NSF Program Director Wu He & Co-Director Chia Shen welcomed the ITEST community and opened the 2024 meeting. STELAR Center PI Sarita Pillai then introduced the meeting, format and goals before turning things over to Dr. Monya Ruffin.

This video was recorded at the ITEST PI Meeting (Innovating Equitable STEM Learning for the Future Technological Workforce). It engaged the ITEST community in workshops that were designed to unpack project work through the lens of the three ITEST pillars:

1. Innovative Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning,
2. Partnerships for Career and Workforce Preparation, and
3. Strategies for Equity in STEM Education.

NSF DRL Acting Division Director Monya Ruffin

This video was recorded at the ITEST PI Meeting (Innovating Equitable STEM Learning for the Future Technological Workforce). It engaged the ITEST community in workshops that were designed to unpack project work through the lens of the three ITEST pillars:

1. Innovative Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning,
2. Partnerships for Career and Workforce Preparation, and
3. Strategies for Equity in STEM Education.

NSF Directorate for STEM Education Assistant Director James L. Moore

ITEST Program Director, Dr. Wu He, addressed attendees and shared information about the ITEST program and the portfolio of projects funded in 2022 and 2023. Dr. He then issued a call to action for the ITEST PI community to:

• Develop Strong Partnership with stakeholders in EPSCoR jurisdictions

• Scale Up Promising Innovations across regions/states, grade levels, ages and demographics through the Scaling, Expanding, and Iterating Innovations (SEI) projects 

• Engage Children in STEM Education Early

• Develop a Solid Foundation in Math and Science for students, especially those in underserved communities 

• Advance Equitable and Inclusive STEM Education and Workforce Development in critical and emerging areas, including microelectronics/semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information science and engineering (QISE), robotics, cybersecurity, data science, climate change, clean energy, etc.

Keynote speaker Megan Bang, Professor of the Learning Sciences and Director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at Northwestern University, launched Day 1 with her keynote address “Learning & Technology for Just & Sustainable Futures.”  Dr. Bang discussed why the social, cultural, ethical, and political dimensions of technology should be more central and explicit in learning environments, and shared examples of two projects in which technology, introduced in cultural practices, contributed to indigenous communities' embedding technologies in more expansive ways.

Dr. Bang is a member of STELAR’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Advisory.

Jacob Martinez, founder and CEO of the technology workforce development hub Digital Nest, delivered the day 2 keynote speech addressing his personal experience with ITEST grants and equitable STEM learning. Martinez, who served as PI on Animando a Estudiantes con Technologia (AET) - Encouraging students in the field of information technology (2009-2013) encouraged ITEST grantees to prioritize sustainability of their projects in the communities they serve. His presentation was followed by an active Q&A session with in-person and remote participants.

This video was recorded at the 2024 ITEST PI Meeting (Innovating Equitable STEM Learning for the Future Technological Workforce).

In the Voices from the Community panel, panelists reflected on their experiences serving as partners in ITEST projects and shared success strategies for sustaining partnerships, including creating space for partners to share their lived experiences, communicating effectively across different settings and cultures, and listening to and learning from the communities projects are serving. Panelists included Noelia Báez Rodríguez, Education Coordinator, University of Puerto Rico; Michelle Cloud, Indigenous Arts & Sciences Director, Ho-Chunk Nation; Tom McKlin, Director, The Findings Group; Imani Mitchell, Assistant Program Director, North Carolina for Community and Justice; and Hridhay Bashyam and Joey Macek, student co-designers for the NeuroVivid Project.