Gender Differences in Conceptualizations of STEM Career Interest: Complementary Perspectives from Data Mining, Multivariate Data Analysis and Multidimensional Scaling

Publication

Data gathered from 325 middle school students in four U.S. states indicate that both male (p < .0005, RSQ = .33) and female (p < .0005, RSQ = .36) career aspirations for being a scientist are predictable based on knowledge of dispositions toward mathematics, science and engineering, plus self-reported creative tendencies. For males, strong predictors are creative tendencies (beta = .348) and dispositions toward science (beta = .326), while dispositions toward mathematics is a weaker (beta = .137) but still a significant (p < .05) predictor. For females, significant (p < .05) predictors ordered

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American Teens' Knowledge of Climate Change

Instruments

American Teens’ Knowledge of Climate Change reports results from a national study of what American teens in middle and high school understand about how the climate system works, and the causes, impacts and potential solutions to global warming. There are 75 individual questions. A straight grading scale was constructed (scores 90% and above = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, and scores 59% and below = F), using only items for which there was a correct or best answer.

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MSPnet Academy Webinar: STEM Integration and the NGSS - Melding engineering with science and mathematics

Event

The Framework for K-12 Education and subsequent Next Generation Science Standards have detailed the content and practices most central to science education and for the first time, included engineering as an important element in science education. Curriculum designers, educators and researchers were challenged to create instructional materials that aligned with this new vision of integrated education while providing support for teachers needed for effective implementation.

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CADRE Webinar: Open Education Resources (OER) for K-12 STEM Education: Issues and Opportunities

Event
On February 14, CADRE is hosting a webinar on freely available, openly-licensed open education resources (OER) in K-12 STEM. Panelists and participants will discuss the current demand for OER and opportunities for NSF-funded projects to contribute; key considerations, opportunities, and challenges for individuals, projects, and organizations developing OER (e.g., intellectual property and financial trade-offs); how OER products are identified, evaluated, and used by teachers, schools, and districts; and avenues for dissemination and uptake. 
 
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STELAR Webinar: Unpacking Computational Thinking & CT's Role in Interdisciplinary Learning

Event

Computational Thinking and CT have become a buzz word and buzz acronym in schools and education systems worldwide, yet is still a phrase that invokes confusion and debate. This 2-part webinar unpacked CT and discussed it in the context of non-CS disciplinary learning.

In Part 1, Dr. Shuchi Grover provided an encore (with a few relevant contextual edits) of her keynote address to 700 heads of schools in New Delhi in September 2017. She discussed:

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NSF EHR Core Research (ECR) Solicitation

Opportunities

EHR Core Research (ECR) Reviewers Needed: If you are interested in reviewing ECR proposals please submit a brief CV to ECR@nsf.gov.

EHR Core Research (ECR) Fundamental Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education

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Teaching Strategies that Promote Science Career Awareness

Publication

This monograph shares results of our inquiry into pedagogical strategies that infuse career awareness into science lessons. We first identify four cognitive building blocks of career development and four promising approaches for raising awareness of science careers. We then provide a typology of ten replicable teacher practice strategies, with accompanying examples of each. These findings are part of a larger exploration into the potential for secondary science teachers to increase student awareness of, and interest in, science careers, and are intended to contribute to field-building efforts

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