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 Science and Technology Policy. The Forum engaged prominent scientists in STEM learning research and school

Learning about climate change is tangible when it addresses impacts that can be observed close to home. In this program, 64 diverse middle and high school students produced videos about locally relevant climate change topics. Graduate and undergraduate students provided mentorship. The program engaged students in research and learning about climate change and sparked their interest in science careers. Evaluation results showed that students were highly motivated by the experience, developed a genuine interest in their science topic, learned about the scientific process and developed 21 st

Within the context of NSF’s Dear Colleague letter that encourages innovative proposals for developing Smart and Connected Communities, speakers at the NSF-supported Next Generation STEM Learning for All Forum in November described how their work connects STEM learning with communities in need, how their work could shape schools of the future, and how to involve key systems and stakeholders in the development of these communities. View these presentation materials on the Forum website.

This book reports the results of a three-year research program funded by the National Science Foundation which targeted students and teachers from four Detroit high schools and discusses the creation of a Community of Designers-- an environment in which high school students and teachers, undergraduate/graduate student assistants, and STEM area faculty and industry experts worked together as a cohesive team.

The STEM 3D approach draws on evidence-based research demonstrating the proven ability of informal environments to act as an entry point to STEM and 21st Century skills for elementary-aged youth, as well as the value of involving significant adults and local communities when providing STEM learning opportunities for minority youth.

Exergaming activities demonstrate how technology could be used as an instrument to reduce the impact of this disease. One can purchase commercial, technology-based exergames such as Nintendo Wii Fit or Xbox Kinect games; however, the authors developed a custom exergame using Phoenix Contact’s Nanoline microcontroller and nano Navigator software flowchart. The beauty of the flowcharting software is that people who have no or little programming experience can easily understand its structure.

Currently, obesity has become one of the major health concerns in the United States. A way to relieve this problem is creating fitness activities using the technology and tools available at hand. “Punching Pad” is a prototype that utilizes Scratch for Arduino software and the Arduino Board to make this possible. This device is not only considered a viable fitness activity, but also it could help to inspire children to build other gadgets that, in fact, would facilitate the acquisition of programming skills and basic electronics concepts.

This paper describes the journey of a group of university students as they worked with underserved middle school students as mentors in a STEM-based afterschool program. Design thinking provided a frame within which students learned how to be mentors, how to create user-centered learning experiences, and how to share their experiences as developing STEM professionals with middle school students.