March 2010
NAPE PDI
NAPE's 2010 Professional Development Institute, "A New Decade for Equity," will
be held in Arlington, VA, on April 12-15, 2010
THE PDI STARTS IN LESS
THAN 2 WEEKS!
ADVOCACY DAY
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
After a morning of public policy briefings by our coalition partners, members of
the Administration, staff of the House Education and Labor Committee and Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, you will have the afternoon available
to visit the offices of your Senators and Representatives.
Learn more about how you can prepare for Advocacy Day
ARTICLES
U.S. Gets Poor Grades in Nurturing STEM Diversity
(Erik W. Robelen, Education Week)
The nation's K-12 education system gets an average grade of D for the job it does
"engaging and nurturing" minorities to pursue careers in the STEM fields, and a
D-plus for such performance with girls, based on results released today from a survey
of female and minority chemists and chemical engineers. Those polled also believe
science teachers play a larger role than parents and others in inspiring an interest
in science, with 70 percent saying teachers have the most influence at the elementary
level, and nearly 90 percent saying teachers have the most influence at the high
school level.
Read More
Purdue U and PBS TeacherLine Team on STEM Training for Educators
(Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology)
Purdue University is teaming up with PBS to educate elementary school teachers on
how to teach engineering concepts to young students. The new course for preK-6 teachers
is a joint effort of PBS TeacherLine, an online professional development program
for educators, and Purdue's Institute for P-12 Engineering Research and Learning
(INSPIRE) within the School of Engineering Education. The goal of the effort is
ultimately to interest students at an early age in the sciences and engineering.
Read More
For Minority Boys, a Chance to Get Hands-on STEM Exposure
(WJLA-TV, Washington, DC)
Minority boys at a Maryland elementary school are getting more exposure to the fields
of science, technology, engineering and math through a program sponsored by the
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Boys at William Beanes Elementary School practice hands-on
learning by spending their Saturdays building balloon rockets and flying helicopters
through the program, which has improved student test scores and will expand next
year.
Read More
Going from STEM to STEAM
(Joseph Piro, Education Week)
In the midst of all the STEM frenzy, we may want to do something riskier, and more
imaginative, to save the country: turn STEM funding into STEAM funding. Inserting
the letter A, for the arts, into the acronym could afford us even greater global
advantage.
Read More
America's Real Dream Team
(Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times)
Thomas Friedman reports on a dinner to celebrate the top 40 finalists in the 2010
Intel Science Talent Search, which, through a national contest, identifies and honors
the top math and science high school students in America, based on their solutions
to scientific problems. Most finalists hailed from immigrant families, largely from
Asia.
Read More
Science Teachers Meet to Urge More Funding
(Elisa Lala, Philadelphia Inquirer)
More than 10,000 teachers are in Philadelphia to try to persuade the nation that
science is important. The city was the site of the 58th annual National Conference
on Science Education, with educators from as far away as China and Britain networking,
sharing teaching secrets, and boasting about the role of science in the classroom.
Read
More
Systems Engineer Deemed Best Job in America
(Chris Matyszczyk, CNET News)
If you're a systems engineer who wonders whether you've chosen the right profession,
I bring you good news. Please take a deep breath, stand up, and be prepared to leap
so high, you will touch the sky. Then you will, perhaps, want to touch the Skyy.
For a survey has declared that systems engineer is the best job in America.
Read More
Computer Engineer Barbie: Geek Chic?
The latest Barbie doll, due for release in October, is a computer engineer with
a binary number t-shirt and matching pink laptop and cell phone headset. Her occupation
was chosen after Mattel conducted a vote of Barbie admirers. Whether you think she's
"geek chic" or feel that her highly sexualized figure and clothing sends the wrong
message, the fact is that Barbie has a big impact on girls. According to Mattel,
90% of girls ages 3-10 own at least one Barbie doll and BarbieGirls.com has 18 million
registered users worldwide. Like it or not, Barbie is a popular culture icon and
a role model for girls.
Read More
Engineers Thinking Big--and Small-- for the Future
The theme of National Engineering Month 2010 is "design the future," and experts
say the future is getting very big and very small. John McLaughlin is a professor
of geomatics engineering at the University of New Brunswick. He sees engineers tackling
massive-scale issues like smart continental power grids that would improve energy
efficiency and prevent large-scale black outs. He also sees engineers going deeper
into nanotechnology as they become the "doctors of the 21st century" in biomedicine
and by designing better drugs and medical equipment.
Read More
Senior DHS Official Calls for Security Scholarships for Computer Science Students
(Ben Bain, Federal Computer Week)
Richard Marshall, director of global cybersecurity management in the Homeland Security
Department's National Cybersecurity Division, said improving supply chain management
and software assurance are keys to bolstering cybersecurity but, without boosting
STEM education, computer security programs would fail.
Read More
Stanford Seeks to Create New Breed 0f Engineer
(John Wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle)
Stanford is training a new type of engineer for a fast-changing world and James
Plummer wants to get the word out that students needn't be a total techie to apply.
"We're looking for kids who think of the world in terms of finding solutions to
big problems, like global warming, international development, the environment,"
Plummer, dean of the School of Engineering, said in an interview. "We want to attract
students ... who might have a wider world view" than those in the traditional math-
and science-laden programs featured at the nation's top technical schools.
Read More
Women Opt out of Math/Science Careers Because of Family Demands
(ScienceDaily)
Women who are good at mathematics often do not choose careers in math-intensive
fields, such as computer science, physics, technology, engineering, chemistry, and
higher mathematics, because they want the flexibility to raise children, or because
they prefer other fields of science that are less math-intensive, according to a
new study. The study, an integrative analysis of 35 years of research on sex differences
in math, offers explanations for why women are underrepresented in math-intensive
science careers.
Read More
Physics Before Biology and Chemistry Equals Promising Results
(Stephanie Akin, NorthJersey.com)
A new way of teaching physics developed by a Bergen County, N.J. teacher could offer
a solution to poor student performance in math and science.
Read More
Mentoring Seen as Particularly Important for Female Success in Tech Industry
(Summary from 3/3/10 ACTE Career Tech Update)
In an IT Business Edge blog, Ann All noted the recent BusinessWeek column from scholar
and columnist Vivek Wadhwa in which he cites an analysis indicating "a dearth of
women entrepreneurs." Wadhwa also "sees promise in female-led support networks and
groups, including Women 2.0 and the Young Women Social Entrepreneurs." However,
All wrote, those measures "won't provide much direct help with child care and other
family-related issues."
Read More
NASA Launches Mission Simulator Website
(Doug Beizer, Federal Computer Week)
An interactive simulation website launched by NASA today enables anyone to experience
space mission activities, such as docking the space shuttle at the International
Space Station. The online Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) simulation is
designed to be both educational and entertaining.
Article
Simulator Website
PUBLICATIONS
Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(American Association of University Women)
In an era when women are increasingly prominent in medicine, law and business, why
are there so few women scientists and engineers? This report presents in-depth yet
accessible profiles of eight key research findings that point to environmental and
social barriers - including stereotypes, gender bias and the climate of science
and engineering departments in colleges and universities - that continue to block
women's participation and progress in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Learn More
Race Matters
(Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed)
A constant theme of reports about math and science is that the United States will
have a large enough supply of scientists only if it does a better job of attracting
black and Latino scientists -- and not just relying on Asian American, white and
foreign talent. Many of these reports note that large shares of black and Latino
high school students don't receive the kind of preparation they should in math and
science. A new study points to another factor: the role of black college instructors
in encouraging black science students to persist as science majors. The study finds
a statistically significant relationship between black students who plan to be a
science major having at least one black science instructor as freshmen and then
sticking to their plans.
Read Article
Read Study: The Effect of Instructor Race and Gender on Student Persistence in STEM
Fields (Joshua Price, Cornell University)
Eyeballs in the Fridge Needed to Entice Early Interest in Science, Study Finds
(UVA Today)
A new study co-authored by a University of Virginia Curry School of Education professor
finds that key experiences that sparked scientists' initial interest in the subject
may come earlier than middle school, as previously reported.
Read More
Diversifying the STEM Pipeline: The Model Replication Institutions Program
(Institute for Higher Education Policy)
This report describes effective practices and policies that have enhanced and strengthened
the STEM offerings at nine Minority Serving [postsecondary] Institutions. These
institutions participate in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Model Replication
Institutions (MRI) initiative, which builds on best practices in STEM undergraduate
education identified previously by a NSF- and NASA-supported, 11-year-old program
called the Model Institutions of Excellence (MIE).
Learn More
Study: Boys Trail Girls in Reading, Both Genders Even in Math
(CBS News)
Girls in the U.S. have closed the achievement gap in math, but boys still lag behind
in reading, according to a new study. The Center on Education Policy found that
girls generally achieved the same proficiency in math as boys at the elementary,
middle and high school grade levels. Girls have traditionally trailed boys in that
subject. However, the traditional gender gap in reading remains, with girls outperforming
boys at the three main grade levels. In many states, the learning gap exceeded 10
percent.
Read Article
Read Report
RESOURCES
Trailblazing Black Female Scientist Encourages Women to Follow Suit: NPR interview
with Shirley Jackson
American Honda Foundation Grants to K-12 schools, colleges, universities,
trade schools, and other youth-focused nonprofit organizations for programs that
benefit youth and scientific education.
SolidWorks: STEM Educators Grant will award SolidWorks Student
Edition CAD software to individual U.S. educators.
U.S.
DOLETA Community-Based Job Training Grants Program support workforce training
for high-growth/high-demand industries through the national system of community,
technical, and Tribal colleges.
Making Science
Cool Videos from The After-School Corporation
SAVE THE DATE
Multinational Development of Women in Technology Annual Conference, Columbia,
MD, April 29, 2010
USA Science & Engineering
Festival: October 10-24, 2010, Washington, DC
DISCLAIMER
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material
published in the NAPE Update are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect
the views of NAPE. Furthermore, inclusion of a product, program, or practice in
the NAPE Update does not imply its endorsement by NAPE.
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