Making Changes in STEM Education

Making Changes in STEM Education PDF Author: Julia M. Williams
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000878562
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Get Book Here

Book Description
Many science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) faculty wish to make an academic change at the course, department, college, or university level, but they lack the specific tools and training that can help them achieve the changes they desire. Making Changes in STEM Education: The Change Maker’s Toolkit is a practical guide based on academic change research and designed to equip STEM faculty and administrators with the skills necessary to accomplish their academic change goals. Each tool is categorized by a dominant theme in change work, such as opportunities for change, strategic vision, communication, teamwork, stakeholders, and partnerships, and is presented in context by the author, herself a change leader in STEM. In addition, the author provides interviews with STEM faculty and leaders who are engaged in their own change projects, offering additional insight into how the tools can be applied to a variety of educational contexts. The book is ideal for STEM faculty who are working to change their courses, curricula, departments, and campuses and STEM administrators who lead such change work to support their faculties, as well as graduate students in STEM who plan to enter an academic position upon graduation and expect to work on academic change projects. Download - Episode 149: Julia Williams, on how to be a changemaker in academia | Podbean

Making Changes in STEM Education

Making Changes in STEM Education PDF Author: Julia M. Williams
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000878562
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Get Book Here

Book Description
Many science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) faculty wish to make an academic change at the course, department, college, or university level, but they lack the specific tools and training that can help them achieve the changes they desire. Making Changes in STEM Education: The Change Maker’s Toolkit is a practical guide based on academic change research and designed to equip STEM faculty and administrators with the skills necessary to accomplish their academic change goals. Each tool is categorized by a dominant theme in change work, such as opportunities for change, strategic vision, communication, teamwork, stakeholders, and partnerships, and is presented in context by the author, herself a change leader in STEM. In addition, the author provides interviews with STEM faculty and leaders who are engaged in their own change projects, offering additional insight into how the tools can be applied to a variety of educational contexts. The book is ideal for STEM faculty who are working to change their courses, curricula, departments, and campuses and STEM administrators who lead such change work to support their faculties, as well as graduate students in STEM who plan to enter an academic position upon graduation and expect to work on academic change projects. Download - Episode 149: Julia Williams, on how to be a changemaker in academia | Podbean

Barriers and Opportunities for 2-Year and 4-Year STEM Degrees

Barriers and Opportunities for 2-Year and 4-Year STEM Degrees PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309373603
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 215

Get Book Here

Book Description
Nearly 40 percent of the students entering 2- and 4-year postsecondary institutions indicated their intention to major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in 2012. But the barriers to students realizing their ambitions are reflected in the fact that about half of those with the intention to earn a STEM bachelor's degree and more than two-thirds intending to earn a STEM associate's degree fail to earn these degrees 4 to 6 years after their initial enrollment. Many of those who do obtain a degree take longer than the advertised length of the programs, thus raising the cost of their education. Are the STEM educational pathways any less efficient than for other fields of study? How might the losses be "stemmed" and greater efficiencies realized? These questions and others are at the heart of this study. Barriers and Opportunities for 2-Year and 4-Year STEM Degrees reviews research on the roles that people, processes, and institutions play in 2-and 4-year STEM degree production. This study pays special attention to the factors that influence students' decisions to enter, stay in, or leave STEM majorsâ€"quality of instruction, grading policies, course sequences, undergraduate learning environments, student supports, co-curricular activities, students' general academic preparedness and competence in science, family background, and governmental and institutional policies that affect STEM educational pathways. Because many students do not take the traditional 4-year path to a STEM undergraduate degree, Barriers and Opportunities describes several other common pathways and also reviews what happens to those who do not complete the journey to a degree. This book describes the major changes in student demographics; how students, view, value, and utilize programs of higher education; and how institutions can adapt to support successful student outcomes. In doing so, Barriers and Opportunities questions whether definitions and characteristics of what constitutes success in STEM should change. As this book explores these issues, it identifies where further research is needed to build a system that works for all students who aspire to STEM degrees. The conclusions of this report lay out the steps that faculty, STEM departments, colleges and universities, professional societies, and others can take to improve STEM education for all students interested in a STEM degree.

STEM Integration in K-12 Education

STEM Integration in K-12 Education PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309297990
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 143

Get Book Here

Book Description
STEM Integration in K-12 Education examines current efforts to connect the STEM disciplines in K-12 education. This report identifies and characterizes existing approaches to integrated STEM education, both in formal and after- and out-of-school settings. The report reviews the evidence for the impact of integrated approaches on various student outcomes, and it proposes a set of priority research questions to advance the understanding of integrated STEM education. STEM Integration in K-12 Education proposes a framework to provide a common perspective and vocabulary for researchers, practitioners, and others to identify, discuss, and investigate specific integrated STEM initiatives within the K-12 education system of the United States. STEM Integration in K-12 Education makes recommendations for designers of integrated STEM experiences, assessment developers, and researchers to design and document effective integrated STEM education. This report will help to further their work and improve the chances that some forms of integrated STEM education will make a positive difference in student learning and interest and other valued outcomes.

Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century

Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309472733
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 203

Get Book Here

Book Description
The U.S. system of graduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has served the nation and its science and engineering enterprise extremely well. Over the course of their education, graduate students become involved in advancing the frontiers of discovery, as well as in making significant contributions to the growth of the U.S. economy, its national security, and the health and well-being of its people. However, continuous, dramatic innovations in research methods and technologies, changes in the nature and availability of work, shifts in demographics, and expansions in the scope of occupations needing STEM expertise raise questions about how well the current STEM graduate education system is meeting the full array of 21st century needs. Indeed, recent surveys of employers and graduates and studies of graduate education suggest that many graduate programs do not adequately prepare students to translate their knowledge into impact in multiple careers. Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century examines the current state of U.S. graduate STEM education. This report explores how the system might best respond to ongoing developments in the conduct of research on evidence-based teaching practices and in the needs and interests of its students and the broader society it seeks to serve. This will be an essential resource for the primary stakeholders in the U.S. STEM enterprise, including federal and state policymakers, public and private funders, institutions of higher education, their administrators and faculty, leaders in business and industry, and the students the system is intended to educate.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Stem) Education

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Stem) Education PDF Author: Heather B. Gonzalez
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
ISBN: 9781479106103
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 40

Get Book Here

Book Description
The term “STEM education” refers to teaching and learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It typically includes educational activities across all grade levels—from pre-school to post-doctorate—in both formal (e.g., classrooms) and informal (e.g., afterschool programs) settings. Federal policymakers have an active and enduring interest in STEM education and the topic is frequently raised in federal science, education, workforce, national security, and immigration policy debates. For example, more than 200 bills containing the term “science education” were introduced between the 100th and 110th congresses. The United States is widely believed to perform poorly in STEM education. However, the data paint a complicated picture. By some measures, U.S. students appear to be doing quite well. For example, overall graduate enrollments in science and engineering (S&E) grew 35% over the last decade. Further, S&E enrollments for Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, and African American students (all of whom are generally underrepresented in S&E) grew by 65%, 55%, and 50%, respectively. On the other hand, concerns remain about persistent academic achievement gaps between various demographic groups, STEM teacher quality, the rankings of U.S. students on international STEM assessments, foreign student enrollments and increased education attainment in other countries, and the ability of the U.S. STEM education system to meet domestic demand for STEM labor. Various attempts to assess the federal STEM education effort have produced different estimates of its scope and scale. Analysts have identified between 105 and 252 STEM education programs or activities at 13 to 15 federal agencies. Annual federal appropriations for STEM education are typically in the range of $2.8 billion to $3.4 billion. All published inventories identify the Department of Education, National Science Foundation, and Health and Human Services as key agencies in the federal effort. Over half of federal STEM education funding is intended to serve the needs of postsecondary schools and students; the remainder goes to efforts at the kindergarten-through-Grade 12 level. Much of the funding for post-secondary students is in the form of financial aid. Federal STEM education policy concerns center on issues that relate to STEM education as a whole—such as governance of the federal effort and broadening participation of underrepresented populations—as well as those that are specific to STEM education at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels. Governance concerns focus on perceived duplication and lack of coordination in the federal effort; broadening participation concerns tend to highlight achievement gaps between various demographic groups. Analysts suggest a variety of policy proposals in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary STEM education. At the K-12 level, these include proposals to address teacher quality, accountability, and standards. At the post-secondary level, proposals center on efforts to remediate and retain students in STEM majors. This report is intended to serve as a primer for outlining existing STEM education policy issues and programs. It includes assessments of the federal STEM education effort and the condition of STEM education in the United States, as well as an analysis of several of the policy issues central to the contemporary federal conversation about STEM education. Appendix A contains frequently cited data and sources and Appendix B includes a selection of major STEM-related acts.

How People Learn II

How People Learn II PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309459672
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 347

Get Book Here

Book Description
There are many reasons to be curious about the way people learn, and the past several decades have seen an explosion of research that has important implications for individual learning, schooling, workforce training, and policy. In 2000, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition was published and its influence has been wide and deep. The report summarized insights on the nature of learning in school-aged children; described principles for the design of effective learning environments; and provided examples of how that could be implemented in the classroom. Since then, researchers have continued to investigate the nature of learning and have generated new findings related to the neurological processes involved in learning, individual and cultural variability related to learning, and educational technologies. In addition to expanding scientific understanding of the mechanisms of learning and how the brain adapts throughout the lifespan, there have been important discoveries about influences on learning, particularly sociocultural factors and the structure of learning environments. How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures provides a much-needed update incorporating insights gained from this research over the past decade. The book expands on the foundation laid out in the 2000 report and takes an in-depth look at the constellation of influences that affect individual learning. How People Learn II will become an indispensable resource to understand learning throughout the lifespan for educators of students and adults.

From Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom

From Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom PDF Author: Marc R. Prensky
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 1452284199
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Get Book Here

Book Description
An expert perspective on 21st century education What can you learn on a cell phone? Almost anything! How does that concept fit with our traditional system of education? It doesn′t. Best-selling author and futurist Marc Prensky′s book of essays challenges educators to "reboot" and make the changes necessary to prepare students for 21st century careers. His "bottom-up" vision is based on interviews with young people and includes their ideas about what they need from teachers, schools, and education. Also featured are easy-to-do, high-impact classroom strategies that help what he calls "digital natives" acquire "digital wisdom." This thought-provoking text is organized into two sections that address: • Rethinking education • 21st century learning and technology in the classroom (including games, YouTube, and more) In addition to valuable knowledge, this compelling collection offers inspiration, new perspectives, and ideas that work. Our educational context has changed, and a new context demands new thinking. This book will broaden your mind, spark new insights regarding how and what you teach, and reshape your vision of 21st century education.

Challenges and Opportunities for Transforming From STEM to STEAM Education

Challenges and Opportunities for Transforming From STEM to STEAM Education PDF Author: Thomas, Kelli
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1799825191
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 326

Get Book Here

Book Description
The addition of the arts to STEM education, now known as STEAM, adds a new dimension to problem-solving within those fields, offering students tools such as imagination and resourcefulness to incorporate into their designs. However, the shift from STEM to STEAM has changed what it means for students to learn within and across these disciplines. Redesigning curricula to include the arts is the next step in preparing students throughout all levels of education. Challenges and Opportunities for Transforming From STEM to STEAM Education is a pivotal reference source that examines the challenges and opportunities presented in redesigning STEM education to include creativity, innovation, and design from the arts including new approaches to STEAM and their practical applications in the classroom. While highlighting topics including curriculum design, teacher preparation, and PreK-20 education, this book is ideally designed for teachers, curriculum developers, instructional designers, deans, museum educators, policymakers, administrators, researchers, academicians, and students.

Successful K-12 STEM Education

Successful K-12 STEM Education PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309213002
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 44

Get Book Here

Book Description
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are cultural achievements that reflect our humanity, power our economy, and constitute fundamental aspects of our lives as citizens, consumers, parents, and members of the workforce. Providing all students with access to quality education in the STEM disciplines is important to our nation's competitiveness. However, it is challenging to identify the most successful schools and approaches in the STEM disciplines because success is defined in many ways and can occur in many different types of schools and settings. In addition, it is difficult to determine whether the success of a school's students is caused by actions the school takes or simply related to the population of students in the school. Successful K-12 STEM Education defines a framework for understanding "success" in K-12 STEM education. The book focuses its analysis on the science and mathematics parts of STEM and outlines criteria for identifying effective STEM schools and programs. Because a school's success should be defined by and measured relative to its goals, the book identifies three important goals that share certain elements, including learning STEM content and practices, developing positive dispositions toward STEM, and preparing students to be lifelong learners. A successful STEM program would increase the number of students who ultimately pursue advanced degrees and careers in STEM fields, enhance the STEM-capable workforce, and boost STEM literacy for all students. It is also critical to broaden the participation of women and minorities in STEM fields. Successful K-12 STEM Education examines the vast landscape of K-12 STEM education by considering different school models, highlighting research on effective STEM education practices, and identifying some conditions that promote and limit school- and student-level success in STEM. The book also looks at where further work is needed to develop appropriate data sources. The book will serve as a guide to policy makers; decision makers at the school and district levels; local, state, and federal government agencies; curriculum developers; educators; and parent and education advocacy groups.

Teaching and Learning STEM

Teaching and Learning STEM PDF Author: Richard M. Felder
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1394196342
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 374

Get Book Here

Book Description
The widely used STEM education book, updated Teaching and Learning STEM: A Practical Guide covers teaching and learning issues unique to teaching in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines. Secondary and postsecondary instructors in STEM areas need to master specific skills, such as teaching problem-solving, which are not regularly addressed in other teaching and learning books. This book fills the gap, addressing, topics like learning objectives, course design, choosing a text, effective instruction, active learning, teaching with technology, and assessment—all from a STEM perspective. You’ll also gain the knowledge to implement learner-centered instruction, which has been shown to improve learning outcomes across disciplines. For this edition, chapters have been updated to reflect recent cognitive science and empirical educational research findings that inform STEM pedagogy. You’ll also find a new section on actively engaging students in synchronous and asynchronous online courses, and content has been substantially revised to reflect recent developments in instructional technology and online course development and delivery. Plan and deliver lessons that actively engage students—in person or online Assess students’ progress and help ensure retention of all concepts learned Help students develop skills in problem-solving, self-directed learning, critical thinking, teamwork, and communication Meet the learning needs of STEM students with diverse backgrounds and identities The strategies presented in Teaching and Learning STEM don’t require revolutionary time-intensive changes in your teaching, but rather a gradual integration of traditional and new methods. The result will be a marked improvement in your teaching and your students’ learning.