May 2008
STEM Equity Pipeline News
ARTICLES
New York Forum Focuses on How to Increase Number of Hispanics in STEM Fields
Leaders from government, education, business and community organizations gathered
Monday to learn ways to encourage Hispanics to pursue careers in technology.
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Seminars Aim to Help New Math Teachers Overcome Challenges
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is conducting seminars in an effort
to help young math teachers overcome the typical challenges associated with the
job and to convince them to stick it out. "People can be in this profession for
years and be energized," said James M. Rubillo, the council's executive director.
"The main challenge in the field is to make the early-career period positive."
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Summit: Save STEM or Watch America Fail
Two years after a report called "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" warned that the
United States is falling behind in math and science education, endangering America's
competitiveness in the global economy, education leaders, lawmakers, and cabinet
members met for a national summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss what progress--if
any--has been made in closing the gap. Their verdict: The U.S. needs to make a greater
investment in critical math, science, and research programs for these efforts to
succeed.
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States Heeding Calls to Strengthen STEM
Unnerved by job losses, weak test scores, and competition from an increasingly skilled
foreign workforce, state officials have launched a variety of efforts to improve
mathematics, science, and technology education, in an attempt to gird against whatever
economic challenges may come.
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Community Colleges Fuel Science Workforce
According to a study by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), 48% of people
who received a bachelors or masters degree in science or engineering in 2004 or
2005 had attended a 2-year college at some point. Most underrepresented minority
students begin their journey in higher education at community colleges, and minority
Ph.D. holders across all fields are more likely than whites to have begun their
careers at a community college.
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Professional Societies and Increasing Diversity in STEM
A survey undertaken of 68 professional societies determined that the work associated
with diversity efforts needed to be more broadly embraced by people outside the
"usual suspects" who sometimes feel over-burdened by these duties due to their small
numbers.
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Information
NACME Announces Research on Underrepresented Minorities in STEM
The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) recently released
new research, made possible by Motorola Foundation, that quantifies a growing "opportunity
gap" in the number of minority students pursuing degrees and careers in science
and technology.
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Math, Science Competitions Aim to Make Innovation Hip
As the U.S. grows less competitive in terms of its scientific and technological
prowess, competitive math bowls, robotics competitions and science fairs aim to
draw in top student talent. "I think we have a generation where math and science
became uncool," says Dr. Jim Hamos, program director of the National Science Foundation's
Math and Science Partnership Program.
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The Whiz-Kid Season
This is the season when students really shine - and in this spring's science and
engineering competitions, women are continuing to close the gender gap. Following
up on last December's first-ever female sweep of the Siemens Competition in Math,
Science and Technology, three 17-year-old young women won the top prizes in last
week's Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
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The Freedom to Say "No"
Why aren't there more women in science and engineering? Controversial new research
suggests: They just aren't interested.
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WEBINARS
Assessment Tools for Local Programs: Adapting and Using Tools from the Assessing
Women and Men in Engineering (AWE) Project
June 16, 2008, 2 pm ET
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National Girls Collaborative Project - The Gender Chip Project
June 11, 2008
11:00 AM Pacific
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Information
RESOURCES
CSTA's Imagine Your Future in Computing Brochure in Spanish
(800-401-1799)
(Choose Physical and Mathematical Science)
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