Program Innovation: STEM

Hydro Train Commercial (123hydro, 2007)

Global Competition It is a goal of the United States to maintain a global leadership status. “ President Obama announced the launch of Change the Equation , a CEO-led effort to dramatically improve education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), as part of his “ Educate to Innovate ” campaign.” (Office of the Press Secretary, 2010) National Science Foundation “A robust U.S. science and engineering research enterprise is necessary to maintain a global edge in the competition for new ideas.” (Dr. Subra Sures, 2011) The United States is falling behind countries such as China and India. “When compared to other nations, the math and science achievement of U.S. pupils and the rate of STEM degree attainment appear inconsistent with a nation considered the world leader in scientific innovation.” (Kuenzi, 2008)

Wait a minute… An emphasis on building science and math curriculum has been around for over 60 years… National Science Foundation was established in 1950 Its stated mission is "To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense.” (Mazuzan, 1994) A Nation at Risk, 1983 “ Our Nation is at risk. Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world. This report is concerned with only one of the many causes and dimensions of the problem, but it is the one that undergirds American prosperity, security, and civility. We report to the American people that while we can take justifiable pride in what our schools and colleges have historically accomplished and contributed to the United States and the well-being of its people, the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people. What was unimaginable a generation ago has begun to occur--others are matching and surpassing our educational attainments.” (Bell, 1983)

However… Since then, the world has changed… The World is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman (Thomas Friedman, 2005) Synopsis: The author analyzes globalization, primarily in the early 21st century. The title is a metaphor for viewing the world as a level playing field in terms of commerce, where all competitors have an equal opportunity. As the first edition cover illustration indicates, the title also alludes to the perceptual shift required for countries, companies and individuals to remain competitive in a global market where historical and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly irrelevant. (2011) General Overview: It will change all of our theories of economies, politics and jobs. It will increase competition and require not only an emphasis on new skills sets, but a much more self reliant, creative and innovative mindset. (CapitolReader.com, 2005) Causing people to rethink education… Sir Ken Robinson: Changing Education Paradigms (Ken Robinson, 2010) Improving education is still a hot government topic: What does the White House, County Music, President Obama, Fine Arts, Steam, Arne Duncan, STEM, and Daniel Pink have to do with 21st Century Education? – Welcome to the Future! (Gorman, 2009)

Statement of the Issue Traditional STEM programming is not enough to adequately prepare our children for the global market.

STEM or STE+aM’D? What is the best way to teach math and science to prepare our children for a highly technical world that requires critical thinking, problem solving, innovation and creativity? STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math or STE+aM’D: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math and Design

What is the difference? STEM - Traditional STEAM’D - Transformational Professional Development Educational Workshops, Conferences, Additional Training Research and partner with experts in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math and Design; Be the "scientist, engineer, artist, mathematician, designer" Learning Standards Content Skills embedded in Content Instructional Design Separate content areas Integrated content areas, trans-disciplinary Selected Areas of Study Science, Technology, Engineering, Math Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math and Design Teacher Qualification Education Background Education Background with additional coursework in STEAM fields Programming Adopt a textbook or program Adopt a program with curriculum materials that utilizes social learning of digital learners by researching many viewpoints (including those of other countries) Definition of Technology Give a child a laptop and access to the Internet Technology is the usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose.

What are people saying? Business Leaders Government Leaders Teachers from all levels Scientists Mathematicians Students Educational Organizations

No Right Brain Left Behind “Can the best and brightest from America's creative industries help solve the creativity crisis currently facing our schools? That's the hope of No Right Brain Left Behind, a "speed innovation challenge" designed to help schools make the leap from an outmoded 19th century education model that's focused solely on teaching students to know and apply information, to a "conceptual-era" 21st century approach grounded in creative, big-picture thinking.” (Dwyer, 2011) “ Why does our education system need to make the shift? According to an IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs, creativity was identified "as the number one competitive edge" of the future, meaning the "soft skills" of the right brain need to be nurtured more than ever.” (Dwyer, 2011)

Statement of Dr. Ray M. Bowen, Chairman, National Science Board to the Committee on Science, Space and Technology United States House of Representatives on The National Science Foundation’s FY 2012 Budget Request March 11, 2011 “ As our Nation recovers from economic recession, investments in science and engineering research and education are ever more critical to laying the long-term foundation for S&T-based innovation that drives the creation of new jobs and industries.” (Bowen, 2011) “ As other countries now actively seek to emulate our success by building their own innovation infrastructures, we must be ever vigilant to enhance our own innovative capacity.” (Bowen, 2011)

Meet Vonny , Physics Teacher “ Now here is the kicker. To a person, when asked at the conference what does a college professor want from an incoming freshman, every professor in attendance I spoke with and who participated in table discussions as well as the eight featured speakers to the whole group, not a single one mentioned content! They did not care about how much content, beyond the basics that is, a student had in their STEM area. They can teach the content, they all said. But what IS needed, and what IS presently lacking from a majority of incoming college freshman, are skills. For STEM areas, students need to be able to do 2 things according to every professor: be able to read technical literature for understanding, and have the ability to think about and find information to reach logical conclusions, i.e. problem solving (this includes being able to identify how to know what you don’t know, and then be able to go figure out the answer). Skills matter as much and more than specific content for college. The underlying reason for this, by the way, is that many believe we are in a paradigm shift of ages – we are moving from the “Information Age” into the “Age of Conceptualization.’” (Vondracek, 2010)

“ This is why higher-level thinking and problem solving and creative skills come in, for STEM fields have progressed from single disciplinary to multi-disciplinary. We have moved beyond knowing what is in the textbook, and into an age where textbooks in some fields are changing every few months with new discovery… students must be trained to think on the fly and how to synthesize large volumes of information and find the connections between topics from different fields.” (Vondracek, 2010)

What does TED have to say? Math Curriculum Makeover, Dan Meyer “ I'm here to tell you that the way our textbooks, particularly, mass-adopted textbooks, teach math reasoning and patient problem solving, it's functionally equivalent to turning on "Two and a Half Men" and calling it a day.” (Meyer, 2010) “And why this is an amazing time to be a math teacher right now is because we have the tools to create this high-quality curriculum in our front pocket. It's ubiquitous and fairly cheap.” (Meyer, 2010)

Meet Vi Hart , a Mathemusician Doodling in Math Class: Snakes and Graphs (Hart, 2010)

Is there a connection between math and art? Nature by Numbers Cristóbal Vila (Vila, 2010)

Is New Math here again? “Newsweek’s July 2010 issue highlighted another dimension. We are in a creativity crisis, not simply an engineering one. The European Union declared 2009 as the Year of Creativity and Chinese faculty actually laughed when they found out the US education trends were in “standardized curriculum, rote memorization and nationalized testing.” “You’re racing toward our old model. But we’re racing to yours as fast as we can.” “ My disillusionment with STEM developed when I saw their roster of possible careers. Heavy on typical math, chemistry, engineering and some computer science, you see no mention of, say, architecture ( someone will need to move our country toward sustainable design ), communication ( who’s designing the future social networks other than Facebook? ), visual and interaction designers ( what’s beyond the tablet? ) and product designers (they will be tasked with designing mass-scale temporary shelter for the increasing number of natural disasters .) As a matter of fact, you don’t really see design mentioned at all. It’s rather clear that Sir Ken Robinson wasn’t asked for his advice by the STEM coalition, nor was Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind. STEM’s biggest flaw, and one we keep enduring, is casting a shining light on all things engineering, and relegating art and design to a dusty corner.” “ History’s unique benefit is hindsight and I look to what we learned from New Math to rethink how we might approach STEM. Fifty years ago Ralph Raimi suggested that the first purpose of educational reform was to change the climate in the hierarchy of education so that our descendents would be able to advance the “true cause.” Each generation will have its own true cause, of course, to be heavily debated. However, I’m hoping we can all agree on one thing – that the future is unknown, the rate of change is increasing and we need to train our brains for a flexibility that can only be achieved by playing with our potential. The right way is never one way and our challenges are not one-dimensional. So why are we approaching the future that way?” (Richardson, 2011)

Falling Short “ The need to improve STEM education in the United States is no recent revelation. Over the past 50 years, American leaders have repeatedly discussed the need to enhance STEM education. Yet, despite increasing federal efforts and spending, U.S. students continue to under-perform in STEM subjects. In 2007, for instance, the America COMPETES Act created new federal funding for STEM education. The act included the creation of a new federal initiative to train 70,000 new teachers in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses, as well as initiatives intended to provide existing teachers with STEM training and to encourage university students pursuing STEM degrees to concurrently obtain teaching certifications. D espite these efforts, there remains a major shortage of qualified STEM teachers throughout the nation—and American students continue to perform worse than their peers in STEM subjects. ” “ While alternative education programs have long been in development, the American education system has continued to fixate on the traditional school model. Alternative education programs offer much promise for fostering innovation in education across the country. Online or virtual learning programs, for example, allow a break from the traditional model in which educational opportunity is tied to one’s zip code and enables students to gain access to the best teachers regardless of where they are located.” (Burke, & McNeill, 2011)

Let’s Find Out Together! Step 1: Inspire interest in the pursuit of finding out what kind of math and science learning our students need and create a group of teachers, parents students and community members Growth centered strategy (Hoy & Miskel, 2008, p. 210) Change is property of healthy organizations. Change has direction Change should imply progress. Teachers have high potential for the development and implementation of change.

Research Step 2: Research current and historical STEM programs. Research what other countries are doing for math and science. If coming from a traditional viewpoint, read the progressive side and vice versa. Bring your ideas and questions to the group with the goal of generating 1,000 comments. To brainstorm properly, abide by these rules from Tom Kelley’s book, The Ten Faces of Innovation: Go for Quantity: Good ideas emerge from lots of idea. Set a numerical goal. Encourage Wild Ideas: The right idea often flows from what initially seems outlandish. Be visual. Pictures unlock creativity. Defer judgment. Think creatively first and critically later. One Conversation at a Time. Listen, be polite and build on others’ suggestions. Dan Pink, Page A Whole New Mind, p. 156,

Reflect Step 3: Reflect on current implementation of math and science curriculum in the district. “ Beliefs play a pivotal role in motivating individuals to act. Individual beliefs about causality, fairness, intelligence, the consequences of our actions, our ability to control our own destiny are a few pivotal beliefs that influence behavior” (Hoy & Miskel, 2008, 146). “ circle bridge”

Purpose Step 4: Create a vision, mission and goals. “ As desired states that an organization is trying to attain, goals provide direction and motivation, reduce uncertainty for participants, and represent standards of accountability” (Hoy & Miskel, 2008, p. 291). “ My bed”

Adopt Step 5: Adopt a math and science program that meets the established goals. “ The teaching-learning function is the technical core of the the school” (Hoy & Miskel, 2008, p. 54).

Professional Development Step 6: Plan a continuum of professional development “ The systematic acquisition of knowledge – that is, organized formal education – must supplement experience as the foundation for increasing productive capacity and improving performance. But knowledge and experience themselves are not enough. Events must be seen as a whole pattern of change, not isolated snapshots. Increasingly, successful performance will depend on the ability to use concepts and theories as well as skills acquired through experience to make the full patterns clearer and help us cope with them” (Hoy & Miskel, 2008, p. 473). In other words, it is important for us to experience the process to gain the understanding of how to learn and continue to grow.

Development Continuum with Possible Indicators From Traditional to Adoption and Adaptation: Skills and Knowledge training Understanding of STEM Advanced coursework in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math and Design Build partnership with experts in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math and Design Understand that change can involve fear, anger and frustration – help people work through this and learn new strategies Transition: Infusion of new ideas into teaching and learning Collaborative team teaching in the content areas Find and join national and local math and science opportunities Redesign of learning spaces Participation in global learning communities Experimentation, lots of questions as old beliefs are replaced with new ones, misunderstanding about what new instruction looks and feels like, dispel misconceptions

Transformation: Teachers and students have become the scientist, engineer, artist, mathematician and/or designer through participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math and Design research and development learning communities “ The systematic acquisition of knowledge – that is, the organized formal education – must supplement experience as the foundation for increasing productive capacity and improving performance. But knowledge and experience themselves is not enough. Events must be seen as a whole pattern of change, not isolated snapshots. Increasingly, successful performance will depend on the ability to use concepts and theories as well as skills acquired through experience to make the full patterns clearer and help us cope with them” (Hoy & Miskel, 2008, p. 473). Empowerment, leadership, voice of accomplishment

Step 7: Look for patterns of success and weaknesses and adapt instruction to accommodate for these learners Struggling learners Disengaged learners Gifted and Talented students “ Funny socks”

On-going steps: Report out to fellow teachers, school members and community by modeling the social learning process. Reflect on implementation, adapt and modify along the way Document patterns, trends, connections and unanticipated results “ School effectiveness is a dynamic concept that has multiple dimensions, multiple stakeholders and multiple environmental constraints” (Hoy & Miskel, 2008, p. 321). Have patience.

Impact Increased excitement and motivation about math and science by both teachers and students Increased quality of math and science instruction Increased performance of student achievement in math and science Increased enrollment in high school and college STEM related courses of study Real world application “Educating students in the sciences, technology, engineering, and math also creates people who are capable of finding solutions to the problems faced by the world today.” (Peterson, 2009) “A democratic society is founded on the premise that the electorate is sufficiently informed to make thoughtful decisions. The tremendous rate of technological change and globalization has increased the need for the electorate to keep current on multiple, complex topics.” (2006)

WOW! “ That has always been America's strength, because America was, and for now still is, the world's greatest dream machine.” Thomas L. Friedman “ Manhattan Bridge Construction 1909” “ Manhattan Bridge at Night

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Terrel H. Bell, Initials. Department of Education, The National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk. Washington, DC. Thomas Friedman, TF. (2005). The world is flat. Farrar, Straus & Giroux . The World is Flat. Wikipedia. Retrieved May 3, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Is_Flat CapitolReader.com, Initials. (2005, October 27). Capitol reader political book summaries: the world is flat. Retrieved from http://www.teachersmarts.com/21/docs/world%20is%20flat.pdf Ken Robinson, KR. (Producer). (2010). Changing education paradigms. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html Michael Gorman, MG. (2009, November 29). What does the white house, county music, president obama, fine arts, steam, arne duncan, stem, and daniel pink have to do with 21st century education? – welcome to the future!. Retrieved from http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/what-does-the-white-house-county-music-president-obama-fine-arts-steam-arne-duncun-stem-and-daniel-pink-have-to-do-with-21st-century-education-welcome-to-the-future/

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Photo Citations “ My bed” photo courtesy of ademiromano @http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=286415 “ NASA Astronaut Robert L. Stewart Floats Above Cloudy Earth During an Untethered Extravehicular Activ” photo courtesy of jchip8 @ http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=45562 “ circle bridge” photo courtesy of jchip8 @ http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=48367 “ Cinque Terre, Italy” photo courtesy of jchip8 @ http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=28363 “ Funny socks” photo courtesy of Tone @ http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=36254 “ Manhattan Bridge Construction 1909” photo courtesy of x600 @ http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=99591 “ Manhattan Bridge At Night” photo courtesy of kingmac @ http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=51786

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