEM education, and (2) engage educators in a dialogue around how this type of a network might support their efforts.

What did you hope the audience would take away from your session?
The goal for the session was to provide an overview of the role Colorado STEM has played in our state and to provide the audience with ways to engage. This work has not happened in a vacuum. It’s the product of Colorado companies, state agencies, high education, community partners, districts, and educators coming together to call for access to high-quality STEM education for all learners to fill Colorado’s STEM jobs. Our goal was to tell our story to make new connections, learn from other states, and collectively move this work forward.

What did you find most useful about the NSTA STEM Forum and Expo overall? What set it apart from other STEM conferences you have attended?
I enjoyed hearing from educators from across the country and learning about their perspectives and work. It was a group of like-minded, dedicated professionals who are all working to ensure students have access to promising STEM careers.

Would you recommend other members of STEMx participate in or attend this conference in the future?
I would recommend other members of STEMx participate in the conference, especially STEM educators.

Is there anything else about the conference or your session that you want us to include in the newsletter?
Check out our website: www.STEMforColorado.org

Other STEMx members at NSTA

I got hear two other presentations from STEMx members. Unfortunately, I don’t have materials to share with you, but here’s a little about their presentations. If you’re interested in learning more about either, drop a comment on this post and I’ll pass it along.

Green STEM in Guam: A District-Wide Initiative That Works
Hear about the district development and implement of a district-wide STEM Strategic Plan that is effectively building and supporting STEM programs across the district. Find out how Guam has connected to island resources supporting green STEM initiatives that allow students to work on real place-based issues. Sample K–12 projects will be highlighted – Anne Tweed (McREL International) and Leah Beth Noholowaa (Guam Department of Education)

What Does English Have to Do with STEM?
Come hear from the English department of a STEM magnet school on how they have used constant innovation and advocacy—both on the part of students and themselves as professionals—to develop a unique program that inspires students by tapping into collective strengths; resulting in high achievement across subjects for all students. – Tressie Norton, Darryl Fannon, Sean Blevins, Luke Bell and Misty Brown from L&N STEM Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee

STEMx partners at NSTA STEM Forum

Army’s outreach
Our returning readers have heard about the Army Educational Outreach Program, a portfolio of STEM programs reaching more than 30,000 kids a year. Louie Lopez manages this partnership from the Army side. We were fortunate to host Louie at the 2015 STEMxchange meeting. Listening to his updated presentation, I was struck by how the program has grown in the last year.

Congressional staff briefed on rural afterschool

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Note from Director Mike Feder: STEMx readers, I read this post a few weeks ago. It offers some critical details, both about the importance of afterschool programs but also on how the Afterschool Alliance keeps legislators briefed. With permission, we’re cross-posting this information.

by Erik Peterson for the Afterschool Alliance, original post

The benefits provided by afterschool programs can be integral to the fabric of a rural community—including STEM learning experiences, community connections, caring mentors, and healthy snacks and meals. On July 26th, a Senate Afterschool Caucus briefing on “Afterschool in Rural America” highlighted research and experiences from providers that demonstrates how rural parents not only view afterschool programs as a support system for children’s academic growth, social development, and overall health and wellness, but how they also regard programs as a critical resource for working families.

An audience of Congressional staffers and representatives from national organizations heard from an expert panel about why the demand for afterschool programs in rural America is even greater than the overall national demand:

Nikki Yamashiro , director of research for the Afterschool Alliance, spoke on data gathered from parents and rural afterschool providers and featured in the 2016 America After 3PM Special Report: The Growing Importance of Afterschool in Rural Communities , sponsored by John Deere. Nikki reported on statistics about the demand for afterschool, including the finding that 3.1 million rural children who aren’t in an afterschool program would be enrolled in a program if one were available. She also noted how parents say that afterschool supports children and families, and that rural support for public investment in afterschool is strong. She also touched on the challenges faced by rural providers, including those challenges around providing quality STEM learning opportunities.

Liz Nusken , technical advisor for the YMCA of the USA, spoke about rural afterschool from the perspective of a national afterschool program provider. She painted a clear picture of what a rural YMCA program looks like, and the ways that YMCAs and schools work together in rural communities with key academic and behavioral outcomes. In particular, her presentation spoke to the work of the YMCA Achievement Gap Initiative in rural communities.

Tammy Shay , director of programs, policy and communications for the Maryland Out of School Time (MOST) Network , talked through rural afterschool from a state perspective covering three key areas:

Tammy also detailed the Maryland STEM ambassador program as an example of how statewide afterschool networks create a bridge and make essential connections between community assets in rural areas across the state.

This briefing covered an important topic for the afterschool field. America After 3PM research found that for every one rural child in an afterschool program, there are three more rural children who are missing out on the amazing opportunities that afterschool programs have to offer. Afterschool supporters and providers can learn more about rural afterschool programs through the 2016 America After 3PM Special Report: The Growing Importance of Afterschool in Rural Communities and the rural afterschool data dashboard .

Ohio student team creates water filter from litter

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Cross-posted from the Ohio STEM Learning Network .

To find students applying STEM learning to real-life problems, look no further than four Gahanna Middle School East eighth-graders.

As their entry in an eCYBERMISSION competition sponsored by the Army Educational Outreach Program, the student team came up with a waste-saving, water-purifying idea that has garnered $25,000. Julia Bray, Luke Clay, Natalie Clay and Ashton Cofer created a process called Styro-Filter, which aims to convert polystyrene waste (disposable foam cups, plates, coolers and packing material) into activated carbon for water filtration.

In June, their idea won a $5,000 STEM-in-Action grant at the eCYBERMISSION national judging event in Washington, D.C. The project also garnered a $20,000 award in a FIRST LEGO League competition. We asked team member Ashton, who is 14 years old and will attend ninth grade at Columbus Academy in the fall, to tell us about the project and the process:

Registration for eCybermission teams is open and the deadline to register is December 7, 2016.

Ashton Cofer, previous eighth grader at Gahanna Middle School East, talks with us about his team’s Styro-Filter.

Q: Tell us about your team, how you got together and how you chose your project.

A: We are friends from school, and we all enjoy playing soccer. Last year, a couple of our team members took a trip to Central America and were overwhelmed by the amount of plastic-foam trash littered on the beach. After further research, we found that the existing solutions to recycle plastic foam were limited, and that inspired us to think of a solution.

Q: What did the project involve? How often did you work on it, and how did you divide the tasks?

A: Our project was a process to convert plastic-foam trash into activated carbon for purifying water. We started working on it in summer 2015, and we met a couple of times a week on our own time. At each meeting, we gave out assignments for each team member to work on and used Google Docs to share our findings.

Q: Did adults help you?

A: Our coaches guided us and helped schedule meetings, because we are all very busy. They also helped us communicate with experts, who gave us advice.

Q: What part of the project was the most fun? What part was the hardest?

Q: What did you learn from completing this project?

A: We have learned a lot about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But, more important, we learned that we can take our invention to the next level, and how a small idea can lead to something much greater.

Q: Your project won a grant from eCYBERMISSION and one from the FIRST LEGO League! What will the grants be used for?

A: We received a $5,000 STEM-in-Action grant, which we plan to use toward filing a full patent on our Styro-Filter process. We also received $20,000 from the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award, sponsored by XPRIZE. We plan to use the grant to further our research, development and testing of Styro-Filter.

Q: Will you try to market your invention?

A: We would first like to work with partners to further test and develop our solution, and that would include increasing the effectiveness of our activated carbon.

Q: If you did the project again, would you do anything differently?

A: We would definitely have liked to have done the tests right the first time, because the many failures strongly discouraged us at the beginning, and we were close to giving up.

Q: Would you recommend eCYBERMISSION to other kids?

A: We would definitely recommend the eCYBERMISSION competition to other kids. We learned a lot, and it also prepared us for the real world where people work together on projects. We also learned that things don’t always work on the first try, but after a lot of hard work and testing, it can really pay off.

John Clay, employee at Battelle and father of Natalie and Luke, helped the team as their personal technical consultant.

As Ashton Cofer said, adults helped to guide the Gahanna Middle School East team in the eCYBERMISSION project. One of those adults is John Clay, father of team members Luke and Natalie Clay and an employee of Battelle . He shared a bit about his role in the project:

Q: How did you become involved with the eCYBERMISSION project?

A: My son, Luke, has been part of a robotics team with Ashton Cofer for three years. In the past year, Luke’s twin sister, Natalie, also participated in the team, including going to eCYBERMISSION this past year.

Q: What was your role with the team?

A: My role would best be described as a technical consultant. I have a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and was able to review the team’s project and provide feedback on some of the technical issues.

Q: Do you think participating in this project was a positive learning experience for the team members?

A: The eCYBERMISSION experience has been outstanding. The kids have learned a lot, got exposure to public presentation of complex technical issues, and were mentored by excellent role models while in the Washington, D.C., area for the competition.

Q: Would you recommend others — adults or students — take part in a similar project with eCYBERMISSION?

To learn more about how to get involved in eCYBERMISSION, visit http://www.ecybermission.com .

Edited by Patricia Bitler , freelance writer and editor.

Announcing the STEMx Advisory Board

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 05:00:00 GMT

by Mike Feder , STEMx Director

Today, I’m incredibly proud to announce to you a major step forward for STEMx.

We’re announcing the first six members of the STEMx Advisory Board. The formal press release is below. I urge you to take a look at these six strong advocates for STEM. They’ll provide us detailed guidance moving forward.

In particular, I want to draw your attention to the diversity of groups these leaders represent. Naturally, we have strong representation from STEMx members. Here Patrick D’Amelio from Washington STEM, Dr. Thomas Peters from South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics & Science, and Angela Hemingway from the Idaho STEM Action Center are joining the board.

We also have Dr. David Evans, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Reginald McGregor will help provide a business perspective, with his deep connections at Rolls Royce. And we’re proud to have Dr. Anita Krishnamurthi, from the Afterschool Alliance, who will help understand how to better sync up with the extensive reach of afterschool providers.

This intersection of STEM education advocates, business, and other groups is key to helping us achieve our goals. Please help me give warm welcome to these members of our team.

Read the release on Battelle’s website here .

Detailed evaluation guides Iowa STEM

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 05:00:00 GMT

How are STEM programs doing in your state? Are they reaching the students who need them the most? Are they effective in inspiring and educating the next generation of skilled, innovative and inventive game-changers? How does a state evaluate its STEM programs? The annual report of the Iowa STEM Monitoring Project can serve as a guideline. We asked Jeff Weld, executive director of the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and associate professor of biology at the University of Northern Iowa at Cedar Falls, to give us background on his state’s annual report:

Jeff Weld plays a key role in Iowa’s evaluation process. He’s the executive director of the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and associate professor of biology at the University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls.

Q: What motivated your team to conduct this evaluation?

A: Iowa’s 5-year-old statewide STEM initiative is evaluated every year by an independent consortium of evaluation centers of the state’s three public universities. They were commissioned by the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council to conduct a study in year 1, and funding has been reserved each year for an annual assessment. Our motive is a desire to have an external, objective eye on our work that can provide data upon which we can gauge progress and make decisions moving forward.

Q: How did you conduct this evaluation? Did you have a large budget and staff, or a relatively small budget and staff? If the latter, how did you do it?

A: The annual budget for statewide STEM evaluation in Iowa is $189,700, that’s just under four percent of the annual STEM state appropriation. The evaluators consist of a lead individual who coordinates three institutional research centers where one or two people work part-time on Iowa STEM’s contract amid their other duties. The statewide testing service provides a wealth of data to the evaluators as well. And, the operations staff assists with data gathering.

Q: How did you choose which aspects of STEM to measure? Were just Iowa programs/students/educators evaluated, or were Iowa results compared with other states’ and/or with nationwide figures?

A: Early on, STEM Council representatives worked with the evaluation consortium to determine metrics (we are at 19 metrics) that would be annually monitored, ranging from K-12 test scores, attitudes, enrollment trends, collegiate enrollment trends, employment trends, public attitudes and more. Some national figures are monitored as backdrops for Iowa’s progress, such as NAEP and ACT scores.

Q: How did you communicate your results to your key audiences?

A: A variety of communication tactics get the word out. Each fall, when the report is delivered, the governor holds a news conference to debut the results. From there, we package key findings in the form of legislative briefs, media releases, talks and presentations to various groups, social media, etc.

A: Creativity associated with packaging news regarding the annual STEM evaluation findings comes through the STEM Council’s communications specialist working with the STEM Council’s messaging partner, advertising firm Strategic America.

Q: What, in your opinion, were the most important results of your study? Did any results surprise you, delight you or discourage you?

A: The overarching goals of the STEM Council are to increase performance and interest in STEM subjects for K-12 youth. So the metrics I personally find most valuable are those that tell us what sort of progress we’re making on those two goals. To my pleasant surprise, participants in our STEM programs are outperforming their peers in math and science on the statewide exam and are reporting stronger attitudes about study/careers in STEM. I am also pleasantly surprised that random public surveys regarding STEM unearth 90 percent support for STEM education. What continues to drive me and the entire team are lagging indicators such as growth across socioeconomic, geographic, ethnic and gender spectra. We want all young Iowans succeeding at the same pace, and that is not always so.

Q: What would you change when conducting the next evaluation?

A: If resources were limitless, we would expand the array of metrics and incorporate deep qualitative analyses that get into the “why” behind the numeric “what” that we readily see. Why do some kids thrive and not all? Why do some youth opt out of STEM coursework at the secondary level? Why do some choose STEM post-secondary study and not others?

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this annual report, the way the evaluation was conducted or any other aspect of this project?

A: This year we added two metrics: Do participants in our STEM program show a greater inclination to desire to stay and learn and work in Iowa beyond their schooling? Do graduates from Iowa schools who participate in STEM programs show greater inclination to take up post-secondary STEM studies?

The annual reports are posted publicly at http://iowastem.gov/iowa-stem-evaluation .

Edited by Patricia Bitler , freelance writer and editor.

National science agencies pool internships

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 05:00:00 GMT

by Mike Feder, director of STEMx

“Get an internship” is a ubiquitous piece of advice. I’d guess every person reading this post hasn’t just heard that piece of advice, you’ve even offered it. But, as a researcher, these are the kind of clichés that stick with me.

What’s the word on internships? They work. A literature review completed in 2013 counted 12 different studies showing impacts. The benefits to internship participants ranged from higher grades to stronger conception of themselves as a scientist.

Findings from the Engage to Excel report on the value of internships. Click here to read the report.

So, yes, internships matter. But the other truth is these opportunities are even more important for groups that have traditionally been left out of STEM. On the whole, many women and minorities do not get an education that offers them the same shot at STEM.

That’s why I was so excited to discover a new portal from the federal government’s science agencies. A few weeks ago, agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA launched a new site that showcases all of the STEM internships offered by the federal agencies.

The site, STEMundergrads.science.gov , offers a range of opportunities. Here are three internships that I thought were really interesting.

Too few minority students are given a real shot at STEM. NOAA’s program below targets young minority college students and gets them in real labs with the financial support needed to focus on research.

Click here to apply. Access more internships at STEMundergrads.science.gov .

Internships can be particularly valuable if they provide students a chance to explore STEM components of real world problems they care about. This EPA program provides students the opportunity explore the intersection of social and environmental issue.

Click here to apply. Access more internships at STEMundergrads.science.gov .

Community colleges are powerful engines for accessibility. By their nature, community college students are offered fewer opportunities for research. This internship from the Department of Energy tackles that disparity.

Click here to apply. Access more internships at STEMundergrads.science.gov .

I reached out to Susan Singer, Division Director in the Division of Undergraduate Education at NSF, to learn a bit more about how the site came together. Here’s what she had to say:

Dr. Singer worked on the team that helped build this microsite.

Fourteen Federal agencies have been working together to increase our collective impact on undergraduate STEM education. Recognizing the key role undergraduate research opportunities provide in increasing the persistence of undergraduates in STEM majors and preparing the future workforce, we have developed a single portal to simplify and increase access to the many federally supported, research opportunities for students across the nation.

I’m glad to see this kind of collaboration and the team at Science.gov deserves some real credit for making life a bit easier for students.

The attraction of magnet schools

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 05:00:00 GMT

What is the “attraction” of magnet STEM schools, and how are they different, if at all, from other STEM schools? To find out, we asked Becky Ashe, founding principal of L&N STEM Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee, about her magnet high school and magnet schools in general. She also shared information about the Magnet Schools of America annual conference:

Q: Your school, L&N STEM Academy, is a magnet high school. What, in general, is a magnet school, and how does a magnet STEM school differ from other STEM schools?

We chat with Principal Becky Ashe about magnet schools and effective conferences

A: A magnet school focuses on a theme that permeates the building’s philosophies and guides instruction — and, most important, “attracts” students to attend who might not otherwise be eligible. Several types of magnet schools, or magnet programs, exist, from “whole school” (like ours) where the entire population participates in activities that promote the theme (a popular saying is: Magnet schools should “scream their theme” as soon as people enter the doors); to “school-within-a-school” models where only a portion of the student body and faculty are active in the theme’s activities.

The overarching characteristic that makes a school a “magnet” is that it actively recruits and enrolls students targeted by the theme. A more detailed explanation is available at the Magnet Schools of America (MSA) website . We are a “whole school” magnet, but also a standalone (we have no zone where a student can live and automatically be enrolled) with open lottery enrollment. Students have no criteria to meet to be accepted; they simply must have their number drawn in a random, computerized lottery.

With respect to how a magnet STEM differs from other STEM schools, many great STEM schools nationwide are engaged in activities similar to magnets. The difference is, they might be closed to transfers, perhaps because of space or staffing restrictions. If you look at the Pillars of Magnet Schools on the MSA website , you will see overlap with the most pervasive models of effective STEM schools (student voice, interdisciplinary teaching, community involvement, etc.).

Q: Does a magnet STEM school convey the STEM curriculum and philosophy in a unique way? Do you face unique challenges as a magnet school?
A: Being a magnet STEM school doesn’t change how we implement STEM curriculum and philosophy. We still strive to align ourselves with best practices in STEM. We utilize resources obtained through relationships with STEMx and the Battelle network, our state STEM network (the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, or TSIN) and emerging rubrics from sources such as the University of Chicago Outlier study and AdvancEd’s new STEM standards .

The aspect that changes for us as a magnet school is that we always have an eye on recruiting students. “Customer service” is a priority because our staffing and resources are based on student enrollment numbers. We do not have a core of zoned students — we must build each entering class from ground zero, which adds pressure to make people aware of what we are doing year round.

Q: Switching gears a bit, when and where did you attend the Magnet Schools of America annual conference?
A: I’ve attended the past two years’ national conventions, in 2015 in Raleigh, N.C., and in May 2016 in Miami, Fla.

Q: What aspects did you find most useful?
A: The informational session about the rollout of new certification available to magnet schools by the MSA, because we are excited to be part of the first cohort of schools nationwide to go through the process to be nationally certified as a magnet school.

Q: If you could change/add to the conference, what would you do?
A: I would take lessons from the Connect for Success conference and be interdisciplinary by having sessions presented by people doing tangential research, such as the lunch and learn from 2015 where we heard from experts in business about recruiting talent and developing leadership. A conference needs to inspire us to think differently, not just validate what we are doing.

I would also shorten school-program presentations, or group them onto panels. Attendees are there to gather ideas; it is unlikely many people could take any program and implement it as presented because magnet schools tend to be community-influenced. We need to hear enough to make us curious, but not the details, and be provided contact info to follow up. School programs could be presented as roundtables in a space and rotate every 15 minutes, or do a panel presentation that is followed by a 60-minute social networking time. The best learning comes from people having dialogue, not just PowerPoint presentations.

Meals are provided, but they could be enhanced by suggesting questions or problems for discussion during the meal.

An increase in expectations for presentations is needed. The pre-conference meetings that support STEM presenters for Battelle Education at Connect for Success could be copied to improve the quality of presentations to ensure engaging activities and best practices used by presenters. The organizing committee could also be more selective in its acceptance of presenters and flexible in its scheduling. Not everyone needs an hour to describe an afterschool program.

Overall, the conference could use more clearly defined strands — along themes or grade levels, or possibly even magnet models — that are enhanced by featured speakers selected to inspire everyone to think differently about our work.

Q: Do you think other STEM educators, either in magnet schools or not, would benefit from attending this event?
A: Not as it is run now. I have experienced better STEM development at the other conferences I listed above.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell readers about the conference, or what you learned there?
A: The school visits are a nice feature of the conference. It is always beneficial to see other schools in action.

Q: Finally, to satisfy readers’ curiosity, what does “L&N” stand for in your school’s name?
A: Our school is located in a 110-year-old train station that served the Louisville & Nashville rail line. “L&N” is the name of the railroad company. If you’re ever in Knoxville, please stop in and see for yourself!

Curious about L&N’s name? The school’s built inside a historic Knoxville train station.

National Science Foundation study on inclusive STEM schools

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 05:00:00 GMT

by Mike Feder, Director of STEMx

STEM schools can be a vehicle for creating equity, setting high expectations, and an education that prepares kids for the 21 ^st century world.

As STEM advocates, we believe in these schools. But data matters just as much as our beliefs. When parents and policymakers want more than the beliefs of educators, what are the best ways to demonstrate the merits of our work?

Sharon Lynch, professor at George Washington University, has been working on exactly this problem. She is the Principal Investigator for a project on inclusive STEM high schools that has produced in-depth case studies on some impressive schools across the U.S. Lynch is also co-PI on the iSTEM study, directed by Barbara Means of SRI International, that looks at the impact of STEM schools at large scale. Both studies were funded by the National Science Foundation, and together provide a picture of the exciting potential of STEM schools.

Dr. Lynch and her team identified eight high-quality inclusive STEM schools. They built a deep qualitative study of key features across those schools .

The studies are immensely detailed, and would serve as a great resource for those studying STEM. They detail the look and feel of a school from the perspectives of students, teachers, and administrators.

The team created a series of videos profiling one of the schools – Metro Early College High School

Don’t miss the video interviews the team created, either. Through these, you can hear from students themselves about what STEM education meant to them.

Follow one student, Saya, as she works at her internship and attends classes at Metro

For me, as a former researcher, it’s so important that Lynch and Means didn’t stop at case studies. In North Carolina and Texas, The iSTEM team scoured reams of state testing data to see the measurable impact of these schools .

By combining qualitative and quantitative work, we get to see both the structure and the impact of STEM. This does many things, but critically it validates the different frameworks of STEM schools across several states, demonstrating the variety of STEM implementation at these high schools.

These are meaningful stories that bring great education to life. It’s exactly what we need to grow the influence and impact of STEM.

The comprehensive guide to the study from Dr. Lynch and her team is published at http://inclusivesteminsights.sri.com/

Welcome to Arizona’s Dr. Mary O’Reilly

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Hi Dr. O’Reilly! Can you tell us a little about what you’re working on at AZ STEM NETWORK and Science Foundation Arizona?
As I recently took over this role I have spent the last month getting to know the organization and partner groups. The AZ STEM NETWORK is a collaboration between business, educators, government and philanthropy in Arizona with a shared common agenda – to develop a strong STEM literate population and increase the number of high tech career opportunities in the state. My goal is to continue this effort and grow our industry/business partnerships and alliances with a focus on;

Dr. Mary O’Reilly will lead Arizona’s work with STEMx

You’ll be leading collaborations with STEMx in Arizona, what’s at the top of your list to work on with the network?

Working with STEMx allows us to collaborate with partners both within Arizona and states across the nation on multiple aspects of STEM education. AZ STEM NETWORK is a strong proponent of the collective impact model and we feel that these collaborations increase our ability and drive for achieving the goals of improved student achievement and a strong STEM literate community.

What’s your background?

I have spent the majority of my career prior to joining Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) three years ago working in industry on new product development and product commercialization with particular emphasis on renewable energy, electronics and materials. I started in Ireland and was fortunate to get an opportunity to transfer to work in the States, first to Chicago and now Phoenix, and to conduct business in Europe, US and Asia. From an education perspective, when I left high school like many young people I did not know quite what to do so I attended my local technical college (similar to Community College in US) and received a Diploma in Polymer Science. This enabled me to get a job as a laboratory technician and after a few years I went back to University, studied for a degree in Chemistry and then a PhD, materials science and a masters in Technology Management.

It is this experience I would like to bring to the Network and use it to build stronger industry/business alliances with the education community. I strongly believe that the transition from school to work should be seamless and young people should be well versed in their options and pathways from an early stage. This is only possible if the education, business and industrial communities are connected and working in tandem.

You really lived in some interesting places. What’s one interesting place or experience you’ve had abroad?

When I got the opportunity to go back to University to study for my degree I was able to do this in England and studied at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and later for my PhD, the Netherland. Both are very multicultural and were great first experiences in broadening my worldview.

What do you find engaging about STEM?

STEM helps explain critical aspects of the world around us and tremendous technology advancement and this is tremendously interesting and important. It has also helped refine my appreciation of other subjects such as economics, art etc. Having taken a STEM based career pathway presented me with exciting work opportunities from helping set up manufacturing facilities in the Philippines to being part of a team designing and building a 1.5MW solar facility here in Arizona. And now working with the Arizona STEM Network I have the opportunity to assist in opening up these options to more people.

Coalition report released on out-of-school learning

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 05:00:00 GMT

This post by James Brown is a cross-post from the STEM Education Coalition

The STEM Education Coalition today publicly released “ The Case for Investing in Out-of-School Learning as a Core Strategy in Improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education .” This 10-page paper written for policymakers and education leaders makes a strong case for why informal and afterschool learning must be an integral part of policies to improve STEM education across the board.

James Brown is the Executive Director of the STEM Education Coalition

Exposure to formal and informal learning in STEM subjects, beginning at an early age and continuing through high school, prepares our nation’s students for the future ahead. Supporting quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education for all children and youth is therefore vital to our country’s social and economic prosperity.

Citing the latest research on the value of informal STEM learning in cultivating student interest, expanding opportunities for higher learning, and building literacy and fluency in STEM knowledge and skills, the Coalition’s new policy document includes a range of policy recommendations to address key challenges such as integrating informal and formal learning strategies, dedicated funding for informal STEM learning, professional development for educators, and expansion of the knowledge base.

This paper was produced by the STEM Education Coalition Policy Forum and was supported by a grant from the Noyce Foundation.

The Coalition wishes to thank the many organizational contributors to the content of this paper including the Afterschool Alliance, National Science Teachers Association, Frameworks Institute, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, FIRST, American Chemical Society, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Battelle, Association for Computing Machinery, Educational Development Center, Association of Science-Technology Centers, and STEM Next at the University of San Diego.

Click here to read the full report

Partnership grant available with Army Education Outreach Program

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 23 May 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Army Education Outreach Program, or AEOP, is the Army’s platform for advancing STEM education and literacy through STEM experiences, internships and competitions. As a connector of opportunities to transform STEM education, we’re proud to issue this notification of a second round of grant opportunities for strategic initiatives from AEOP.

Organizations that support STEM education and reach underrepresented student populations OR military-dependent K-12 students can apply for the grants.

This is the second round of AEOP’s Strategic Outreach Initiatives Grant. The grant aims to:

In the first round, eight organizations were awarded grants of $45,000-$52,000 in April 2016. These organizations were selected for their leadership in STEM learning and outreach to under-represented groups, female and military-connected students.

April 2016 AEOP Strategic Outreach Initiatives Grant winners:

If you are interested in partnering with AEOP for the Strategic Outreach Initiative Grant, please respond to the Request for Information (RFI) listed on the AEOP website by May 31, 2016.

To find a description of the various STEM education programs visit usaeop.com .

Battelle is the lead member of the AEOP consortium.

North Carolina’s collaborative efforts result in “The Connectory Exchange”

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 17 May 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The NC STEM Center has leveraged its resources with resources on a national scale to create tools needed to allow a centralized database of STEM education programs using The Connectory, a national online database of STEM programs and opportunities. The NC STEM Center is a founding member of STEMx, so we chatted with Dr. Sam Houston and Lisa Rhoades about the partnership and what it means for students and teachers. NC STEM is a program of the NC Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center

What is The Connectory Exchange?

Dr. Sam Houston is President and CEO of the NC Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center

The Connectory Exchange provides partners with the turn-key system of technology, functionality and support to grow a custom directory of local STEM learning opportunities, powered by The Connectory database. The Connectory is the largest database of STEM programs in the U.S. The Connectory Exchange provides software functionality that allows a centralized and searchable database while maintaining what makes each unique. It was developed through a partnership between the NC STEM Center , Time Warner Cable and the National Girls Collaborative .

How has the Connectory Exchange benefitted the NC STEM Center?

Lisa Rhoades is the Senior Program Association of the NC Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center

In the case of the NC STEM Center, NC-based STEM organizations (museums, afterschool programs, colleges and universities) have worked with NC STEM Center and know that the Center serves as the first stop for parents, students, and educators looking for STEM programs and opportunities. NC STEM will continue to be the go to site for NC-based organizations wanting to share their programs and opportunities. For The Connectory, a multitude of national STEM organizations have relied on The Connectory to spread the word about their STEM opportunities and that won’t change. What is new is that through The Connectory Exchange, NC opportunities listed within the NC STEM Center are also displayed within The Connectory. Additionally, NC-based opportunities listed on The Connectory are displayed within the NC STEM Center.

How is it best used by families? By teachers?
The value of the The Connectory Exchange to families is especially high this time of year. Think about a parent that is sending their child to spend the summer with grandparents in North Carolina. The parent who doesn’t live in NC doesn’t necessarily know about NC STEM Center. But through The Connectory, the parent can find North Carolina STEM opportunities for their child.

The value for teachers comes in the form of being aware of what STEM programs and opportunities exists and perhaps which programs may be suggested to parents and to students for greater enrichment and exposure to certain topics or careers. The Connectory Exchange also provides teachers with the information needed to find opportunities for their students to continue their learning after they leave the classroom, in order to help the students grasp the relevance of subject matter while also reinforcing what they learned in school. Events and opportunities in themselves could be considered to be a “field trip” in comparison.

What are the highest hopes for The Connectory Exchange in the coming years?
Our highest hope for The Connectory Exchange is to make it seamless for parents, educators, students, anybody to find STEM opportunities anywhere at anytime on any device while eliminating as much as possible, potential duplicate efforts on the part of STEM organizations. If we can create a system that allows a STEM museum for example to go to the STEMx member website in their state and input program details or opportunities that will populate not only within the statewide database but also the national Connectory database, think how much more reach can be achieved with no extra effort on the part of the museum.

What value can partnering with The Connectory be to other STEMx members?
The Connectory Exchange provides cost savings and avoidance based on the leveraging of prior investments and piloting. It prevents multiple data entry points and supports continuity and an enterprise approach to addressing common needs. With the development of the Connectory Exchange in NC, other states have a roadmap for a locally branded solution while using the power of The Connectory.

We see value from the shared data exchange described above but also from the ability to replicate what The Connectory and NC STEM Center have done without having to start from scratch. NC STEM Center and our partner, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund as well as The Connectory, National Girls Collaborative, Time Warner Cable and the Noyce Foundation have invested a significant amount of money and time in developing the Connectory Exchange. The good news is that STEMx members don’t have to recreate the wheel. If a STEMx member has an existing WordPress website or is considering migrating to one, they can license the plugin that allows a localized database to exchange data with The Connectory. If a STEMx member doesn’t have a website, they can license the framework of the NC STEM site and the plugin to get up and running in a fraction of the time it would take to begin full planning and development.

How can STEMx members learn more about being part of the Connectory Exchange?
If there is interest by the STEMx community, the NC STEM Center and The Connectory can provide a demo of the collaboration via a webinar. The Clinton Global Initiative – America is seeking to highlight the Connectory Exchange during a scheduled June meeting. North Carolina’s completion of the Connectory Exchange model will be shared as a best practice and prospective project for other communities to consider implementing. Because NC STEM is a member of the STEMx community and other states are serving as somewhat of an aggregator of STEM initiatives within each of their respective states, we’re seeking to collaborate with the STEMx community initially.

STEM stands out at White House Science Fair

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Sun, 08 May 2016 05:00:00 GMT

100-pound subway-cleaning robots. Prosthetics good enough to skateboard on. Homemade spacecrafts that can reach the stratosphere.

That last one was made by sisters Kimberly and Rebecca Yeung, ages 9 and 13. They fashioned a small craft out of a weather balloon and Rebecca’s archery arrow shafts. Before releasing it into the sky, they attached a camera, GPS, and a variety of sensors. A small R2D2 to acted as pilot, finally the captain of his own ship.

The President explained his motives for the event, saying, “If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you’re a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too.”

Of the 75 students profiled on the White House website , over 40 hail from states involved with STEMx.

The President also announced Oracle’s $200 million investment to support Computer Science education for students across the United States. He called on all students to step up to the greatest challenges facing the nation, from combatting climate change to setting foot on Mars.

The Red Planet is a bit farther than the 78,000 feet covered by the Yeung sisters’ spacecraft, but these innovators will soon be up to the task.

Scroll below for a list of students’ accomplishments.

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STEMx Policy Fellow: Representative Wilson Stone

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Today, we’re talking to Representative Wilson Stone of Kentucky. Rep. Stone is part of the inaugural class of STEMx Policy Fellows from across the country. They are spending the next two years learning from and with other policymakers from STEMx states to take new ideas back to their own community.

Welcome Rep. Stone! What does it mean to you being a STEMx Policy Fellow?

Rep. Wilson Stone of Kentucky, a STEMx Policy Fellow

I am a part of STEM because I am interested in promoting STEM education across Kentucky, especially as the legislature might be able to enable and promote. Being a STEMx Policy Fellow has within it, a certain responsibility to be a strong promoter of and liaison for STEM education within state government agencies as we attempt to broaden the scope of STEM education across K-12.

Why did you want to be a STEMx Policy Fellow?

I am a strong and unapologetic advocate of public education. STEM must be an integral part of student preparation as we move further into the 21st century.

What do you hope to learn during your time as a fellow?

My hope is to learn more about the specifics of the STEM curriculum being offered, especially as it pertains to various age groups; what is being done in other states; and specific examples of success that are manifest in examples of profession choices.

How do you think this fellowship will help you and Kentucky be a leader in STEM education?

This fellowship will provide exposure to the STEM emphasis programs that have been operating longer than those in Kentucky. To gain from others experience is very important. To be able to coordinate any legislative policy or monetary application with those who have the education expertise is also important as we attempt to move Kentucky forward more rapidly in the STEM disciplines.

Department of Energy celebrates women

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Today we’re talking to the Honorable La Doris “Dot” Harris, the Director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), about the Department’s Women @ Energy initiative. In her role, she ensures that minorities and historically underrepresented communities are afforded opportunities to actively participate in the Department’s programs. The Women @ Energy initiative aims to profile female scientists across the department and has highlighted 300 women to date.

The Honorable La Doris “Dot” Harris details a push to feature women at the U.S. Department of Energy

How did the Women @ Energy initiative get started?
Shortly after joining the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and visiting a number of our National Laboratories, I was overwhelmed by the vast number of highly talented and empowering women scientists making a difference. Serving as the department’s senior official for the White House Council for Women and Girls, I was inspired to showcase these STEM leaders to the nation to help encourage our youth to pursue STEM. I learned from my team that NASA had an existing initiative that we could benchmark, the Women@NASA series. Thus, the Women @ Energy series was launched with the plan of featuring at least 50 profiles on our website. After remarkable engagement and support, we have more than 300 profiles of women in STEM, spurring growing numbers and interest.

What impact have you seen because of Women @ Energy?

This initiative has fueled our outreach to communities surrounding our 17 National Labs and field sites. It has led to the launch of another initiative that I wish to leave as a key legacy during the Obama Administration, the Women in Energy ebook and interactive website targeted for middle school students. We are inspired by our own Women @ Energy and want to share their stories with students across the nation and the globe. We recognize the incredible power of a story, it transcends all other forms of learning and communication. We want to connect our youth to the stories of the scientists and engineers who work tirelessly to make our world a safer and better place to live. We want our students to hear the stories of those that precede them so they can be introduced to the limitless possibilities of science and engineering.

Tell us about the classroom lessons you are developing to engage girls in STEM – what will those look like and what do you hope that they accomplish?

It is imperative to our nation’s economic vitality and security to expose, engage, and inspire all young people to understand the role STEM plays in their future and the future of us all. As our world becomes more technologically advanced, students of all backgrounds must employ a STEM understanding of our world. With the onus upon us, we are developing lessons and activities with a focus on energy to be used in both formal and informal settings. These activities will enable all students to interact with the world around them, learn more about all different forms of energy and learn about cutting-edge research that is happening in our National Laboratories. And of course they will also learn about the researchers who collaboratively produce the amazing feats at our Labs.

We want students to understand more about our story — the Department of Energy — and how their lives intersect with the work that we accomplish on a daily basis. In order to ensure that we reach all populations, we will use a transmedia approach, enabling print and media to help us bring to light all of the talent entreasured in our students.

STEMx New Member Spotlight: West Virginia

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Today we’re talking to Dr. Gay Stewart of West Virginia University where she is the founding director of the WVU Center for Excellence in STEM Education (CE-STEM). Dr. Stewart is also a professor of STEM education and physics. Since having her first child she has wanted to help make the world a better place and realized that opening the doors to STEM education was a way to do just that.

Welcome Dr. Stewart! Please tell us about the WVU Center for Excellence in STEM Education and the work that it’s doing.

Dr. Gay Stewart of West Virginia, new member of STEMx

Improving STEM education for the university and the state is one of WVU’s five Mountains of Excellence. With faculty working together from across the university in this trans-disciplinary research effort, WVU CE-STEM aspires to make WVU a national model of high quality STEM education, encouraging more students to study, and retaining more students in STEM courses, that will open doors to successful STEM careers. WVU is dedicated to its land-grant mission, and we want to work with our colleagues in the governor’s office and the state Department of Education to make sure all West Virginia children have access to the economic future that a solid STEM education provides!

What is the biggest accomplishment of the WVU Center for Excellence in STEM Education so far?

We serve as the home for our campus’ UTeach replication program, WVUteach, and have joined as a partner in 100Kin10, looking to more than double the number of highly qualified mathematics and science teachers we produce, and to support them in their early careers so they stay in the classroom.

What is UTeach?

UTeach began at the University of Texas Austin in 1997. It is a university-based, secondary STEM teacher preparation program designed specifically for undergraduate STEM majors; this creates a unique collaboration between the colleges of science, education, and liberal arts at a university. UTeach combines extensive, individualized coaching with intensive field-based teaching opportunities and relevant content. Students in the program earn degrees in their content areas (e.g., mathematics, biology, chemistry) along with a teaching certification; this offers students ‘one degree, two career options’ with no additional time or cost. WVUteach is in the most recent cohort, cohort 6, which started in 2015. We currently have 84 students participating in the program with high retention rates and are looking forward to growing the program over the coming semesters.

The UTeach program – a major success in West Virginia

What does it mean to be a member of STEMx?

STEMx gives us the access to experts who are doing this work well. We are all at different stages in the process and there is a rich variety of programs and tools to drive improvement in STEM education. We all care passionately about this work, and members of the network are willing to provide significant support to those who share these goals. It is amazing!

What do you think other STEMx states could learn from your work so far in West Virginia?

West Virginia knows that workers in STEM occupations drive our state’s innovation and economic competitiveness. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin commissioned the West Virginia Council on STEM report in 2014. West Virginia is expected to add 25,000 STEM jobs by 2018 and STEM is the fastest growing job sector in number and income. We realize that public and private organizations, foundations, and post-secondary institutions all are needed with strong business partnerships to drive STEM success in our state. WVUCE-STEM has faculty with significant expertise to help support this effort. I think the states making progress are the states that recognize the need for these sorts of partnerships, where everyone works together to do what is best for the students. We hope to be a shining example one day, right now, we are really looking forward to sharing in the expertise STEMx represents.

STEMx Policy Fellow: Representative Ling Ling Chang

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 06:00:00 GMT

Today, we’re talking to Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang of California. Assemblywoman Chang is part of the inaugural class of STEMx Policy Fellows from across the country. They are spending the next two years learning from and with other policymakers from STEMx states to take new ideas back to their own community. A self-described techie, Assemblywoman Chang most recently served as President & CEO of the Youth Science Center, a nonprofit education organization that focuses on strengthening STEM curriculum and education in local schools. She is bringing her personal experience to the California legislature to help improve STEM education for students across the state. Prior interview: Representative Graig Meyer Don’t forget to join us Wednesday for our regular webinar .

Welcome Rep. Chang! What does it mean to you being a STEMx Policy Fellow?

Our chat with STEMx Policy Fellow and California Representative Ling Ling Chang

It is an amazing honor – especially being the inaugural fellow for California. I have always been inspired by STEM and now to be representing my state through STEMx, it is a privilege and an opportunity to make STEM a priority in my state.

I’ve been a “techie” since I was a kid and as an adult an important part of my professional career has been devoted to STEM education for kids. Now to be working on state policy impacting children all across California is something I am very excited about.

I’ve participated in one conference with the STEMx fellows from other states and that process of sharing knowledge and experiences has been invaluable. All the states have different approaches and viewpoints, so to have a platform to share our ideas and results better informs us all. Hopefully that process leads to positive results back in our home states.

What do you hope to learn during your time as a fellow?

The big issue with STEM is very simple and clear: the gap between the supply of jobs in this space and the number of students graduating with a necessary STEM background is enormous. The solution to that problem is incredibly complex and requires collaboration from lawmakers, industry leaders, and the education community, my goal is to do everything I can to close that gap.

The development of world-class talent in the field of STEM is critical to California’s national and global leadership. If I can learn about smart, creative, and thoughtful ways to address this very acute issue, it will be well worth it.

What are some ways that you’re working now to support strong STEM education in California?

I am already working on policy prescriptions to elevate STEM in California. This year I introduced a bill to provide students with a STEM seal on their high school diplomas if they meet certain benchmarks in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The goal is make graduates more marketable in the job market, inspire students to take more STEM courses, and motivate schools to provide more STEM opportunities.

I am also continuing my work on a resolution to designate April 3-9 as Women and Girls in STEM Week. Any labor force development strategy needs a women’s strategy — one that embraces pathways for both girls and women pursuing STEM careers. Unfortunately women are underrepresented in this area both in the job market and in college. This is an effort to spotlight this issue and inspire more women and girls to engage in STEM.

Thanks so much for your time, Representative Chang!
Sign up here to receive the rest of our updates on the STEMx Policy Fellows, including the upcoming application

STEMx Policy Fellow: Representative Graig Meyer

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 06:00:00 GMT

Today, we’re talking to Representative Graig Meyer of North Carolina. Rep. Meyer is part of the inaugural class of STEMx Policy Fellows from across the country. They are spending the next two years learning from and with other policymakers from STEMx states to take new ideas back to their own community. Before becoming a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, Rep. Meyer was an educator and he wants to help bridge the two worlds so that policy does translate on the ground.

Our chat with STEMx Policy Fellow and North Carolina Representative Greg Meyer

Welcome Rep. Meyer! What does it mean to you being a STEMx Policy Fellow?
It is an honor to be among the initial group of STEMx Policy Fellows. It’s exciting to be a trailblazer. As someone who spent almost twenty years working in schools, it can be hard to move to the policy level. We have different levers at the legislative level, and I’m still figuring out exactly the best ways to use my power to help students and schools. Being a STEMx Policy Fellow provides me the chance get up to speed through the access I have to national leaders and fellow legislators. I really think this will help me be more effective in my legislative role.

Tell us about your time as an educator and what inspired you to become a policy maker.
I’m a social worker, but I have always worked in schools. For sixteen years, I ran the Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate program for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro (NC) City Schools. We matched kids with mentors in the fourth grade, and we trained their parents and the mentors to do school advocacy (parent teacher conferences, IEP meetings, etc.) as a team. We supported the kids all the way through enrollment in college. During my time at BRMA, we had a 97.5% high school graduation rate and 100% of our program graduates went on to post-secondary education. Almost all of those kids were first-generation college students. It was great work. I miss them every day.

My experience working in schools was mostly focused on college and career access for students of color. I want to create policies that ensure that students like mine are able to access STEM learning experiences so that they are ready for STEM careers. Many times my students lacked exposure to the variety of STEM careers that are out there and they almost never had the type of mentoring relationships needed to access those careers. I really want to work on creating mechanisms that help walk a talented student from the classroom to a career.

What do you hope to learn during your time as a STEMx Policy Fellow?
I want to learn from the experiences of other states. Legislators are always curious about how things are done differently across the country. I really want to rely on my STEMx colleagues as people whom I can call on for ideas. It’s also a great way to find common ground across party lines. For instance, I think Rep. Ling Ling Chang (R-California) and I were surprised to find out how much we have in common even though we’re from different political parties.

How do you think this fellowship will help you and North Carolina be a leader in STEM education?
One thing that has already helped me is that I have made connections with schools and school districts that are already doing great STEM work .I spent my entire career working in one school district, and there are 115 in North Carolina. I’m particularly interested in what is going on in rural areas, because I think that those students have the least access to STEM exposure. I’ve been working hard to visit schools and learn from other leaders. I want to help disseminate their good ideas and maybe even turn some of their work into projects being done statewide.

Thanks so much for your time, Representative Meyer!
Sign up here to receive the rest of our updates on the STEMx Policy Fellows, including the upcoming application

“Caine’s Arcade” filmmaker joins Tennessee summit

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 06:00:00 GMT

Today, we’re talking to Wes Hall, Director of the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network. Wes and the network launched a new conference last year – the Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit. They’re pulling ideas from other networks and showcasing the best of STEM in their state.

What’s exciting about the conference this year?
We’re excited to kickoff the second annual Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit this year with the theme of “Unleashing Curiosity through STEM” (a theme we borrowed from our friends at CSLnet that is going to be a lot of fun to explore).

Chat with Wes Hall about the Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit

Curiosity infuses everything we do with a sense of possibility and it’s just as important in STEM education as the concepts of “innovation” and “creativity”. This year’s Innovation Summit is sponsored by Google and will again feature engaging keynotes and interactive learning sessions presented by some of the top practitioners in our state – and of course technology giveaways that can help transform classrooms!

I understand you’ve got some big news to share today. What’s your latest announcement about the conference?
We’re excited to announce that our keynote speaker will be Nirvan Mullick, an award winning filmmaker, speaker, and movement maker. Nirvan’s short film Caine’s Arcade became a viral phenomenon in 2012, receiving over 10 million views.

He then launched the Imagination Foundation that seeks to foster creativity and entrepreneurship in kids worldwide. The foundation has engaged over 400,000 kids in STEM learning and launched the first national campaign to bring STEM opportunities to Pre-K kids. I think his work is a great fit for the theme of “Unleashing Curiosity through STEM” and his passion will energize the Innovation Summit!

Why did TSIN start hosting this event?
TSIN started hosting this event because we recognized a need for an annual, statewide platform where education leaders and innovators could share what they have seen working in their classrooms for their students. The Innovation Summit takes place at the end of the school year in May in Nashville, giving educators a chance to enjoy a high-energy learning experience with their colleagues and begin thinking about ways in which they can transform their schools and classrooms for the school year to come. It really becomes a STEM celebration for our partners as they end the school year.

What’s makes for a great presentation?
A great presentation for the Innovation Summit demonstrates a tool, a teaching strategy, or learning experiences that have proven to be effective in raising student achievement or interests in STEM. We want the Innovation Summit to be engaging and energetic, so each learning session has to be interactive and designed to provide participants with strategies that they can immediately implement in their local settings.

How should people get involved?
The Innovation Summit will be held on May 17 and 18 in Nashville, TN and we welcome our STEMx colleagues to join us in presenting tools and strategies that are working to further STEM efforts across the country. We are accepting learning session proposals through February 17 ( update: Wes adds STEMx members can submit through Feb. 19 ) and, if selected to present, we’ll waive the registration fee! Registration and Summit information may be accessed at tsin.org/summit .

Sounds great, Wes. Good luck!

For our readers, if you’d like learn more about Wes or the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, be sure to check out their website: tsin.org . For an in-depth view on where this state fits in STEMx, check out our STEMx Superstars report .

Idaho: Primed for STEM

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 06:00:00 GMT

Last week, David Burns from Battelle joined a delegation from Ohio to the Idaho legislature. The topic: How to foster STEM? You can read about the visit in detail in this piece for the Idaho Statesman by Bill Roberts . We asked what he’s thinking after returning home to Ohio.

So, this is how it starts.

David Burns from Battelle on Idaho’s readiness for STEM schools

Everyone understands strong STEM education and STEM schools are a good idea. But, how do you move from idea to action? Whether you’re talking about Ohio in 2008, Tennessee in 2010, or Idaho today, it takes three elements.

First, you need a state legislature that’s engaged on the issue. Legislative support can be the cornerstone that advocates, businesses, and educators gather around. Representative DeMordaunt and Senator Nonini are serving that role.

Second, you need a foundation ready to seed innovation . This was one of my questions as we headed to Idaho. While STEM schools can build sustainable financial models for the long-haul, they do often need more in start-up capital. After a number of conversations last week, I’m convinced the right foundations are ready in Idaho.

Third, you need someone who knows what to do . I’ve seen too many educational innovations built on good ideas and plenty of funding that end up failing. This kind of work requires a blend of tested experience and flexible creativity that can be hard to find. But, it does exist. In fact, that’s exactly what I think STEMx offers. As a national platform for sharing ways to turn the idea of STEM into real impact, STEMx can provide whole package Idaho needs to move forward.

Idaho has some key resources already in place. Anne Seifert and her STEM educational outreach at Idaho National Labs and the Idaho STEM Action Center are just two examples of organizations deeply committed to STEM. Connecting these resources with the national STEM conversation will only accelerate the state’s work to do more for students.

Hands-on learning for Utah students at STEM Fest

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 06:00:00 GMT

The Utah STEM Action Center organizes an annual event for educators around STEM, but it’s no conference. Instead, the Utah STEM Fest is all for students.

There’s no fee, schools simply have to bus students to the exhibit hall and the Utah STEM Fest takes care of the rest. It’s a simple model and tremendously popular. Last year, more than 17,000 people attended.

We chatted with one of the event organizers, Marketing Communications Specialist Kaitlin Felsted, about how it works and how the Utah STEM Action Center recruits exhibitors.

Kaitlin Felsted explains how the Utah STEM Fest allows student to apply learning to real life.

What’s the goal of Utah STEM Fest?
STEM Fest is an opportunity for middle school and high school students to see STEM careers in action! With more than 60 exhibitors from industry, education and government, students will have the opportunity to interact with science, technology, engineering and math across the whole spectrum through hands-on experiences.

How’s this event different other education conferences?
STEM Fest is unique, because it’s not just exhibitors coming and showing what they do. EVERY exhibit is hands-on, so students can really experience what they can do with science, technology, engineering and math. From coding to underwater robotics to rocket launching, it’s really an opportunity to take what students are learning in the classroom and apply it to real life.

Where did the idea come from?
The event initially stemmed from a career days event that industry had hosted for the past few years in Provo, Utah. Last year that same group of industry members decided to take the event and give it a twist, angling the event towards a STEM theme. The three-day STEM Fest was a huge success, with students and teachers from all over the state in attendance. Feedback was extremely positive from educators, asking that they hold STEM Fest annually, and with each year we hope to see the event grow and reach more and more students.

There’s an impressive list of presenters, how do you attract these exhibits?
First off, we are so excited that Utah’s industry sees the value of working with Utah’s youth to help them understand the jobs of the future. Once we sent an email inviting potential exhibitors to attend, most were able see the value of STEM Fest. The majority of our exhibitors are directly STEM-related and they view this as another opportunity to expose students to STEM in an exciting and meaningful way.

Thanks Kaitlin. Before we let you go, why are you a part of this work?
I often wish I had more opportunities, more mentors to expose me to STEM Fields. I’d like to see STEM become an acronym that everyone knows and understands. Even though I did not pursue STEM while in college, I am excited to use my skills in Marketing and Communications to engage students, teachers and parents in science, technology, engineering and math by showing them that these fields are cutting edge and exciting.

Connect to STEMx Superstars

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 06:00:00 GMT

Read these profiles to learn about the groundbreaking efforts to turn the promise of STEM education into real impact.

How to use this report

This report is built to be a resource for connecting you with talent in our network.

First, download the report

Second, find someone you’d like to connect with

Third, use the form below to email the lead STEMx contact in that state.

Using the form below, you can quickly send a note to Kentucky’s Eve Proffitt (or the right state lead in a different member). Just let her know what you’d like to discuss and Eve will connect you with Mindy. It’s that simple!

Paul G. Allen and Vulcan Inc. supporting educators

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 06:00:00 GMT

Dave Ferrero, Senior Program Officer in Education at Vulcan Inc., and his team are launching a series of new opportunities for teachers across the country. We wanted to know about the Allen Distinguished Educators, which offers $25,000 awards, and the grants for classrooms that implement methods piloted by these educators.

What is the Allen Distinguished Educators program?

Dave Ferrero is a Senior Program Officer for Education and talked to us about the foundation’s programs for educators

We’re launching the ADE program to put a spotlight on K-12 teachers who have created innovative programs in computer science, engineering, and/or entrepreneurship. This program is inspired and funded by philanthropist and entrepreneur Paul G. Allen. We’re doing this to drive home the message to parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers that there is tremendous value in this type of teaching. We believe strongly that there are a wide range of students who would flourish if they had the opportunity to learn from teachers like these in settings like theirs. In fact, the $25,000 award is just the beginning for this program. We really want to spread the word of their innovations by distributing a range of education materials for a wide variety of audiences.

We saw the 53 miles per burrito DIY project and it sounded really cool. Can you tell me more about it and the DIY grants?

Mike was walking down the street and saw someone wearing a “53 miles per burrito” t-shirt and ultimately took the question to his class. Since Mike is really keen on bringing industry professionals into his classroom, he reached out to Chipotle to see how they could help answer the question. On top of that, Mike called a local bike shop to get a special wheel to measure variables. Mike then weaved in the sustainable engineering aspect by asking his students about energy use. In one project, Mike gets to bring together physics, industry professionals, and real world problem solving–and the outcome is delicious.

While this is a great project, we can’t wait to see teachers adapt this for their own classrooms. That’s a big reason why we have DIY grants for teachers to take these projects into school setting different from that of the individual ADE. We aim to get students in all types of schools and cities to experience these types of projects and this type of education. So, for example, Mike teaches at a comprehensive high school in a middle income suburb of Seattle. We want to know what it takes to adapt the project in, say, a low-income charter school in Houston or small rural parochial school in Wisconsin. That’s why we’re offering small grants to teachers who are willing to field test the guides in their schools and report back to us on the adaptations they made.

What do you want students and teachers to get out of these projects and grants?

Ultimately, we want students to realize that no matter where they live, no matter what school they attend, they can and should have these types of learning experiences. We want teachers to know that there is a network of award winning educators who want to provide them with projects and advice. We want administrators and parents to see the impact that innovative teaching can have and provide support and encouragement to their teachers and students.

How can teachers get involved right now?

We’re really excited to launch the DIY Guides and DIY grants specifically to help teachers who are looking for innovative curriculum. We encourage all teachers from any type of school to check-out and use the DIY Guides. Furthermore, we want to provide DIY grants to teachers in a wide variety of educational environments. The DIY grants will help teachers adapt these projects and let us and the ADE community how they brought innovation to their students. It’s an exciting opportunity that we hope teachers will apply! The DIY Grant application period is only open until December 4th, 2015, so go check-out the application!

Meanwhile, if teachers like what they see on the website we ask them to please share with their colleagues, parents, and district leaders. We believe that the teaching philosophy that our ADEs embody will appeal to many of them, and we’d like the program to help inspire them to act.

And, of course, we’d encourage teachers to join our online community and share their feedback at www.allendistinguishededucators.org . Teachers are also invited to follow us on any of the following social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allendistinguishededucators

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10113153?trk=hp-feed-company-photo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCToUu0GXARZq8rzQ8HgHLNw

Twitter: @AllenEducators

What’s coming next?

We just closed the application window for the ADE award. We got a great response and are in the process of reviewing them now. We’d love for everyone to mark their calendars for SXSWedu! We have two events there and hope that people will be able to attend. First, we’ll be announcing the ADE 2016 awardees a special awards ceremony. We definitely want to show the nation how important these awardees are and highlight their accomplishments at this event. Second, a panel of ADE 2014 awardees including Regan Drew, Scott Swaaley, and Mike Wierusz discuss “Why Your Startup Should Hire my High School Students.” It will be an exciting panel!

Educators, learn policy through this fellowship

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 06:00:00 GMT

Patti Obenour is an Education Project Manager with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education ( ORISE ), which is a U.S. Department of Energy Institute. ORISE administers the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program, which is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy in partnership with other sponsors, including the National Science Foundation and NASA .

Patti reached out with details about an interesting opportunity, so we traded some questions and answers with her. Applications are due November 19.

Very broadly, what’s the goal of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship?

Patti Obenour is an Education Project Manager with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), which is a U.S. Department of Energy Institute. ORISE administers the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program, which is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy in partnership with other sponsors, including the National Science Foundation and NASA.

The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program provides a unique opportunity for accomplished K-12 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) educators to serve 11 months in Washington, DC, in a federal agency or US congressional office.

Einstein Fellows use their classroom experience and knowledge to contribute to federal STEM education programs. In the process, they develop a better understanding of the national STEM education landscape and enhance their skills as STEM educators and leaders.

Briefly, how’s the program structured?

The AEF Program begins in September with an orientation designed to prepare Fellows for their new roles and to provide them knowledge and skills that will help them be effective in their agency or Congressional offices. After orientation, Fellows report to their host offices, where they develop a scope of work for the 11 months that includes working on federal education program projects and assignments of interest to them and their host offices. Each month the Fellows participate in professional development events organized by the program and designed to enhance their knowledge and skills in areas such as STEM education leadership, STEM education grand challenges and STEM classroom education. The Fellows also create and follow an individualized professional development plan to help them make the most of the opportunities available to them during the program and their stay in DC.

11 months is a significant amount of time, why such a sustained commitment?

While 11 months is indeed a significant amount of time, the time goes quickly for the Fellows. All of the Fellows are coming directly from either teaching in the classroom or holding a school administrative position. The learning curve in their new environment in a Federal agency or Congressional office can be steep. The Fellows are not just “shadowing” the staff in their host office; they are tackling real projects, many of which are challenging and complex.

Fellows typically spend one to two months developing the projects that are of interest to them and their host offices. This will typically be followed by research and meeting with project stakeholders to move their projects or legislative initiative forward. During this time they are contributing their ideas, perspectives and expertise to other programs or legislative activities that their host offices are engaged in. Outside of normal business hours, Fellows take advantage of the outstanding resources available to them and the exceptional opportunities for expanding their professional STEM networks.

For some Fellows, 11 months is not enough time to complete all they would like to accomplish. However, the 11 months is sufficient time for the Fellows to make significant contributions to federal education programs and in the process broaden their perspectives on STEM education.

Great! Any outcomes of the fellowship you’re particularly proud of?

We are proud of the accomplishments of all of our Fellows, all of whom are outstanding educators. Some contributions of past Fellows include designing and implementing national STEM education programs, building partnerships among federal agencies, drafting legislation to improve K-12 STEM education and teacher preparation, evaluating national STEM programs centered on school reform, and designing online learning tools for students and teachers.

What’s coming next?

We encourage any K-12 STEM educators interested in applying to the program to do so by the November 19, 8 PM, EST deadline. For more information about the program and access to the online application system, educators can visit the DOE Web site: http://science.energy.gov/wdts/einstein As the program celebrates its Silver Anniversary with our 25th class of Fellows, we look forward to hearing about the accomplishments of our current Fellows and to meeting the candidates for the next class of Fellows this spring. We hope that one of your readers will be among them!

Welcome new director

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Please join Battelle Education & STEMx in welcoming Michael Feder, Ph.D., to the role of National STEMx Relationship Manager.

He most recently served as the senior program officer for the Board on Science Education (BOSE) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. With the Board on Science Education he managed consensus studies on a broad range of issues including informal STEM education, K-12 STEM education standards, federal science education programs, and science communication.

Michael previously served as a policy analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). As a policy analyst there, he managed the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (CoSTEM), which developed a 5-year federal STEM education strategic plan.

In his free time you can find him at Nationals games, walking his three dogs, traveling the world, and trying to avoid getting hurt on the soccer field.

Join us in welcoming Michael and drop a comment below!

STEMx Network Thriving, Adds Members in Florida and Maryland

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 05:00:00 GMT

The STEMx network, a coast-to-coast coalition of organizations advancing STEM, has added two new members: the Northeast Florida Regional STEM ² Hub and the Maryland State Department of Education .

In Florida, the Northeast Florida Regional STEM ² Hub’s focus is on accelerating the growth of STEM education and careers. Hub Start-up Executive Director, Wanyonyi Kendrick, brings her perspective as a former CIO to these efforts.

The Northeast Florida Regional STEM ² Hub’s first education initiatives include bringing code.org curriculum to every school in its region and ensuring STEM after-school clubs are funded at a similar level to sports clubs. The hub wants to ensure Northeast Florida teachers receive stipends and professional development for leading STEM clubs.

“Computer science puts students on the path toward some of the highest paying, fastest growing jobs in America,” said Kendrick. “However, roughly 90 percent of schools do not teach it. STEM ² wants to be part of changing this and so many other similar anomalies that prevent our students competing for the STEM jobs of tomorrow. STEM ² ’s partnership with STEMx will ensure we effectively mobilize national best practices to accelerate STEM education and careers in our region.”

“As the chair of STEM ² , I am personally very committed to a world class education system that prepares our students for the opportunities our global economy will present them,” said Gary Chartrand, chair of the Northeast Florida Regional STEM ² Hub’s board of directors. “The pace of change has challenged us to think differently about the way we educate and prepare our students for success. Partnering with STEMx will allow us to embrace those best practice changes already established in the STEMx network.”

STEM ² ‘s governing board is make up of 20 regional businesses. STEM ² is currently seeking applications from Northeast Florida businesses to become founding donors. Interested business can contact STEM ² ( http://www.stem2hub.org/contact-page/ ). Northeast Florida Regional STEM ² Hub’s website is: http://www.stem2hub.org/

Maryland’s push for STEM is coordinated by the Maryland State Department of Education. STEM initiatives there are led by Cindy Hasselbring, who served 16 years as a mathematics teacher before moving into state policy.

As a state, Maryland has made progress on a number of areas, especially in bringing STEM to young students. An elementary STEM certification program is now in place along with a statewide strategic plan for STEM.

“Maryland is committed to providing our students with a quality STEM education that prepares and inspires them to meet the challenges of a global society through innovation, collaboration, and creative problem solving,” said Cindy Hasselbring, Special Assistant to the State Superintendent. “Joining STEMx supports this goal by providing us access to resources, best practices, and a cadre of STEM leaders from around the country.”

The full STEMx network counts more than 20 states and territories. Through STEMx, organizations trade solutions to common problems, plan collective action and lay the groundwork for the next generation of innovators.

Sign up for information on free STEMx webinars, events, and other opportunities here . The STEMx network is managed by Battelle Education, a venture of Battelle.

Let’s get coding

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 06:00:00 GMT

Two years ago, Hadi Partovi and his brother Ali brought together top leaders in tech like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates to issue a simple call . They asked people to spend just one hour coding, getting an introduction to the computer languages that much of the modern world relies on.

Today, the “Hour of Code” has grown into an entirely new organization called Code.org. That non-profit, and its impressive list of partners , are at it again. This December, they’re hoping to break last year’s record of students participating in the week-long Hour of Code campaign.

It won’t be easy, more than 15 million people participated in 2013 . To help Code.org and extend this great STEM experience to more students, the STEMx network in joining in the effort.

Here’s how the states served by STEMx member organizations did in 2013. (click the chart to enlarge) All told, STEMx states contributed more than 8.5 million students to the Hour of Code . We hope to do even more this year.

Running an Hour of Code event in a member state? Provide details in the comments and we’ll pass the information on to the leadership of a STEM organization in your area.

Sad news

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Update: Here’s the website set up by Margaret’s family: http://www.forevermissed.com/margaret-ashida/

As anyone who had the pleasure of working alongside Margaret knows, she was a tireless advocate for equity and access, and a persistent, diligent team member. Our team, along with countless others, will miss her knowledge and skill—but what we will miss most is her kindness and cheerful smile.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Aimee Kennedy

Vice President of Education, STEM Learning and Philanthropy

Battelle

To Congress: Reauthorize the Perkins Act

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 21 May 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Today we joined over 200 businesses and other organizations in writing to Congress to urge reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins).

Together, we recommended that the reauthorization include alignment of career tech programs to labor market needs; support collaboration between secondary and postsecondary institutions and employers; increase student participation in experiential learning opportunities; and promote the use of industry-recognized credentials.

STEMx and Battelle are among the signatories, which also include the California STEM Learning Network , Innovate+Educate and the New Mexico STEM Network , and Washington STEM . For the full letter and list of supporters, click here .

Try out the STEMx Sustainability Compass

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 16 May 2014 05:00:00 GMT

By Margaret Ashida

A compass is an essential tool in wilderness survival. And anyone who has been in the wilderness of designing, building and launching a state STEM network knows how hard charting your path can become. Balancing planning, problem solving and strategy development is no easy task. Moreover, the success of a STEM network, long or short-term, is not easily quantified. But success is achievable. If you can manage these variables and set a course toward true north, you can make a difference.

The goal of the Sustainability Compass is simple: to help state STEM networks – including their leaders, staff, partners and stakeholders – take stock of their current network position and build strength and viability to the point of long-term success based on the following definition of sustainability: The interaction and integration of partners, resources, funding and overall initiative strength that enables a network to accomplish goals, build momentum and establish a long-term position in the field or marketplace.

Eve Proffitt helps coordinate STEM efforts in Kentucky as the Director of Educational Innovation P20 Lab at the University of Kentucky . Her team’s been using an early draft of the STEMx Sustainability Compass as a discussion guide in meetings with partners as Kentucky lays out its roadmap for STEM education. Eve pointed out that the people in these meetings come from schools, universities, business. “You’re talking about a diverse group of people who don’t have a common language, that’s what (this) rubric helps provide.” She even explained that: “It’s helped us think: Ok, we’ve got these outcomes, what else do we need to be working on?”

The Idea of Integrated STEM

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 05:00:00 GMT

by Margaret Ashida, director of the STEMx network

If you ask five people to define STEM education, you’ll probably get five different answers. The reality is there is no single definition! The STEMx network thinks about it this way:

STEM 1.0 = the acronym for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics – each important in its own right

STEM 2.0 = integrated STEM, a transdisciplinary approach which may include problem-based learning, design projects, and other experiential methods

STEM 3.0 = Strategies That Engage Minds®, coined by the North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center to reflect the hands-on, active involvement in STEM education that promotes essential cognitive skills for the 21st century

STEMx is focused on advancing policy, practice and partnerships which help enable STEM 2.0 and 3.0. Experts collaborating with networks in states including California, Colorado, Idaho, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington contributed in some way to the STEM Integration in K-12 Education report now available in final form from the National Academies.

Looking for a resource to help explain the idea of integrated STEM which engages minds? Check out this brief National Academies video and see what you think!

Quick thoughts for Code.org

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 06:00:00 GMT

by Margaret Ashida, director of the STEMx network
Today, I’ll be on a call with some of the great folks leading Code.org . So, it’s a great reason to post a quick walkthrough of what the STEMx network does and why we do it.

If this looks like the kind of thing that might be useful, register to hear from us about news around the STEMx network at www.stemx.us/sign-up .

Report calls promise of STEM “tantalizing”

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 06:00:00 GMT

by Margaret Ashida, director of the STEMx network

I had the chance to learn about the findings first-hand from the Committee Chair, Dr. Margaret Honey, at the NRC-hosted convening STEM Learning is Everywhere held at the National Academies office at UC Irvine earlier this month. It’s an energizing affirmation of the journey we’re undertaking with STEMx – and further actions for the future!

Pharmaceutical industry issues call to action on STEM

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 06:00:00 GMT

PhRMA, the organization that represents American pharmaceutical companies, has released a new report on how strengthening America’s standing in STEM is “critical to continued scientific and technological innovation.” The report is well worth reading and anyone interested in STEM should head over to PhRMA.org to download a copy. (Full disclosure: the report was authored by Battelle’s Technology Practice division. While Battelle operates STEMx network through a venture called BattelleEd , the STEMx network was not directly involved in the creation of this report.)

Read on for a few key highlights from the report.

STEM’s in demand now, and in the future

It’s hard to miss the impact of the recession on even the STEM economy, but this chart shows just how fast the need for STEM-capable employees will continue to grow.

PhRMA members are supporting a wide range of programs

A familiar name
In fact, our very own STEMx network collaborator in Indiana, the I-STEM Resource Network , gets a shout-out in this report.

So head on over to PhRMA’s site for the full, free report .

STEMmobile school tour stops in state capital

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 06:00:00 GMT

Policy-makers in Nashville will get a chance to see STEM education up close today as the STEMmobile, a mobile STEM laboratory of the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network , is on exhibit at Nashville’s legislative plaza.

Some of the first students of 9,000 students that will visit Tennessee’s STEMmobile over the coming year.
Click on this image to see more pictures from the STEMmobile blog.

On a brief break from its tour of schools across 20 counties in rural Tennessee, the STEMmobile will be in Nashville for the first time since completion. Visitors can walk through this mobile STEM lab on wheels and experience the same high-tech and innovative STEM practices that the STEMmobile delivers to grade-school students across the rural Upper Cumberland region of the state.

Built and operated by the Upper Cumberland Rural STEM Initiative , a hub of the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, the STEMmobile was designed to bring much-needed technology to the doorsteps of rural schools in its partnering districts. Housed in a 53′ tractor-trailer with self-contained power, its own HVAC system, a satellite uplink for internet connectivity, and workstations for twenty-four students, this mobile classroom is stocked with equipment from Tennessee Tech University’s Oakley STEM Center and includes iPads, laptops, hand-held data collection devices, and other high-tech instructional equipment. When they step inside, students have immediate access to state-of-the-art equipment that is not always readily available in rural schools.

The STEMmobile itself is a model of the kind of broad partnership we see advancing STEM in each one of the STEMx member states. Through partnerships with businesses like Averitt Express, Inc . and universities like Tennessee Tech, the STEMmobile is able to travel throughout the Upper Cumberland region to reach rural students that otherwise might not have access to these high-tech STEM tools. It is these broad partnerships between education, government, and business that also help sustain the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, a STEMx network collaborator supported jointly by the Tennessee Department of Education and Battelle .

To see updates about the STEMmobile’s open house or to learn more about the network, follow the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network on Twitter at @theTSIN or visit TSIN.org .

Quality STEM Programs: How Do We Know When We See One?

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 06:00:00 GMT

by Margaret Ashida, director of the STEMx ^TM network

All told, over 500 people from across Kentucky came together at the 4th annual Innovate to Learn Institute presented by the University of Kentucky College of Education in Lexington. Educators from pre-school through grad school engaged with employers; local, regional, statewide and national non-profit organizations; and the Kentucky Department of Education. The Institute brought its theme to life: Inquire. Inspire. Innovate.

Kentucky’s STEM rubric development also illustrates a STEMx mantra – “by the states, for the states.” Through STEMx, over a third of the nation’s states are committed to helping one another identify and spread effective practice. It’s great to experience the network in action!

Symposium on science standards draws 30 states!

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 05:00:00 GMT

by Margaret Ashida, director of the STEMx ^TM network

Last week I joined more than 250 leaders in science, education and assessment at a national Invitational Research Symposium on Science Assessment . Over 30 states brought teams to our nation’s capital to engage with academia, industry and government on the goal of improved student assessment and achievement, pertaining to the Next Generation Science Standards which have already been adopted by 7 states. The lead convener of the symposium, the K-12 Center , has posted all of the research papers and presentations online along with video from closing segments on the work ahead in policy and practice. They’re even hosting a webinar distilling Symposium findings in November.

The Next Generation Science Standards were developed by states, for states, in alignment with the National Research Council’s Framework for K-12 Science Education . It includes elements important to STEM education: real-world practices, concepts and ideas; coherency across K-12; focus on deeper understanding and application; integration of science and engineering and alignment to math and literacy standards; and an intent to prepare of all students for college, career and citizenship.

The nineteen STEMx Network Collaborators share the belief that states have the greatest power to effect transformative change in education. Our culture is one of open innovation where expert STEM practitioners in education, business, government, and community collaborate in developing, sharing and spreading high quality frameworks, practices, and new knowledge of what works in STEM education. Just as the K-12 Center enabled last week!

Margaret Ashida is the director of the STEMx network. If you’d like to learn more about the STEMx network, send us a note using the Contact Us page.

Big news for Battelle!

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Aimee Kennedy has just been announced as the next Vice President for Education at STEM Learning at Battelle. Currently the leader of Metro Early College, a principal-in-residence at Battelle and a nationally recognized voice in education, Aimee will bring her talents to lead the entire scope of Battelle’s education efforts including BattelleEd, the organization that manages the STEMx network and the Ohio STEM Learning Network. Here’s a snippet from the release just posted by Battelle:

“Aimee will be a tremendous asset to Battelle and our STEM education initiatives,” said Wadsworth. “Her track record in education leadership roles, combined with her hands-on work in the classroom, brings a well-rounded perspective and will help create a clear path to expand the successes of Metro to other schools and school districts.”

“I’m very excited about the opportunity to join a well-regarded institute like Battelle and continue the momentum around STEM learning,” Kennedy said. “Leading the STEM education work at Battelle is a tremendous opportunity to shepherd the fantastic work at Metro while influencing STEM education in a broader context.” Click here for the full release.

We’re excited to work with such an accomplished educator and school leader. If you’d like to send a question or comment to Aimee, just drop a comment in the box below.

STEM on the Move by Margaret Ashida

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 05:00:00 GMT

STEM education helps students succeed in school and find (or create) great jobs when they graduate. Paired with innovation at the local level, states are leading the way on STEM. The State of Washington’s House and Senate made this clear last week with strong bipartisan support for comprehensive STEM legislation requested by Governor Jay Inslee. House Bill 1872 lays the groundwork for a results-driven state strategy to grow STEM at every level, from pre-school through college.

Washington’s focus on greater coordination, innovation and accountability of STEM education initiatives matches what Washington voters want. A recent poll conducted by STEMx member Washington STEM reported that more than 80 percent of voters in the state agree that an increased focus on STEM education will improve the state’s economy. And more than 90 percent agree that STEM skills enhance opportunities for students.

The expansion of STEM teaching and learning will help create America’s next generation of innovators. Through the STEMx network, we’re connecting organizations in 19 states that share the kind of vision demonstrated last week in Washington state – that through local innovation and state leadership, we can deliver national impact.

Margaret Ashida is the director of the STEMx network. If you’d like to learn more about the STEMx network, send us a note using the Contact Us page.

Georgia and Indiana join STEMx!

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:00:00 GMT

“Every day, leaders in business, education and government are searching for ways to bring more great STEM teaching into their communities,” said Margaret Ashida, Director of STEMx. “The STEMx network empowers them with the creativity, knowledge and experience of their colleagues across the country.”

The STEMx network offers a new kind of STEM partnership – by the states, for the states. The advocates and leaders in the STEMx network share and spread proven, local solutions to help solve national challenges. They work together on issues like STEM education policy, teaching practice, innovation in the classroom and after-school, communications and advocacy. The network is operated by BattelleEd, a venture of Battelle.

“The growth of STEM teaching and learning offers America a competitive advantage in the global economy and the vibrant STEMx network will play an essential role in fostering and spreading educational innovation,” said Eric Fingerhut, Vice President of Education and STEM Learning at Battelle.

TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed), the charitable organization established by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), is dedicated to preparing the next-generation workforce by uniting TAG resources with leading STEM education initiatives. For the past 11 years, TAG-Ed has offered a variety of hands-on technology programs to engage students in STEM learning in order to provide a glimpse into the exciting opportunities technology careers provide.

“We are excited to join STEMx to learn how other states are addressing the shortfall of qualified technology workers,” said Michael Robertson, executive director of TAG-Ed. “There are over 4000 unfilled jobs in Georgia’s technology sector, and this number will only grow unless we can foster student interest in STEM to increase our tech ready workforce. By joining STEMx, we hope to strengthen our efforts as well as contribute to the network’s thought leadership.”

Started in 2006 as a collaboration among 18 institutions of higher education in 10 regions throughout Indiana, the I-STEM Resource Network is a partnership of public and private higher education institutions, K-12 schools, businesses, and government. I-STEM works to support K–12 teachers and leaders working to implement high academic standards towards STEM literacy for all students.

“Indiana is pleased to be able to join STEMx to share best practices with other STEMx members” said Paul Ainslie, Managing Director of the I-STEM Resource Network. “I-STEM, The Indiana Department of Education, the Governor’s Office, and Purdue University look forward to working with STEMx as we focus on improving the career and college readiness of Indiana’s graduates.”

You can view the full release here .

STEMx™ Network to Release Tools at U.S. News STEM Solutions

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 05:00:00 GMT

We will be introducing a suite of tools to advance STEM education in a series of workshops at the U.S. News STEM Solutions Conference June 17-19, 2013 in Austin, TX. Video highlights and resources from the sessions will also be presented in an online broadcast on July 11.

Each workshop will be led by a multi-state team of expert practitioners including directors and CEOs from nationally recognized state STEM organizations. The sessions introduce STEM practices and supporting tools developed by the states, for the states. The tools will also be available on our website immediately following the conference. We are also working with member state Washington STEM and Social27 to develop a virtual extension of its conference track, including a “simulcast” on July 11 at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT which will feature video highlights of each session, associated resources, and online engagement with STEMx leaders from across the country.

“STEMx is a powerful network of state-led efforts sharing resources for greater impact,” said Patrick D’Amelio, CEO of Washington STEM and chair of the STEMx planning team for the workshops. “This online platform will extend the impact of these sessions and state-tested tools beyond those able to attend the conference to the broader community of STEM advocates.”

You can view the full release here .

The STEMx™ Network Announces Hire of First Executive Director

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Previously an executive at IBM, Ashida’s experience includes worldwide leadership in diversity and workforce management, university relations and recruiting, collaborative innovation, e-business transformation and operations in marketing and finance. She earned a B.A. from the University of Rochester and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

You can view the complete press release here .

Welcome to the new STEMx™ website!

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 06:00:00 GMT

This transformation, just like the transformation of our website, is a thoughtful evolution where each iteration strives to be better than the one before. Our collaborative power and common passion for STEM education fuel this progress and is a testament to the proven success of networks.

As we have continued to grow past the original 13 member states and organizations, our impact has also grown, enabling us to improve the education and future quality of life for more than 8 million students across the United States. Our goal is to eventually reach every corner of the country and bring high quality STEM education to every student in America.

We stand for STEM for all.

Exploring New Frontiers in Online Learning

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Reynoldsburg eSTEM is one of 10 schools in the Ohio STEM Learning Network , and a key demonstration site for Ohio and for STEMx. According to Principal Marcy Raymond, eSTEM will enroll 41 students in Udacity’s statistics class and 49 students in Udacity’s physics class in the fall. This will allow eSTEM to tap into off-site teaching talent and help drive high school students to excel in college-level courses. If all goes well, this may be the wave of the future for eSTEM and other schools looking to augment course offerings with virtual college classes.

Stay tuned!

Udacity High School Challenge

evansrob@battelle.org (Rob Evans) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Ever wanted to take a spin in Google’s self-driving car? Your chance to realize that dream has never been better, thanks to the Udacity High School Challenge Brought to you by Battelle.

From now until August 26th, hundreds of teams led by high school students are competing to complete as many Udacity courses as possible. Team leaders from the top five teams will win a trip to Silicon Valley and get to drive the self-driving car!

This challenge comes right on the heels of some really wild developments in the world of online learning. Just yesterday, Coursera, another online learning company, announced an expansion of their partner universities and course offerings. The New York Times wrote about the announcement and gave a general overview of what are called “massive open online courses” or MOOCs for short.

If you’re still skeptical about MOOCs, you can at least admit they have just about the most fun name ever to say. But give MOOCs a chance — check out Udacity and encourage high school students you know to join the summer challenge!