stem education: education for the 21st century vcsu · education for the 21st century our vision is...
TRANSCRIPT
STEM EDUCATIONA Publication of the Great Plains STEM Education Center
VCSUSTEM Education:
Education for the 21st Century
Our vision is to move North Dakota to the forefront of STEM Education.
OCTOBER 2010
CONTENTS
1 STEM Education at VCSU Valley City State University has a long and proud history of leadership in teacher education. Now, in 2010, VCSU has established the Great Plains STEM Education Center to help create the path toward broadly implementing STEM Education in North Dakota.
2 VCSU Establishes the Great Plains STEM Education Center
The Center will provide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Educa-tion and training opportunities for K-12 students and teachers as an essential step in the process of increasing the technology and engineering capacity of the U.S. workforce.
3 STEM Education Workshop Offerings
The Great Plains STEM Education Center can provide in-service training for your school district. Workshop topics include: LEGO® Education, STEM Curriculum from the Museum of Science, Boston, and 3D Modeling. These offerings can be customized to meet the needs of your school district.
4 Perspectives on STEM Education
STEM Education is about producing an engaged citizenry that • can solve problems• invent and innovate• apply logical and rational thought processes• is capable of effective teamwork• is self-confident and self-reliant• is able to understand• apply, troubleshoot, and manage technology appropriately
Ultimately, it is about guaranteeing our children’s and America’s future.
The contents of this publication were developed under a Congressionally-directed grant administered through the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Educa-tion, and does not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
Great Plains STEM Education Center Directory
EMAIL PHONE NUMBER
Dr. Don Mugan, Director [email protected] 701-845-7128
Don Fischer, Coordinator [email protected] 701-845-7446
Lana Fornes, Curriculum Developer [email protected] 701-845-7447
Great Plains STEM Education Center [email protected] 701-845-7441
VCSU Toll Free 800-532-8641
Great Plains STEM Education Center • 101 College Street SW • Valley City, ND 58072 • gpstem.vcsu.edu
STEM Education at VCSUDr. Steve Shirley, President
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Valley City State University 1 Valley City State University 1
Great Plains STEM Education Center
AttheGreatPlainsSTEMEducationCenter,ourgoalistobringNorthDakotatotheforefrontofSTEMEducation.WerecognizeSTEMEducationaseducationforthe21stCenturywithstudentengagementasPriorityOne.
Our role is to • provideleadership• professionaldevelopmentforteachersandadministrators• documentationofSTEMEducationcompetencethroughen-
dorsementsthatappearonlicensesandcertificatesthatap-pearontranscripts
• promotestudentcompetitions• connectwiththelargercommunityInotherwords,transformdeliveryofthesecriticalsubjects.
Inrecentyears,studieshaveshownthatthetechnologyandengineer-ingcapacityoftheU.S.workforcehasfallensignificantlybehindthatofothercountries.Inoneurgentreportafteranother,businessleaderswarnaboutAmerica’slossofcompetitiveadvantageinscience,technology,engineering,andmathematics–theSTEMfields.Inordertoaddressthiscriticalsituation,fundamentalreformsarebeingimplementednationwide.STEMEducationisanemergingsetoftransdis-ciplinaryteachingmethodsandcontentwiththegoalofincreasingthenumberandabilityofstudentsenteringSTEM-relatedcareers.Akeygoalistoincreasestudentengagement.Toaccomplishthis,STEMEducationusesactive,hands-onproblem-orproject-basedlearning,whichallowsstudentstoapplyscienceandmathconceptsandemploytheengineeringdesignprocess.ValleyCityStateUniver-sityhasalongandproudhistoryofleadershipinteachereducation.Becauseofitsstrongtradi-tion,VCSUisinauniquepositiontohelpimplementthesereforms,andwehavealreadybecomeawell-establishedleaderinthefieldofSTEMEducation.• In2000,VCSUlauncheditsonlinedegreeprograminTechnology
Education,aimedatprovidingtechnologicalliteracyforstudentsbasedoncontentstandardspublishedbytheInternationalTechnol-ogyandEngineeringEducatorsAssociation(ITEEA)andendorsedbytheNationalAcademyofEngineering(NAE).
Valley City State University has a long and proud history of leadership in teacher education ... Now, in 2010, VCSU has established the Great Plains STEM
Education Center to help create the path toward broadly implementing STEM Education in North Dakota.
• In2005,VCSUlaunchedaconcentrationinTechnologyEducationforitsonlineMasterofEducationdegreeprogram.
• In2008,VCSUsignedamemorandumofunderstandingwiththeNationalCenterforTechnologicalLiteracyoftheMuseumofScience,Bostontobringquality,standards-basedengineeringandtechnologyeducationtoK-12schoolsthroughouttheUnitedStates.
• VCSUhasdeliveredseveralworkshopsforK-12teachersviafundingfromorpartnershipswithLEGO®Education,theU.S.DepartmentofEducation,theMuseumofScienceBoston,andothers.
Now,in2010,VCSUhasestablishedtheGreatPlainsSTEMEducationCentertohelpcreatethepathtowardbroadlyimplementingSTEMEducationinNorthDakota.VCSUandtheGreatPlainsSTEMEduca-tionCenterarefocusedoncreatingawarenessandpartnershipsfor
advancingeducationreformthroughthisimportantinitiative.TheCenterisalreadyprovidingSTEMEducationandtrainingopportunitiesforK-12studentsandteachersasanessentialstepintheprocessofincreasingthetechnologyandengineeringcapacityoftheU.S.workforce.Wearepleasedtobeparticipatinginthisexcitinginitiativeandlookfor-wardtoworkingwithourpartnerstohelpshapethefutureofeducationinNorthDakotaandacrossthenation.
GREAT PLAINS STEM EDUCATION CENTER
Valley City State University
TheNorthDakotaStateBoardofHigherEducationrecentlyap-provedarequestfromVCSUtoestablishtheGreatPlainsSTEMEducationCenterontheVCSUcampus.TheCenterwillprovideSTEM(Science,Technology,EngineeringandMathematics)educationandtrainingoppor-tunitiesforK-12studentsandteachersasanessentialstepintheprocessofincreasingthetechnologyandengineeringcapacityoftheU.S.workforce.AccordingtoDr.SteveShirley,
presidentofVCSU,theCenterwillhelpdevelopmoreK-12teacherswhocanuseSTEMmethodologiesintheirclass-rooms.“TheStateBoard'sapprovalfortheGreatPlainsSTEMEducationCenterisaclearsignthattheyrecognizethecriticalissuesthatSTEMEducationaddressesandVCSU'simportantroleinaddressingthem.Weareverypleasedtobetakingyetanotherstepinapply-ingourleadershipinteachereducationtothissubjectofnationalimportance.”“CongratulationstoVCSUonthismajor
accomplishmentthatwilllaythefoundationformorescience,technology,engineeringandmatheducationinNorthDakota,”saidU.S.SenatorByronDorgan(ND),whohelpedtosecure$1.13millioninfederalfundingforini-tiativesattheSTEMCenter.“Thisisalong-termstrategytoincreaseNorthDakota'shigh-techworkforcetosupportthegrowingemploymentopportunitiesintheRedRiverValleyResearchCorridor.”STEMEducationisanemergingsetofin-
terdisciplinaryteachingmethodsandcontentinwhichstudentslearnhowtoapplyrigorousacademicconceptsinscience,technology,engineeringandmathematicstoreal-worldproblems.Itsgoalistoincreasestu-dentliteracyintheSTEMfieldsandultimatelyincreasethenumberandabilityofstudentsenteringintoSTEM-relatedcareers.ThoughinterestinSTEMmaybetracedbackmanyyears,the2005publicationofRising Above the Gathering StormbroughtthefieldtonationalprominencebydocumentingthemountingconcernthattheU.S.educationalsystemisnotpreparingthelevelofscientificandengineeringtalentrequiredtoallowtheUnitedStatestocompeteinthis
VCSU Establishes the Great Plains STEM Education Center
technologicalera.VCSUisawell-establishedleaderinthefield
ofSTEMeducation.In2000,VCSUlauncheditsonlinedegreeprograminTechnologyEduca-tion,aimedatprovidingtechnologicalliteracyforallstudentsbasedoncontentstandardspublishedbytheInternationalTechnologyandEngineeringEducatorsAssociation(ITEEA)andendorsedbytheNationalAcademyofEngineer-ing(NAE).In2005,VCSUlaunchedaconcen-trationinTechnologyEducationforitsonlineMasterofEducationdegreeprogram.In2008,VCSUsignedamemorandumofunderstand-ingwiththeNationalCenterforTechnologicalLiteracyoftheMuseumofScience,Bostontobringqualitystandards-basedengineeringandtechnologyeducationtoK-12schoolsthrough-outtheUnitedStates.Sincethen,VCSUhasdeliveredseveralworkshopsforK-12teachersviafundingfromorpartnershipswithLEGO
Education,theU.S.DepartmentofEduca-tion,andothers.
VCSU has already offered several STEM workshops to area teachers, and they frequently attract alums. In this session held in June, participants built and pro-grammed LEGO ®-based robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface of FIRST®LEGO® League. Front row: Darcy (Eszlinger) Schann '94, Pete Gjovik '77 (assistant professor), Jeff Pegg '85. Back row (l-r): Byron Borgan (instructor), Ben Elder '03, Jon Dryburgh '96, David Lee '86, Tim Schwanz, Don Fischer '79 (STEM Education coordinator).
Preparing In-service & Pre-service TeachersSTEM Education Training and Workshops:InApril2010,trainingwasprovidedfor13
LEGO®Academycertifiedteachertrainers(aboutone-thirdofthoseavailablenationally).InOctober2010,trainingwasprovidedto
assistpre-serviceteachereducatorsinhelp-ingstudentsdeveloptheabilitytoimplementelementarySTEMEducationcurriculumintheirfutureclassrooms–specifically,Engineering is ElementaryproducedbytheMuseumofSci-ence,Boston.Currently,ourSTEM-focusedprofessionalde-
velopmentstrandsincludecurriculumdevelopedbyMuseumofScience,Boston,LEGO®Educa-tion,Engineering by Design,and3DModeling,andmoreareintheworks.Arrangementscanbemadetohostworkshopson-siteforschooldistricts.
STEM Education Credentials:Schoolsandteacherswillfinditadvanta-
geoustodocumentsignificantgoal-orientatedprofessionaldevelopmentinSTEMEducationtomeetrequirementsforfundingandinstructionalsupport.Tosupportthiseffort,VCSUhastakenacomprehensiveandnationallyuniqueapproach:1)ASTEMEDcourseprefixwasapprovedby
theNorthDakotaStateBoardofHigherEduca-tion(NDSBHE)toidentifycoursesprovidingSTEMmethodologyandcontent.2)VCSUhaspresentedaproposaltothe
NorthDakotaEducationalStandardsandPracticesBoardforaSTEMEducationlicensureendorsementtobenefitin-stateteachers.3)AGraduateSTEMEducationCertificatehas
beenapprovedbytheNorthDakotaBoardofHigherEducationandanundergraduateSTEMEducationCertificateofCompletitionisalsobe-ingmadeavailableatVCSU.Bothwillappearonstudenttranscriptsasproofofcompletion.HavingSTEMEducationNorthDakota
licensureendorsementandSTEMEducationcertificatesontranscriptsavailabletopre-serviceandin-serviceteacherswillenhancejobopportunitiesforteacherswhileimprovingtheirqualificationstoprovideSTEMEducationintheclassroom.Havingteacherson-staffwiththesedocumentedcredentialswillalsoincreaseoppor-tunitiesforschooldistrictstosecureadditionalfundinganddemonstratetheirabilitytodevelopandimplementSTEMEducationintheirschools.
STEM Education Tuition Awards:Tomotivatestudentsandteacherstobecome
qualifiedtoimplementSTEMEducationandtoseekSTEMEducationcredentials,theGreatPlainsSTEMEducationCenterhasobtainedfundingtoprovidetuitionawardsthatwillsignificantlydecreasethecostoftheadditionalcourses.
Collaboration & Partnerships FIPSE Grant: ThroughthesupportofSenatorByronDorgan,
wesecured$381,000inOctober2009andanadditional$750,000beginningOctober1,2010throughgrantsfromtheFundfortheImprove-mentofPostsecondaryEducation(FIPSE)toinitiateandsupporttheGreatPlainsSTEMEducationCenteratVCSU.
Bush Foundation Partnership:VCSUhasenteredintoapartnershipwith
NDSU&MSUMtoimproveteachertrainingandeffectiveness.ThispartnershipisbeingfundedbytheBushFoundationforupto$5.65millionover10years.VCSU'sroleinthepartnershipincludesactivitiesrelatedtoSTEMEducation.
Science and Math Partnership Grant:Wehaverecentlyreceivednotificationthat
ourproposalhasbeenfundedtopartnerwithSittingBullCollege,StandingRock/FortYatesCommunitySchool,Selfridge,andSolenschooldistictsThiswillresultina10-dayProfessionalDevelopmentInstitutetobeheldinthesummerof2011toassistteacherswithimplementingSTEMEducationintheirclassroomsasameansofimprovingmathandsciencecompetenciesandstudentachievement.
Partnerships with Schools:Wearedevelopingpartnershipswitha
numberofschooldistrictstoprovidein-serviceprofessionaldevelopmentandguidance,whileseekingtocreateanddevelopamodelSTEMEducationschoolwhichcanbeemulatedbyothers.
Outreach to Business & Education Professionals:Weareworkingwithcorporaterepresenta-
tivesandotherinstitutionsofhighereducationwhoshareacommongoalindevelopingandpromotingSTEMEducation;andproducingthehighlyqualifiededucationworkforceneededtoimplementit.
Research & Development Research:WearestudyingSTEMEducationimplemen-
tationinall50statesandwillsummarizetheresultsandlisttheinitiativesandbestpracticesapplicabletoNorthDakota.WehopethiswillimproveourowneffectivenessandspeedSTEMEducationimplementationthroughoutthestateandregion.
Curriculum Development:Wecontinuetoleverageourpartnershipwith
theMuseumofScience,Bostontooffernation-allyrecognizedSTEMcurriculum,andaredevel-opingourownnewSTEMEducationcurriculum.
TheGreatPlainsSTEMEducationCentercanprovidein-servicetrainingforyourschooldistrict.Workshoptopicsinclude:LEGO®Edu-cation,MuseumofScience,Boston,and3DModeling.Theseofferingscanbecustomizedtomeettheneedsofyourschooldistrict.Thestandardworkshop-pricingrateis$50
perdayperparticipant.Aminimumof10participantsisrequiredwhilethemaximumis20participants.Inmostcases,participantsaregivenacopyofthecurriculumaspartoftheworkshop.Toscheduleyourin-serviceworkshop,please
contactDonFischer,STEMEducationCoordina-torat701-845-7446.
Museum of Science, BostonEngineering is Elementary: Engineering and
Technology Lessons for Children (EiE) arethematicunitsthatcapitalizeonyoungsters'naturalfascinationwithbuilding,takingthingsapart,andfiguringouthowthingswork.Theprogramintegratesengineeringcontentwithel-ementaryscienceconcepts.Eachunitfocusesonafieldofengineering-forexample,materi-alsengineering,mechanicalengineering,andenvironmentalengineering-andincludesachild'sillustratedstorybook,lessonplans,andstudentmaterials.Thelessonsarecorrelatedwithtechnology/engineeringandsciencecur-riculumstandards.
Building Math involvesstudentsincollectingandanalyzingtheirowndatainhands-onin-vestigationsintegratedwithengineeringdesignactivities.Studentsdevelopalgebraicthinkingskillsandsolverealproblems(suchasdesign-ingabridgeprototypeorbuildingashelter).Oneachadventure,theyapplymathknowledgeandconceptstotheirinvestigationsandusetheengineeringdesignprocesstomeetchal-lenges.Recommendedforenrichment,orasareplacementunit,eachtitleintheserieshasanengagingtheme:Everest Trek, Stranded!, and Amazon Mission.
Engineering the Future: Science, Technology, and the Design Process (EtF)isafull-yearhighschoolcoursedevelopedbytheMuseumofSci-ence,Boston.Thecourseisintendedtoshowstudentshowtheywillinfluencetechnologicaldevelopmentsasworkers,consumers,andcitizens-whetherornottheypursuetechnicalcareers.Thecourseisdividedinto4sections,whichallowsinstructorsgreaterflexibilityandalsomakesthematerialsusableandsupple-mentarytoanexistingclass.
3D Modeling SoftwareGoogle SketchUphasbeencalled,"3Dfor
everyone,”asitisavailableforeveryonetouseforFREE!Itallowsuserstodrawthewaytheywantbyemulatingthefeelandfreedomofworkingwithpenandpaper.
Great Plains STEM Education Workshop Offerings
SolidWorksisaparasolid-basedmodeler,andutilizesaparametricfeature-basedap-proachtocreatemodelsandassemblies.SolidWorksisindustrystandardsoftwarethatenablesstudentsfrommiddleschoolonuptobebetterpreparedtomakeadifferenceinaworldwherefuturesuccessdependsonin-novativeideasandtechnology.
LEGO® EducationLEGO®WeDo Roboticsisacross-curricular
setandseriesoftheme-basedactivitiesforelementarystudents.Contentincludestheareasofscience,technology,engineering,andmathaswellaslanguageartsandliteracy.Studentsbuildandprogramtheirroboticmod-elstowritestories,solveproblems,andcreateinnovativeprojects.
LEGO®Mindstorms NXTallowsstudentstomodelreal-lifemechanismsandusecreativ-ity,logic,andproblem-solvingskillstomeetchallengeswhilelearningnecessaryscience,technology,engineeringandmathconcepts.
LEGO®TetrixusesthepowerofMindstormstechnologytoincorporateandcontrolpowerfulDCandservomotorsandmetalgears.Seniorhighstudentscanputtheircreativitytothetestbydesigning,buildingandprogrammingtheirownrobot.
FIRST® LEGO® activities: Junior FIRST® LEGO® Leagueintroduces
thestudents,ages6-9,totheexcitingworldsofscienceandtechnology.Itfeaturesareal-worldchallengetobesolvedbyresearch,criticalthinkingandimaginationusingLEGO®elementsandmovingpartstocreatesolutions.
FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL)introducesstudents,ages9-14,toreal-worldengineeringchallengesbybuildingLEGO®-basedrobotstocompletetasksonathematicplayingsurface.FLLteams,guidedbytheirimaginationsandadultcoaches,discoverexcitingcareerpossi-bilitiesand,throughtheprocess,learntomakepositivecontributionstosociety.
FIRST® Tech Challenge isdesignedforstudents,ages14-18,whowanttocompetehead-to-headusingasportsmodel.Teamsofupto10studentsareresponsiblefordesign-ing,building,andprogrammingtheirrobotstocompeteinanallianceformatagainstotherteams.Teamsarerequiredtodevelopstrategyandbuildrobotsbasedonsoundengineeringprinciples.
FIRST®Robotics Competition, “thevarsitysportforthemind,”combinestheexcitementofsportwiththerigorsofscienceandtechnol-ogyforhighschoolstudents.Understrictrules,limitedresources,andtimelimits,teamsof25studentsormorearechallengedtoraisefunds,designateam“brand,”honeteamworkskills,andbuildandprogramrobotstoperformprescribedtasksagainstafieldofcompetitors.
A Bit of HistoryEducationalreformhasbeenonthenational
radarsincetheearly1980sandwasstimu-latedbytheinfluentialreportcalledA Nation at Risk.Professionalsocietiesbegantostepforwardbycreatingstandardsforvariousdisci-plinesand,insomecases,suggestingnotonlystandardsbutalsorecommendingafreshlookatthebasicinstructionalmodel–unchangedsincethe1800s.AmongthefirsttodosowastheAmericanAssociationfortheAdvance-mentofSciencein1989.Theysuggestedthatscienceshouldnotbetaughtinisolation,butwithinthecontextofotherdisciplinessuchasmath,technologyandsocialstudies,andinrelationshiptotherealworld.OriginallycalledProject2061(theyearHalley’sCometreturnstoEarth),ithasbeenupdatedcontinuouslyandhasbeenjoinedbynumerousotherorganiza-tions.1Thisinterdisciplinary(nowcalledtrans-
disciplinary)practicalapproachhasevolvedovertheyearstobecomeakeyelementofSTEMEducationmethodology.Thismethodhasinfluencedreformeffortsrelatedtootherdisci-plinessuchasthePartnershipfor21stCenturySkills(advocating21stcenturyreadinessforallstudents),andtheJumpstartCoalition(advo-catingpersonalfinanceliteracy).
The Origin of the STEM AcronymTheSTEMacronymiscreditedtoJudith
Ramaley,nowpresidentofWinonaStateUniversityinMinnesota.In2001,shebecameDirectoroftheNationalScienceFoundation’sEducationandHuman-ResourcesDivision.Atthetime,NSFusedtheacronymSMETatconferencesandingrantproposalstorefertotopicsrelatedtoScience,Math,EngineeringandTechnology.Shefeltthistermdidnothaveagoodringandcarriedanegativeimage,andinsteadcoinedtheSTEMacronym.Thenationwasreceptive.PriortotheuseoftheSMETac-ronym,onlyscienceandmathwereofprimaryconcern.FollowingtheleadofNSF,theJournal of SMET Education(foundedin2000)becametheJournal of STEM Educationin2003.2Theadditionofpracticalapplicationsof
scienceandmathintheformoftechnologyandengineeringopenedthedoortoapracticalnewapproachtolearning.AlthoughtheSTEMacronymmakesroomforanewapproachtothedeliveryofscienceandmath,thereismuchmoreinvolvedthantheacronymimplies.STEMEducationisarapidlyevolvingapproachtolearningthatimpliesnotonlyanexpandedbodyofcontentforthecorecurriculum,butanewtrans-disciplinarymethodology–furtherexpandeduponbelow.
The Forces Behind STEM EducationByfarthemostpowerfulforcebehindSTEM
EducationreformiscorporateAmerica.Thisinturnistheresultofaglobaleconomyandextremecompetition.Americaneducationatnearlyalllevelsisnotprovidinggraduatesthatmeetworkforceneeds.Thisshortfallisbothinqualityandquantityofgraduates.ThemostcommonlycitedstatisticthatfuelsfearforAmerica’sfutureisthe2006"ProgrammeforInternationalStudentAssessment."3Insum-mary,Americanstudentsranked21stinsci-enceliteracyand25thinmathliteracyin2006.InNovember2009,TimeWarnerenteredthearenawithaneffortcalled“ConnectaMillionMinds”alongwith$100milliontobacktheirconvictions.ProminentontheirwebsiteisanewstatisticthatAmericanstudentsrank29thinscienceliteracyand35thinmathliteracy.InaSeptember2008article,NormanAugus-tinedescribedhow"theUnitedStatesranks16thand20thamongnationsincollegeandhigh-schoolgraduationrates,respetively;60thintheproportionofcollegegraduatesreceiv-ingnaturalscienceandengineeringdegrees."4Moneyisnottheproblem.Onlytwonationsspendmorepersecondarystudent(Switzer-landandAustria).Onlythreenationsspendmoreperprimarystudent(Denmark,AustriaandSwitzerland).5
Problems with our Educational SystemSo,whatistheproblem?Therearemany
problemsincludingfamilyissues,amobilesociety,drugs,gangs,schoolreadiness,au-tism,ADHDandmore.Inthepast,Americanstudentsappeartohavebeenmoredrivenanddeterminedtosucceedinspiteofpoorteach-ingoranoutdatedinstructionalmodel.Thisisnolongertrue.America’scompetitorsareverydriven.OurcultureoftenbelittlesstudentsdesiringtosucceedinrigoroussubjectswithlabelslikeGeeks,Nerdsorworse.Therestoftheworldrealizesthat“theGeekshallinherittheEarth."6Notonlyhastheworldchanged,butourchil-
drenhavechangeddramatically.Formermathteacher,popularspeaker,andauthorMarkPrenskysays:“Today’s students are not the people our educational system was designed to teach.”Statedanotherway:Informationtech-nologyhasrewiredtheirbrains.Studentsareengagedinthetechnologicalworld18hoursaday,exceptwhentheyentertheclassroom–whichhasnotchangedincenturies.PrenskyisalsotheoriginatorofthetermsDigitalnatives,DigitalImmigrants.7Theworldischangingunderthefeetofother
nationsaswell.So,whyisAmericaslippingrelativetoothers?America’sstrongestcom-petitorsareinAsia,andtheyhaveadifferentculturalheritage.AccordingtoNobellaureateRichardE.Smalley,professorofchemistryandphysicsatRiceUniversity(2005),ifpres-
enttrendscontinued90%ofalltheworld’sscientistsandengineerswouldbelivinginAsiaby2010.Westernnationsshareourculturalheritage,buthavebeensteadilyawakeningoverthepastseveraldecades.Forexample,theUnitedKingdommadetechnologyandengineeringapartofthecorecurriculumin1990.Finlandisatthetopinworldrankingsinmathandscience.EvenGreece,theseatoftheliberalarts,hasabandonedastricttraditionalapproachtolearning.IoannisMiaoulis,cur-rentlythepresidentoftheMuseumofScience,BostonandaleaderinSTEMEducation,cametoAmericafromGreeceasanundergraduatestudentintheearly1980s.Hewasstunnedtodiscoverthecompartmentalizationofknowl-edgeandavoidanceofpracticalsubjectssuchasengineeringinourschools.Hispassionistochangeoursystemandhehasraisedover$150millionduringthepast15yearsinsup-portofhispassion.Ofthemanyproblemswefaceineducation,thereisonethatisunderourcontrol.Itisthewayweengagestudents.Abstractandisolatedcontentandpassivelearningmethodologiesdonotworktoday.STEMeducationchangesthatequation.
New DevelopmentsCorporateAmericacontinuestobetheforce
behindSTEMEducationreform.Aprivate/publicnon-profitcorporationhasbeencreated(Sept2010)includingover100corporationswhichhavesignedontoleveragethestrengthsofeachotheraswellasgovernmentfunding.Theinitiativeiscalled“ChangetheEquation.”8TheBoardofDirectorsincludes:
• CraigR.Barrett,Ph.D.,Chair,RetiredCEO/ChairmanoftheBoard,IntelCorporation
• GlennA.Britt,Secretary-Treasurer,Chair-man,PresidentandCEO,TimeWarnerCable
• UrsulaM.Burns,ChairmanandChiefExecutiveOfficer,Xerox
• AntonioM.Perez,ChairmanandChiefExecutiveOfficer,EastmanKodakCom-pany
• SallyK.Ride,Ph.D.,Vice-ChairPresidentandCEO,SallyRideScience
• RexW.Tillerson,ChairmanandChiefExecutiveOfficer,ExxonMobil
Leaders in STEM EducationTherearedozensofleadersinSTEMEduca-
tion.Thefollowingleadershavemadethemostvisiblecontributionstothefield:BillGates,formerCEOofMicrosoftCorpora-
tion,hasfundedmagnetschoolsinscienceandengineeringthroughtheBillandMelindaGatesFoundation.DeanKamen,prolificinventorandentrepre-
neur,isthefounderandtirelesspromoterof
Perspectives on STEM Education
Valley City State University
JuniorFIRST®LEGO®League(gradesK-3),FIRST®LEGO®League(grades4-8),FIRST®TechChallenge(grades9-12),andFIRST®RoboticsCompetition(grades9-12).“FIRST”representsKamen’svisionforK-12education:ForInspirationandRecognitionofScienceandTechnology.IoannisMiaolis,presidentoftheMuseumof
Science,Boston,andformerDeanofEngineer-ingatTuftsUniversity(referredtopreviously).JanMorrison,scienceeducatorandfounder
ofTeachingInstituteforExcellenceinSTEM(TIES),isaconsultanttotheDepartmentofEducation,NASA,BillandMelindaGatesFoundation,andSTEMEducationadvisortotheWhiteHouseandmanystates.
NormanAugustine,formerCEOofLockheedMartinandChairoftheCommitteeonProsper-ingintheGlobalEconomyofthe21stCenturyofTheNationalAcademies,chairedthegroupproducingthereport,Rising Above the Gather-ing Storm,aswellasIs America Falling Off the Flat Earth?WilliamWulf,retiredpresidentoftheNa-
tionalAcademyofEngineering,wasinstrumen-talinwritingthefinaldraftoftheStandards for Technological Literacy.
Measuring ProgressTheNationalAssessmentofEducational
Progress(NAEP),betterknownasThe Nation’s Report Card,hastestedstudentsformanyyearsinmathandreadingliteracy.In2009,theybegantestingforscienceliteracy.InMarchof2010,theNAEPGoverningBoardmadethedecisiontodevelopaframeworkandtestsfortechnologyandengineeringliteracy.Togetinsyncwiththeinternationalcommunity,testingwillbeginin2014.AllaspectsofSTEMwillbemeasured.9
What is STEM Education?Leadersineducationacrossthecountryare
advocatingforSTEMEducationthatistrans-
disciplinaryinnature,integratesbutisnotlimitedtotheSTEMdisciplines(e.g.includingsocialsciences,languagearts,finearts,etc.),andactivelyengagesstudentsindevelopingcriticalthinkingskillsandsolvingproblemsthatmirrortherealworld.ThedesiredoutcomeofeffectiveSTEMEducationissuccessinaf-fectingstudents’collegeandcareerchoicesbygeneratingsignificantlyincreasedinterestinscience,engineering,mathematics,andtechnology-relatedprofessionstomeettheneedforahighlyskilledtechnologicallyliter-ateworkforcethatwillkeeptheUnitedStatesextremelycompetitiveandproductiveintheglobaleconomyofthe21stCentury.Asconsensusdevelopsacrossthecountry,it
isincreasinglyacknowledgedthattheintentofSTEMEducationreformistochangetheteach-ingandlearningdynamicsintheclassroom.Itseekstoimprovestudentengagementthroughactivehands-onproblem-orproject-basedlearning.Itisnotlimitedbytraditionaldisciplin-aryboundariesandallowsstudentstoapplyscienceandmathconceptswhileemployingtheengineeringdesignprocessorconductingstudent-centeredinquiry.Thispreparesstu-dentsforworkintherealworldandforcriticalproblem-solvingintheirpersonallives.Thiscanbeaccomplishedbyalteringpedagogy,chang-inghowpre-serviceteachersaretrained,andprovidingprofessionaldevelopmentvenuestohelpin-serviceteacherstransformhowtheyplanandfacilitatelearningintheirclassrooms.AsstateandnationalleadersineducationworktobringSTEMEducationtotheforefrontofeducationreform,thereisconsiderableagree-mentabouttheelementsitshouldcontain.Theseinclude:
• Profoundstudentengagement• Realconnectionstostudentslives• Activelearning• Problem-andproject-basedlearning• Collaborationandteamwork• Scientificinquiryandengineeringdesign
processes• Standards-basedcurriculum• Processintermingledwithcontent• Motivationforstudentstoinvestinrigor-
ousstudy• Knowledgeandskillspreparingstudents
forlifeandworkinthe21stCentury
STEMEducationisaboutproducinganen-gagedcitizenrythatcansolveproblems,inventandinnovate,applylogicalandrationalthoughtprocesses,iscapableofeffectiveteamwork,isself-confidentandself-reliant,andisabletounderstand,apply,troubleshoot,andmanagetechnologyappropriately.Ultimately,itisaboutguaranteeingourchildren’sandAmerica’sfuture.
For more information:
1http://www.project2061.org/2http://ojs.jstem.org/index.php?journal=JST
EM&page=issue&op=archive.3http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/15/13/
39725224.pdf4http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/
short/321/5896/16055http://www.nationmaster.com6http://www.connectamillionminds.com7http://www.marcprensky.com8http://www.changetheequation.org/9http://www.edgateway.net/cs/naepsci/
print/docs/470
Jan Morrison and Dr. Annalies Corbin came to North Dakota to support North Dakota's STEM initiative and VCSU's Great Plains STEM Education Center on August 23, 2010. Morrison's presentation is available at http://gpstem.vcsu.edu. (l-r) Dr. Steven Shirley, president of Valley City State University; Dr. Annalies Corbin, executive director of the PAST Foundation; Jan Morrison, founder of TIES; Dr. Don Mugan, director of the Great Plains STEM Education Center.
National PartnershipsVCSUsignedaformalpartnershipagree-
mentin2008withtheMuseumofScience,Boston,NationalCenterforTechnologicalLiteracy(NCTL).Weshareacommonvisionandcommongoals.VCSUpromotestheuseofNCTLcurriculumattheelementary,middleandsecondarylevelsthroughworkshopsandonlineprogramsandworkstogetheronfuturecurriculumdevelopment.
VCSUhashadalong-standingrelation-shipwiththeInternationalTechnologyandEngineeringEducatorsAssociation(ITEEA),STEMCenterforTeachingandLearning.NorthDakotaisachartermemberoftheorganization(1998).VCSUhasbeenactiveinprovidingonlineprofessionaldevelopmentfortheircurriculumcalledEngineering by Design (EbD),andpromotestheuseofEbDcurricu-luminonlinedegreeprograms.
VCSUhashadarelationshipwithLEGO®NorthAmericaforover10years.Recently,wehavetrained13localteachersthroughtheLEGO®AcademytobeLEGO®CertifiedTeacherTrainers.LEGO®’slong-standingphilosophyisinperfectalignmentwithSTEMEducationmethodology.
VCSUiscurrentlyworkingonapartnershipwithTIES(TeachingInstituteforExcellenceinSTEM)andthePASTFoundation(PartneringAnthropologywithMathandScience).Bothorganizationshavevastexperiencethroughworkingwith14statesinimplementingSTEMEducation,andturningaroundfailingschools.
Thecombinedexpertise,curriculumre-sourcesandexperienceofthesefivenationalorganizationswillgreatlyassistNorthDakotainmovingtotheforefrontofSTEMEducation.
ValleyCityStateUniversityGreatPlainsSTEMEducationCenter
101CollegeStSWValleyCity,ND58072
1-800-532-8641ext.37441Fax:701-845-7190