November 2009
ARTICLES
White House Pushes Science and Math Education
(Kenneth Chang, New York Times)
To improve science and mathematics education for American children, the White House
is recruiting Elmo and Big Bird, video game programmers and thousands of scientists.
Skip to next paragraph. President Obama announced a campaign to enlist companies
and nonprofit groups to spend money, time and volunteer effort to encourage students,
especially in middle and high school, to pursue STEM.
Read More
Read "White House Seeks Innovation Through STEM" from Education
Week
Read "White House to Hold Science Fair to Recognize Student Inventors"
from The Washington Post/Associated Press
Educator: Teach Girls to "Tinker" to Develop STEM Interest
(Lisa Damour, Education Week)
While reports suggest that girls surpass boys on many standardized measurements
of math and science, far fewer girls go on to choose careers that involve STEM,
writes Damour. Girls may struggle in the classroom with tasks that do not produce
clear, polished outcomes, and she suggests that teachers look for opportunities
to teach girls how to "tinker."
Read More
Fewer Math Topics Bring Greater Mastery
(Betsy Hammond, Oregonian)
Middle school students in Oregon in every racial, ethnic, and income group show
greater mastery of mathematics than they did three years ago, which educators attribute
to Oregon's drastic reduction in the number of math topics covered in each grade.
Read More
Can Women Be Creative Scientists? The Dangers of Testing for Creative Ability
(Michele and Robert Root-Bernstein, Psychology Today, Imagine That! Blog)
Is creativity an inborn personality trait or a set of learned skills? The answer
determines whether we test for intrinsic talent or teach creative skills. Current
research on screening for scientific creativity suggests why getting the answer
right is critical to the future of women in science.
Read More
Will Science and Engineering Now Be a Good Career?
(Hal Salzman and Lindsay Lowell, Education Week)
The classroom or the boardroom? Where does America's problem in finding the best
and the brightest for its science and engineering jobs begin? Dissatisfied policymakers
and corporate managers constantly point to schools as the culprit, in not producing
enough globally competitive science and engineering students. Yet a careful look
at the data suggests that the finger-wagging may be aimed in the wrong direction.
Read More
Getting Them on Track: Atkins' School of Pre-Engineering Helps Make Students Excited
About Technology
(Kim Underwood, Winston Salem Journal)
The way Leslie Eaves sees it, the skills that students learn in engineering classes
will serve them well no matter where life takes them. In engineering, she said,
you have to find answers to such questions as "How to do I go from A to B given
my constraints?" "It's problem solving," Eaves said. "It develops your creative
mind. You have to think in ways that are different. That's valuable no matter whether
you become a lawyer, chef or artist."
Read More
Kansas School to be First to Offer Engineering at the Elementary Level
A Kansas school district is set to become the first in the nation to offer engineering
classes at the elementary-school level. The Derby school district began offering
engineering courses in middle and high schools this year, but a pilot program next
year will bring aerospace engineering lessons to a district elementary school. The
curriculum is designed by Project Lead the Way and will include hands-on and computer-based
activities.
Read More
PUBLICATIONS
International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology
GST focuses on gender issues in and of science and technology, including engineering,
construction and the built environment, and aims to explore the intersections of
policy, practice and research.
Learn
More
NAPE PDI
NAPE's 2010 Professional Development Institute, "A New Decade for Equity," will
be held in Arlington, VA, on April 12-15, 2010.
Registration is open!
Consider submitting an RFP!
Confirmed Speakers: Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training Administration
and Brenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult
Education
Invited Speaker:
Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
RESOURCES
Engineering, Go For It is
a 64-page magazine produced by the ASEE every two years.
NASA has completed a new classroom careers poster for NASA, titled NASA: Your Future and Ours, focusing on 9 Hispanics, both
men and women, at NASA.
SAVE THE DATE
Webinar Series: Subtle Micro-Messages Impact the Success
of Women and Girls in STEM, November 16, 2009, and December 14, 2009
The Infinite Possibilities
Conference aims to promote, educate, and encourage minority women interested in
math and statistics, Los Angeles, CA, March 19-20, 2010
AAAS Conference Session: Role of Community Colleges in Increasing Minority
Students in the STEM Pipeline: San Diego, CA, February 21, 2010, 3:30 PM-5:00 PM
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published in the NAPE Update are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect
the views of NAPE. Furthermore, inclusion of a product, program, or practice in
the NAPE Update does not imply its endorsement by NAPE.
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