September 2010
STEM EQUITY PIPELINE NEWS
Claudia Morrell to join the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity
Education Foundation as Chief Operations Officer
News from Iowa: Moms Night Out
Moms Night Out for STEM is a coordinated statewide extravaganza. On a singular Monday
evening doors will simultaneously open throughout the state, at universities, community
colleges, schools, and libraries, as well as commercial facilities and informal
venues such as zoos, museums, and science centers. Featured programming includes
hands-on activities in a safe, supportive atmosphere, a folder of community resources
and opportunities in STEM for youth, a dynamic speaker citing research on the importance
of moms' influence in their children choosing STEM courses and careers, free babysitting,
and a reception featuring refreshments.
Learn More
News from Texas: Clarendon College
In the Panhandle of Texas the weather forecasters can be sure of one thing: the
wind will blow. With the emergence of green technologies, wind energy has become
increasingly important as renewable energy, and the Panhandle has a steady supply
of this fuel. As this technology increases its presence in the area, Clarendon College
is poised to supply a trained workforce through their Wind Energy Technology Program.
Learn More
NEWS FROM WASHINGTON
PCAST Releases Major Report STEM Education
On September 15, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)
released Prepare and Inspire: K-12 Education in Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math (Stem) for America's Future, a plan for improvements in K-12 STEM education.
The report goes directly to President Obama and is sure to have an impact on future
policy and funding decisions.
Read
the Report, Press Release, and Executive Report
New Education Programs Launched
On September 16, as part of his "Educate to Innovate" campaign to raise American
students to the top of the pack in science and math achievement over the next decade,
President Obama announced the launch of Change the Equation, a nonprofit, CEO-led
effort to dramatically improve education in STEM.
Learn More
National Science Board Releases Report
On September 15, the National Science Board released Preparing the Next Generation
of STEM Innovators: Identifying and Developing Our Nation's Human Capital.
Learn More
Girls in Outer Space
(Posted by Rebecca Spyke Keiser, Council on Women and Girls)
NASA is collaborating with the Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN)
and the NASA Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA) to
engage middle schools in math and science learning. The program began with a pilot
on the job-training for over 30 students from FFAWN's all girl high school in the
Bronx, New York. This training program trained students to become student aids.
The students in the job-training program worked with four NASA SEMAA teachers to
learn how to deliver hands-on STEM activities to 100 middle school students. The
NASA material included experiments to illustrate the effects of gravity and Newton's
laws on the forces affecting flight; explore chemistry and properties of solids,
liquids and gases; and assess living and working in space. Astronaut Leland Melvin,
one of the organizers of the FFAWN collaboration, said, "Working with FFAWN is a
rare opportunity to help spread the STEM message into communities not always readily
accessible to us."
Learn More About NASA's Summer of Innovation
ARTICLES
Expert Panels Tackle Ways to Improve STEM Education
(Erik W. Robelen, Education Week)
Citing concerns about the nation's long-term ability to prosper, two major reports
issued separately last week put forward ideas to improve STEM education, but with
decidedly different areas of emphasis. The PCAST report looks broadly at the need
to improve STEM education for all K-12 students, with a focus on new federal actions
to better prepare and inspire them in STEM. The National Science Board report raises
an alarm about what it sees as the failure of the U.S. education system to identify
and nurture the next generation of high-achieving "STEM innovators," and proposes
steps for both the federal government and the nation as a whole to reverse the situation.
Read More
Building a Better Pipeline
(Barry Bock, Huffington Post)
We pride ourselves on being a nation of diversity. But when it comes to diversifying
our workforce in high-tech fields of tomorrow, well, let's just say we still have
a lot of work to do. Consequently, as we attempt to motivate more young students
into the STEM areas, it is paramount that we also increase our efforts to include
more women and underrepresented minorities in these fields.
Read More
Engineer Helps Craft Barbie's Latest Image
(Joyce Gannon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Late one January afternoon, Erin Fitzgerald opened an e-mail from the National Academy
of Engineering seeking her input on a design project. It wasn't an unusual request
considering that Dr. Fitzgerald, 30, is a trained electrical and computer engineer
who earned her undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University and is a research
fellow at the U.S. Department of Defense in Arlington, Va. But the engineering academy
wasn't after her technical expertise. On behalf of Mattel, the academy wanted suggestions
on how to dress and accessorize a computer engineer Barbie doll that will hit store
shelves this fall.
Read More
Gender Differences in Spatial Ability of Young Children: The Effects of Training
and Processing Strategies
(Sarah Sparks, Education Week)
Research has long found a gender gap favoring boys in spatial ability-considered
vital to fields like engineering and physics-but a new study in the October issue
of Child Development suggests that formal training in spatial ability can help girls
catch up.
Read More
Engaging Girls in STEM
(Bridget McCrea, The Journal)
There may not be one all-encompassing solution to STEM gender equity, but there
are some tools that can help get girls interested in STEM and keep them engaged
with it through their secondary and post-secondary education--ranging from investments
in professional development to simple, everyday encouragement.
Read More
STEM Major Choice and the Gender Pay Gap
(Andresse St. Rose, AAUW's On Campus with Women)
AAUW senior researcher Andresse St. Rose discusses the relationship between gender
segregation in STEM and the gender pay gap among college-educated men and women.
Read More
America Losing Science Brainpower Advantage?
(Devin Powell, Fox News)
The United States' ability to compete globally in science and technology is on a
"perilous path," said a new report delivered September 23 to a bipartisan group
of policymakers, industry leaders, and academics. American students continue to
perform poorly in math and science compared to their counterparts abroad, the report
claims. Though the United States is still a leader in innovation and produces a
disproportionate share of the world's wealth, other countries such as China are
investing heavily in research and education and, according to the new report, threatening
America's competitiveness. "At a time when jobs are our foremost concern in the
United States, keeping our brainpower advantage is a good way to keep new jobs coming,"
said Sen. Lamar Alexander R-Tenn.
Read More
Access
Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5
Searching for STEM Success
(David Moltz, Inside Higher Ed)
In recent years, rural community colleges have done significantly better than their
urban and suburban counterparts in the percentage increase of associate degrees
awarded to women and minorities in STEM disciplines. And though the reasons for
their relative success - which is detailed in the latest issue of the Journal of
Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering - remain unknown, community college
researchers are suggesting policy recommendations in an attempt to replicate it
elsewhere and boost the numbers of these underrepresented students. At the same
time, they say STEM educators should not forget about their male students, who appear
to be falling further behind academically, though enrolling in greater numbers.
Read More
NAPE 2011 PDI
The 2001 NAPE Professional Development Institute will be held on Monday, April 11-14,
at the Doubletree Crystal City, VA.
RESOURCES
The White House recently unveiled Challenge.gov,
where government agencies from NASA to the EPA post challenges for everyday citizens
to tackle.
A California high-school math teacher is hoping to reach additional students by
posting more than 500 of his
videotaped math lessons on YouTube.
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is seeking applications
from young women for the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing.
The user interface for the U.S.
STEM Education Model is now live.
SAVE THE DATE
USA Science &
Engineering Festival: October 10-24, 2010, Washington, DC
Annual Conference on STEM Education Policy, "STEM Innovation... Leveraging Government,
Business, and Education": L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington, DC, October
21-22, 2010
First Annual STEMtech Conference:
October 31-November 3, 2010, Orlando, FL
National Girls Collaborative
Conference: October 21-22, 2010, Washington, DC
AAUW National Convention:
Breaking through Barriers--Advocating for Change, June 16-19, 2011, Washington,
DC
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