The proliferation of new technologies has changed the way we live, learn, and work. Although the future of work is unclear, thought leaders, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), assert that artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, robotics, and machine learning will be ubiquitous in tomorrow’s workplaces.

CADRE, the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE), the resource center for the National Science Foundations' Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) Program.

This monograph shares results of our inquiry into pedagogical strategies that infuse career awareness into science lessons. We first identify four cognitive building blocks of career development and four promising approaches for raising awareness of science careers. We then provide a typology of ten replicable teacher practice strategies, with accompanying examples of each.

The interrelationship of structure and function is a key theme of biology. One important example of this relationship involves how the three-dimensional shapes of proteins are related to the roles they play at the cellular level. The treatment of protein structure in many introductory textbooks, however, is cursory and focuses on the relationships among primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure without a clear link to how these levels of organization contribute to functional aspects of the protein.

Understanding how high school students become aware of STEM career options, how educators can help students translate awareness into pursuit of STEM careers, and how to provide students with the support and skills they need to succeed, are crucial elements in ensuring the future of our STEM workforce. One important factor is the role that high school science teachers can play in fostering STEM career interest and awareness. As part of our study, we conducted interviews and focus groups with over 70 high school science teachers and other science and career education experts.