This strategies project develops a program combining in-school mentoring with out of school informal education experiences involving the use of three types of mentors; college students, STEM professionals, and volunteers from the participant group community. The project targets Native American and Hispanic students in grades 3 - 8. The project recruits, trains and retains a minimum of 60 mentors during the 3 year project. Mentors from the three groups including members of the Pascua Yaqui Native American community and tribal members are paired with like numbers of mentees.

This project expands, implements and conducts research on a previously developed framework for providing indigenous students with the workforce skills and knowledge needed for future Earth system science careers. The framework proven effective for Inupiat students during the NSF/ITEST-funded Arctic Climate Modeling Program (ESI-0525277) will be scaled up to develop culturally responsive STEM instruction for 1500 Yup'ik and Native Hawaiian middle school students and their 60 teachers.

The Barcode of Life Initiative (BOLI) is an international biodiversity collaboration that creates a genetic encyclopedia of Earth's plants and animals using short DNA sequences that uniquely identify species groups. The goal of this strategies project is to interest students in STEM careers by engaging them in an international project to provide identification of biological species.

The project leaders will guide high school students through a mathematics-based, programming experience which prepares them to subsequently teach mathematics and programming to middle school students. Using a "drag and drop" programming language, the participants will explore mathematical concepts. Products of the project will include two modules, the first using video games based on existing mathematics games and the second using simulations to explore social issues.

This "scale-up" project uses engineering as well as science to bring engineering experiences to underrepresented communities. The investigators will build under water robots, create social networks, and produce a webcast. This project is based on evidence gained from a previous ITEST Strategies grant (ESI-0624709) that showed that an underwater robotics curriculum can increase student learning of science and engineering concepts, their practice of 21st century skills such as problem-solving and collaboration, their enjoyment of science, and their engineering career interest.

This project combines efforts of the EDUCATION CONNECTION Center for 21st Century Skills with the Education Development Center (its research partner), and K-12 school districts to develop, implement, study, and evaluate an innovative STEM career academy model. A consortium of state colleges and universities (as well as other entities) helps to fully integrate cyberlearning and content courses in STEM with digital arts and media.

This ITEST strategies project titled Classroom Student Investigations, uses the popularity of the Crime Scene Investigation television show, involving forensic science investigation, as a metaphor to train teachers in forensic science topics and use that training in their science classrooms to stimulate and encourage middle and upper school students in science topics generally. The project is expected to lead to increased student interest in STEM topics using students interest in the culturally popular portrayal of forensic science to convey many basic STEM principles.

Exploring Databases involves high school students in carrying out authentic research using a scientific database, mirroring the way many scientists today conduct their research. This project emphasizes the STEM areas of genetics and neuroscience, as well as development of skills in scientific research, scientific reasoning, and using information and communication technology. Exploring Databases builds on a previous project that involved high school students in conducting an epidemiological study of smoking behavior.

This project introduces 4th and 5th grade students and teachers to engineering design and associated mathematics by developing and implementing a new, scalable, personal fabrication laboratory, the Classroom FabLab, and supporting curriculum. The University of Virginia and the University of North Texas are providing preparation in personal fabrication to pre-service teachers in their methods courses. The pre-service teachers are doing their student teaching under master teachers trained by the project in ten classrooms in Virginia and five in Texas.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research is collaborating with the GLOBE program, the University of Colorado, New York University, the Texas Regional Collaboratives and several other partners to design, implement, and evaluate an Earth System Science learning experience for teachers and students.