Workforce Education Models for K-12 STEM Education Programs: Reflections on, and Implications for, the NSF ITEST Program

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This article proposes a STEM workforce education logic model, tailored to the particular context of the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program. This model aims to help program designers and researchers address challenges particular to designing, implementing, and studying education innovations in the ITEST program, considering ongoing needs and challenges in STEM workforce education in the USA. It is grounded in conceptual frameworks developed previously by teams of ITEST constituents, for their part intended to frame STEM

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ITEST Data Brief: ITEST Projects Funded in 2015

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ITEST Data Brief Volume 3, Issue 2, July 2016 In 2015, 30 ITEST projects were awarded funding. STELAR surveyed these projects as part of the the Fall 2015 Management Information System (MIS) Survey and received a 97% completion rate. This data brief presents information from the 29 responding projects around the following questions: Which of the 7 ITEST Guiding Questions do projects choose to address? In what settings projects plan to conduct their work? What grade levels do projects serve? Who are included as project participants? In what locales do projects coduct their work? In what states

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Students on STEM: More Hands-on, Real-world experiences

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A new survey of American teenagers from the Amgen Foundation and Change the Equation offers real cause for optimism about the future of high school science and biology education in the United States. Teens generally like science—and biology in particular—and they grasp the importance of the field to people’s lives. They know good biology teaching when they see it, and they would like the opportunity to do more engaging, hands-on science in school.

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Next Generation STEM Learning for All: Envisioning Advances Based on NSF Supported Research

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Next Generation STEM Learning for All: Envisioning Advances Based on NSF Supported Research Report Cover

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

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Engaging Secondary Students in Regionally Relevant Science Topics Through Videography - Lens on Climate Change

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One of today’s equity challenges is the need to increase media literacy among all students, especially traditionally marginalized students. Watkins (2012) challenges educators when he states, “Tools literacy is foundational; design literacy is tranformational” (p. 9). In this chapter, implementation models for seven different types of media projects that have been successfully piloted with 78 secondary students primarily from impoverished backgrounds are provided (Gold et al., 2015; Rooney-Varga et al., 2014). Results from the evaluations show that students’ experiences while participating in

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DIY Toolkit: How To Come Up With Your Own Mobile App

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Mobile App Ideation

Intro – Mobile App Ideation WHY APPS? Well, to start with, they’re everywhere. According to the Pew Research Center, 78% of teens now have a cell phone, and almost half (47%) of those own smartphones. And, perhaps more importantly, apps are also really cool! No matter what you’re interested in, there can (and probably is) an app for that. But teens don’t have to be limited to the role of consumer in today’s digital marketplace. All you need is a little know-how and an idea — which is the focus of today’s DIY curriculum. But coming up with an idea can be harder than it sounds. With all the

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DIY Toolkit: Controlling Your Online Presence

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Online Presence

MAINTAINING PRIVACY, MARKETING YOURSELF, MAKING SOCIAL CHANGE. Love it or loathe it, social media is a powerful force in today’s constantly-documented world. Thanks to the proliferation of smart phones, high-speed internet and social networking sites, teens today have unprecedented access to their peers — and sometimes unknowingly also allow others access to their information. In short, when social media is put to good use, it is one of the most influential tools teens can use for civic engagement and social change, not to mention self marketing (just ask former YouTube star Justin Bieber!)

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DIY Toolkit - Sound Science: 4 Audio Project Ideas For STEM Educators

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Sound Science

Attention all STEM teachers — are you looking for ways to incorporate music and sound into your classroom? Check out these hands-on DIY ideas from Youth Radio’s Brains and Beakers science speaker series. Explore creative ways to experience sound — from digital visualization to science rap battles to creating your own instruments out of scrap parts.

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DIY Toolkit: How To Make An Infographic

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SHOW, DON’T TELL . That’s the general idea of infographics, which use visuals to make numbers/stats/processes easier to understand. While it’s easy to enjoy a well crafted infographic, creating one can be challenging. What type of visual fits your data? How should you style your graphic? What tools can you use to create infographics without starting from scratch? Making an infographic is a multistep process, so we’ll break this tutorial into two parts. In this lesson, we’ll walk you through the basics of making your own infographic, depending on the data at hand. - See more at: https:/

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