At all education levels, so much is happening to boost science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
• States and the federal government are increasing funding and working in cooperation with private organizations to support implementation of new programs.
Ashley Bateman reports in Heartlander Magazine:
States have been recruiting more STEM teachers, rewarding students majoring in STEM subjects with tuition help or loan payback, and dedicating state-funding streams in Colorado, New York, and Rhode Island to support the Pathways to Technology early college model, according to Jennifer Zinth, director of high school and STEM at ECS.
“There is a proliferation of new [STEM] jobs, new occupations, and employers saying they can’t find folks to fill these jobs,” Zinth said. “There must be better alignment between K-12 education and [workforce demands].”
• Federal agencies also are promoting STEM, including a live webcast forum that occurred Sept. 30, “Open Science and Innovation: Of the People, By the People, For the People.”
The forum included the launch of a Federal Crowdsourcing and Science Toolkit.
As per a USDA press release: “The Toolkit provides information and resources that can help federal agencies harness the power of public participation, and advance the culture of innovation, learning, sharing, and doing in the federal community, to help solve scientific and societal problems.”
• The STEM Funders Network is piloting its STEM Ecosystem Initiative, selecting 27 communities to initially feature the program.
This project, built on over a decade of research into successful STEM collaborations, seeks to nurture and scale effective science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning opportunities for all young people. The selected sites from across the United States have committed to collaborate and share their work toward this common vision.
• The White House announced in September that Arizona State University will lead the National STEM Collaborative, a program designed to support minority women and girls in STEM disciplines.
