Expanding participation in summer STEM camps

A panel discussion with :Jim Washburne, UA-SAHRA

Debbie Colodner, AZ Sonora Desert MuseumGabby Hebert, Phoenix Zoo

Tirupalavanam Ganesh, ASU-Eng/Edu

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

Join us Friday 4:00-4:50, Robson rm

Context

PREPARE AND INSPIRE: K-12 EDUCATION IN STEM FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE

President’s Council of Advisors on Science and

Technology , Sept. 2010

www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-stemed-report.pdf

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

National Needs for STEM Education

1. We must ensure a STEM-capable citizenry … when citizens make personal decisions, engage in civic discourse, serve on a jury, cast their ballots, or run for public office, they should have the knowledge, conceptual understandings, and critical-thinking skills that come from studying STEM subjects.

2. We must build a STEM-proficient workforce … The U.S. economy needs a large and increasing supply of workers who can routinely use scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematical knowledge and skills in their jobs.

3. We must cultivate future STEM experts … we must cultivate a large pool of STEM experts with the knowledge, drive, and imagination to advance the frontiers of science and industry.

4. We must close the achievement and participation gap … this cannot be limited to helping students and groups at the remedial level … It also requires unleashing the full potential of all our students … and … needs to recognize and cultivate untapped talent.

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

• STEM education policies must be aimed at multiple levels and at everyone. We must ensure that struggling students reach STEM-proficiency. In parallel, we must deeply engage proficient students and attract high-achieving students from all groups to STEM subjects.

• Science courses are enhanced by cross-disciplinary knowledge that transcends the typical course boundaries of biology, chemistry, earth science, or physics. These characteristics of STEM mean that students who have trouble at an early stage will face further difficulty down the road.

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

Strategy: Prepare and Inspire • Inspiration involves capturing the curiosity and imagination

of students. If preparation depends heavily on skill development, inspiration depends on providing access to exciting individual experiences and to STEM connections inside and outside of schools. Inspiration also involves giving students the opportunity to be motivated by teachers and mentors, by collaborations in discovery and invention, and by what they learn in school and out of school. Students

• should be able to see themselves in the role of a scientist … which requires role models.

• need experiences that demonstrate STEM subjects can connect to their own lives and how working in these fields can help solve … today’s critical problems.

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

Implications

We need learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom for students to explore, invent, and discover. We need all teachers and schools to have connections to the dynamic, broader world …

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

UA’s Arizona Rivers

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

• Content: Riparian hydrology and ecology monitoring• Students: 10 High School• Length: 15 days (June 11-26)• Goals: Riparian science and stewardship, outdoor leadership

ASDM’s Earth Camp

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

• Content: Water Resources and Environmental Change• Students: 20 Middle School, 20 High School• Length: Two 2-week camps, one for MS, one for HS• Goals:

Inspire students to become leaders for a shared planet.Demonstrate the role of science in environmental decision-making.

PhxZoo’s Camp Zoo

• Content: Ecology, wildlife studies, nature exploration, conservation science, sustainability practices (at age appropriate levels)

• Students: K - 8th grade• Length: 5 days (8 hours each day)• Goals: Encourage exploration and care of nature, passion for

wildlife, wildlife career exploration

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

ASU’s Learning through Engineering Design and Practice

• Content: Engineering design; Robots• Students: 7-9th grades• Length: 1-2 weeks?• Goals: creativity, IT/STEM skills,

focus on under-represented studentsASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

Discussion Questions

STEM summer camps, especially authentic field or lab experiences are very resource intensive.

Q1: In which students is it best to invest these resources? …Q2: What are best ways to find and recruit the students we

want?Q3: How do students find out about programs and scholarships?

Do we need better coordination?Q4: How can we assess impact of summer programs on future

academic achievement?Q5: How can we leverage the "investment" in these students as

leaders to help inspire their peers?

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

Question 1

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

STEM summer camps, especially authentic field or lab experiences are very resource intensive. • In which students is it best to invest these resources? • Do we use these camps to reinforce and retain students already interested in science? • Do we attempt to inspire students who have not been interested previously? • Do we reward high achievers, or motivate low achievers?

Question 2

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

What are best ways to find and recruit the students we want?

Audience: What will it take to get your best students

into one of these programs?

Question 3

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

How do students find out about programs and scholarships?

Do we need better coordination?

Audience: Who is the best person at your school for us

to send program information to?

Question 4

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

How can we assess impact of summer programs on future

academic achievement?

Audience: How do we track your students’ continued

achievements?

Question 5

ASTA Annual Meeting 10/22/10

How can we leverage the "investment" in these students as

leaders to help inspire their peers?

Audience: How can we work with you and your

participating students to reach a wider audience?