What's New

The ITEST program is working to motivate youth to pursue the many STEM-related careers and educational pathways available. One popular avenue of engaging students in a variety of STEM disciplines is by making connections to their environment. Many projects employ problem-based learning to discover environmental issues and explore potential solutions. This Earth Day we highlight ITEST publications, instruments, and curricular materials related to

March is Women's History Month, an excellent time to reflect on women's contributions to the sciences, and to examine the ongoing work of ITEST projects to increase the participation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Below is a collection of the events, publications, instruments and materials developed by ITEST projects and the STELAR Center as they engage with and inspire girls to pursue STEM education and career

The goal of the ITEST program is to prepare the youth of our nation for the STEM workforce of the future. In exploring what this work will entail, and what pathways to these STEM careers will look like, many are turning to Career and Technical Education (CTE) for the answer. STELAR has recently partnered with Advance CTE, a national non-profit that works to support an innovative CTE system to prepares individuals to succeed in education and their

Computer Science Education Week (December 5-11, 2016) serves as an annual opportunity for youth and adults to explore Computer Science (CS) and Computational Thinking (CT). This past January, President Obama called for every student to be given the opportunity to learn computer science, declaring computer science to be "a basic skill just like reading and writing," critical to the modern economy.CS for All, announced by the Office of Science and

The ITEST program is committed to preparing our nation's youth, especially those underrepresented in STEM fields, to participate in the rapidly-changing STEM workforce of the future. ITEST projects explore innovative approaches in increasing students awareness of STEM-related fields and motivating them to pursue STEM courses of study, while also identifying the most promising models, tools, and strategies. This research advances our knowledge on

Since its inception, the ITEST program has funded projects developing strategies, tools, and models focused on increasing students' awareness of STEM and STEM careers and motivating students to pursue the appropriate education pathways for those fields. ITEST projects often have a focus on social learning outcomes and on learning environment conditions that enhance learners' motivation, mindset, identity and interest in STEM learning and careers

Making STEM content and activities accessible for all learners, including those with disabilities, is essential to truly broaden participation in STEM. During the NSF Next Generation STEM Forum in November 2015, a session on Assistive Technologies for Learning: Broadening Participation in STEM brought together experts in the field to discuss the current state of accessibility in STEM education and how multiple representations, as mentioned in

Emerging strategic partnerships among K-12 education, government, community-based organizations, higher education, and business/industry are addressing the interactions and interdependence of systems in different domains (e.g., energy, transportation, environment, public health, education) and how stakeholders can work together to tackle the next level of challenges. Smart and Connected Communities focus on improving personal quality of life

Across the U.S., there is increasing awareness of the importance of computer science skills and knowledge and the need to make computer programming part of educational curriculum nationwide. Since 2003, the ITEST program has been funding programs and research aimed to expose youth from populations underrepresented in STEM to computer science, engineering and programming, to the computational thinking and habits of mind needed in a global knowledge economy.

One of the keys to having youth pursue STEM careers is developing their personal interest in science and technology. Often, hands-on activities in out-of-school contexts provide diverse youth with low-pressure, non-academic environments in which they can explore their interests more freely than they may be able to in a school setting.