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Coalition report released on out-of-school learning

Jun 05, 2016

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

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.

By Rob Evans 01 Nov, 2023
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: DoD STEM: Developing a STEM Workforce to Support the National Security Mission Priming the Pump for High Demand STEM Careers STEM Workforce Readiness for Teen Girls: “If She Can See It, She Can Be It” 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 .
By Rob Evans 03 Oct, 2023
Join us for The STEM Innovation Forum: Activating Collaborations to Advance an Inclusive STEM Workforce
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