Education Connection's Center for 21st Century Skills, in collaboration with a consortium of education and industry partners, will develop an online open source platform with an integrated incubator curriculum that engages high school students, teachers, and mentors in synergistic collaborations to advance students' competencies and skills via the design and launching of STEM-related products and services.

This ITEST project involves the University of South Florida, in collaborations with the National Academy Foundation, and three high school career academies, to study the impact of participation in the career academy model implemented by National Academy Foundation under different levels of implementation fidelity.

This project will develop an extensive professional development to 15 school teachers and engage 250 underrepresented inner-city 4th-6th grade students with agricultural life sciences experiences that connect to real issues in food science, health, environment, and energy.

This project will create a hybrid formal/informal program that prepares middle-school students with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for careers as inventors, designers, and engineers.

This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase students' motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) by

The project is designed to develop, implement and assess an educational model intended to improve Native American student science identity through culturally relevant use of technology that can directly improve the well being of their communities. The project will engage 90 low-income, high school

This project will design and test a model for student engagement using paleontology as the disciplinary focus. Paleontology, or the scientific study of fossils, is a broad, interdisciplinary field that spans biology and geology. Current paleontological research harnesses the resources provided by

This project will use real-world exemplars as the foundation for integrating entomology and engineering design to investigate the development of 21st skills (creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and computational thinking) in STEM for teachers and students in rural Indiana.

This project will develop and study the outcomes of a program that includes a concentrated two-week summer program coupled with academic year mentoring, support, and research opportunities. Nanotechnology teaching modules will be developed and tested, with the aim of implementing, researching, and refining a nanotechnology-focused program for secondary students, along with a professional development program for teachers. The project is intended to generate student awareness and interest in emerging workforce opportunities, particularly among students from low-income and underrepresented populations.

The project will recruit, retain, and prepare students from underrepresented populations in STEM-related fields. While in the program, students will learn: a) science concepts related to hydroponics; b) how to develop hydroponics systems that are powered by alternative energy sources; c) how to build and program robotic arms to plant and harvest produce; d) how to automate the operation and monitoring of hydroponic systems; and e) how to build and program telepresence robots while earning college credits. Midway through the program, beginning in grade 10, participating students will also benefit from a Web-based mentoring program that will facilitate interactions with STEM professionals, program alumni, and each other. The project is collaborative effort involving a school district, a community college, a university, and a mentoring organization.