Building the Foundational Skills Needed for Success in Work at the Human-Technology Frontier
(Publications) 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.
Next Generation STEM Learning for All: Envisioning Advances Based on NSF Supported Research
(Publications) This report presents important takeaways from a one-day National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported Forum, “Next Generation STEM Learning for All,” organized by Education Development Center (EDC) and SRI International through the STEM Learning and Research Center (STELAR) at EDC, the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) at EDC, and the Center for Innovative Research in Cyberlearning (CIRCL), working in close collaboration with NSF and the White House Office of Scien
A Program Director's Guide to Evaluating STEM Education Programs: Lessons Learned from Local, State, and National Initiatives
(Publications) In today's world of high accountability, strong evidence on intended outcomes is key to building credibility and replicability of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. This primer, for program directors/managers, educators and others responsible for developing and implementing STEM programs:
ITEST Engineering Model: Building a Better Future for STEM Learning
(Publications) The report includes examples drawn from projects in the national ITEST program which seeks to ensure the breadth and depth of the U.S. STEM workforce.
Computational Thinking for Youth
(Publications) The ITEST Small Working Group on Computational Thinking (CT) has completed its White Paper titled: Computational Thinking for Youth. The paper aims to describe what computational thinking looks like when practiced by youth in ITEST and other NSF funded programs and how educators can support growth in computational thinking. It shares examples of CT as observed in middle school projects. It also shares observations in the form of a model that describes three stages that youth
Preparing Tomorrow's STEM Workforce through Exploration, Equity, and Engagement
(Publications) Preparing Tomorrow's STEM Workforce through Exploration, Equity, and Engagement is a product of the previous ITEST Learning Resource Center (LRC) and includes a series of six articles (plus a preface) highlighting key themes and lessons learned in the first five years of the ITEST program.
ITEST Info Brief: Meeting the Needs of STEM Workforce Development
(Publications) This 2010 ITEST Information Brief shares examples and data about how the ITEST program strives to connect workforce development needs and K-12 learning in and out of school.
Insights and Innovations in STEM Learning: Learnings from ITEST Project Evaluations
(Publications) The first issue of the Insights and Innovations in STEM Learning series synthesizes learnings from a thematic analysis of ITEST projects’ reported outcomes, challenges, and innovations.
The ITEST Learning Resource Center's Online Evaluation Database: Examples from the Collection
(Publications) The ITEST Learning Resource Center at EDC developed an online database of instruments developed by ITEST project evaluators and researchers from 2003 to 2007. This 2007 article details the purpose and development of that database and highlights three instruments from it that represent the kind of evaluation tools archived there. While the database is no longer available, the three instruments described in the article provide useful examples of project-developed evaluation tools.
Connecting Informal STEM Experiences to Career Choices: Identifying the Pathway
(Publications) The focus of this literature review is out-of-school time activities in informal environments, a “vastly understudied” set of experiences (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development 1992), and the role these experiences can have in shaping the direction of youth to pursue STEM careers.
Engaging Girls and Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: The Future Workforce
(Publications) This report on a webcast hosted by the ITEST Learning Resource Center identifies resources and key success strategies for engaging girls in STEM, offered by an expert panel of speakers from the ITEST community, private sector and research and policy fields.
ITEST Idea Brief: Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Participants through Community Partnerships and Other Strategies
(Publications) In this Idea Brief, Principal Investigators from three youth-based ITEST projects discuss how community partnerships strengthen their efforts to recruit and retain diverse participants.
ITEST Idea Brief: Summer Programs Tips & Tricks
(Publications) ITEST LRC Idea Brief Volume 1, June 2005 This Idea Brief shares tips and tricks from four different ITEST projects around planning and implementing summer programs.
ITEST Idea Brief: Accessibility: Creating Inclusive Learning Environments
(Publications) This Idea Brief from the ITEST LRC provides a concise, information-rich reference that reveals what inclusive programs can look like and offers some practical tips for getting there.
New Skills, New Experiences - The Future of Learning: Highlights of the ITEST 2005 Symposium
(Publications) The 2005 Summit Symposium event brought together ITEST project staff and invited external thought leaders. This publication summarizes key points of the panelists for the session on "The Importance of IT & STEM Learning: Behind the ITEST Agenda," and documents dimensions of the ITEST projects' work and impact on learning & careers.
ITEST Info Brief: Active Learning in the Information Age
(Publications) ITEST LRC Info Brief Volume 1, July 2004 ITEST project staff contributed to thoughtful discussion around how specific technologies can be harnessed to enhance academic learning and creative expression.
ITEST Info Brief: Equity in On-line Professional Development
(Publications) ITEST LRC Info Brief Volume 2, September 2004 This publication addresses the concept that equity in education refers not only to equal access or equal treatment, but to education that addresses the differing needs of different populations and that produces equitable outcomes, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, and class.
Seven Lessons Learned in Eight Years Hosting the ITEST Learning Resource Center at EDC
(Publications) On July 11, 2011 Joyce Malyn-Smith and Siobhan Bredin presented “Seven Lessons Learned in Eight Years of Hosting the ITEST Learning Resource Center at EDC,” as part of a panel session for a cross-division audience of National Science Foundation program officers who are interested in including resource centers in their upcoming program solicitations. Presented by Joyce Malyn-Smith and Siobhan Bredin at the National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, July 2011.
STELAR Brochure 2015
(Publications) The STELAR Brochure is a two-page document that contains detailed information about STELAR's goals and the services STELAR provides to the ITEST community.
Spring 2014 ITEST conference presentations
(News) Check out these upcoming presentations at NSTA, AERA, ASEE and ISTE. Click on the PDFs for more details about each in the handouts. AERA Technology-Enhanced Agency for Community Engagement ● Presenter: Bob Coulter (Missouri Botanical Garden) Elements of design-based science teaching that affect middle school students’ motivation ● Presenter: Brett D. Jones (Virginia Tech)
EDC to continue leadership of ITEST Resource Center in “STELAR”
(News) The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected EDC to continue its role as the resource center for the ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) program.