The Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Program: Teachers Developing the Next Generation of STEM Talent

Publication

This article is part of a special issue of the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education (JTATE). It introduces and summarizes how the six articles describe specific ITEST teacher development projects, provide portraits of these projects, and address important themes that cross ITEST professional development and STEM professional development more generally: building links between informal and formal education; using technology in innovative ways; integrating STEM content into professional development; reaching and engaging underrepresented populations; developing innovative professional development; and tightening the research/practice cycle.

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Web game boosts girls' interest in science

News

About a dozen girls, from 6th through 12th grade, have joined an afterschool program called Universe Quest. Through their participation in this ITEST project, they're learning about astronomy and building their own 3-D, immersive online game that centers around creating characters, who explore the cosmos and answer questions along the way.

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Voices of the South

Video

One of SUCCEED high school interns, Kelley Katzenmeyer from Riverside, led a team of kids at Shodor to put together a video entry to the "Voices of the South" contest, and she won first place with her video about the ITEST apprentices and interns at Shodo

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Getting NYC teens into science

News

Expanding the minds of teenagers, and their career options, is the goal of the Harlem Children Society. The non-profit places low-income high school students in real working labs all over the city and gives them stipends. It was founded 10 years ago by Dr. Sat Bhattacharya, a molecular geneticist and cancer researcher who works at Sloan Kettering and Rockefeller University. By offering internships with pretigious science and medical labls, Dr

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Students say goodbye to CREST

News

After five years, sixteen school partnerships, 75 community partnerships, 300 direct student and teacher collaborations, thousands of students reached indirectly, and over 40 community-based projects, CREST is winding down. This ITEST project has spent the past five years linking classroom technology with community needs while improving the learning experience for both student and teachers in the process. Student projects ranged from creating ABC

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Bioinformatics education should start in high school

News

Bioinformatics data and programs that enable these data to be searched, compared, and visualized are readily available to all--including high school students. So why aren't more high school students using these data in school projects? The Northwest Association for Biomedical Research's mission is to promote an understanding of biomedical research through education and dialogue in their Bio-ITEST Bioinformatics Workshop for educators.

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Fabricating the future: 3-D printing molds new K-12 STEM model

News

Visionaries like Glen Bull, a professor of instructional technology at the University of Virginia's (UVA) Curry School of Education, are using 3-D printing systems to change the way teachers present science concepts and, in turn, how students learn and retain the material. In a lab school, elementary school students and teachers are invited to use engineering design and fabrication to teach and learn science and math concepts.

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FabLab’s interview with WHRV NPR's “With Good Reason” hosted by Sarah McConnell

News

The FabLab Classroom: Preparing Students for the Next Industrial Revolution in an ITEST project based in Virginia where elementary students and teachers have the opportunity to discover principles of design and fabrication. Principal investigator Glen Bull interviews with WHRV NPR's “With Good Reason” host Sarah McConnell to talk about this project.

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STEM education a hands-on program

News

ITEST PI Tirupalavanam Ganesh has partnered with Kyrene Aprende Middle School to advance his educational outreach program, ITEST project Learning through Engineering Design and Practice, and enhance students' learning through STEM education by using real-world, hands-on experiences. Using inquiry-based methods, Ganesh's curriculum will expand to two other after school programs and also is used during school at a fourth middle school.

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