Subscribe

* *








Past TCEB Issues

Sponsor the STEM Education News

To learn about sponsorship opportunities for the STEM Education News, please contact us.

STEM Education News

March 31, 2011

Vol. 17, No. 13

THIS WEEK’S TOPICS


BUILDING A GRAD NATION SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS DROPOUT PREVENTION

The First Annual Building a Grad Nation Summit convened March 21-23 in the nation’s capital bringing together nearly 900 education stakeholders to discuss solutions to the challenging high school dropout crisis in America. As part of America’s Promise Alliance’s 10-year Grad Nation campaign to mobilize Americans to end the dropout crisis, this annual event was co-hosted by the Alliance, Civic Enterprises, Johns Hopkins University’s Everyone Graduates Center, and the Alliance for Excellent Education. A primary theme of the summit was that of real progress being made, but a reminder that the nation still faces the large challenge of raising graduation rates significantly across the nation and preparing young people for post-secondary and career success. “Our nation finds itself at a critical threshold in our work to improve education and life outcomes for our young people and this summit is crucial to maintain national focus on our education crisis,” said Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO, America’s Promise Alliance. “More than one million young people drop out of high school every year, two thirds of those who do graduate are not prepared for entry-level college courses in English, math, and science and only 12 percent of minority youth graduate from college. We must accelerate the progress we’re seeing to save our young people and our nation’s future.”

The Summit kicked off with a welcome reception that featured U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who applauded the group and challenged them to continue collaborating on the road to mending the U.S. public education system. “We have to turn around our chronically low performing schools,” said Duncan. “We’ve seen a huge amount of change recently, but the fact of the matter is we have a disproportionate number of high school dropouts coming from a small percentage of schools.” In addition to a notable lineup of speakers, several research reports were released. Plenary sessions were webcast live online and archived video is now available. At the event, Vice President Biden announced the Department of Education’s new College Completion Toolkit which includes information on seven low-cost or no-cost strategies that states can implement to increase the proportion of U.S. college graduates to the largest in the world by 2020. In addition, an update to the November 2010 report Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic authored by Civic Enterprises and the Everyone Graduates Center, was released during the Summit. The report update shows that the number of dropout factories — those schools graduating 60 percent or less of students on time — continued to decline between 2008 and 2009. In addition to the new data on low performing high schools, two reports on using data to drive change in education and a new survey featuring the perspectives of business leaders and college and university presidents on the skills gap were unveiled: “Across the Great Divide: Perspectives of CEOs and College Presidents on America’s Higher Education and Skills Gap” and “Education as a Data-Driven Enterprise.” More details and documents released at the event are available online.

STUDY BUDDY DELIVERS FREE ONLINE PEER MATH TUTORING TO STUDENTS NATIONWIDE

The National Science & Technology Education Partnership (NSTEP), a non-profit organization, is using the power of cutting edge technology to help and inspire students to achieve academic success in math. Their signature program, “Study Buddy – Online Math Homework Help,” links minority and low-income students who are struggling in math with volunteer high school honor students in a completely online, collaborative program. Students work in personalized online notebooks that contain worksheets, quizzes, state standardized exams, and instructional videos, as well as teacher-uploaded content. Then, with just a click of the mouse, a waiting tutor will visit their notebook to help them work through homework problems. Tutors never “do” the homework for the student, but provide direction, prompts, and similar examples so the student understands the work and can complete problems themselves. The tutor and student can simultaneously write, draw, and chat on the same computer screen, as if they are sitting side-by-side.

Study Buddy is the only online program that uses peer tutors, successfully tapping into a largely unused, but extraordinarily talented population. Students and tutors participate wherever they can connect to the internet. This original approach enables the “tutees” to feel relaxed because they know that the person on the other side of the computer is a student too. Tutors build their own skills by analyzing mathematical problems, crafting solutions, and communicating their knowledge to peers. These honor students also gain a valuable life skill by helping others through meaningful community service. Not simply an online tutoring program, NSTEP creates partnerships with like-minded organizations such as other non-profits, school districts, and after-school programs to seek students who need help. Current Study Buddy users include Chicago Public Schools, Tempe Union High School District in Arizona, San Diego Unified School District, Lowell Public Schools in Massachusetts, and the New York City Department of Education. To learn more about Study Buddy, visit www.studybuddyhelp.org.

HONEYWELL AND NASA LAUNCH 2011 SPRING TOUR OF FMA LIVE!

Honeywell and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have announced the spring 2011 tour of their award-winning science education program FMA Live! FMA Live! is a collaboration between NASA and Honeywell and is the only nationally touring, multi-media, science-education production of its kind. Designed to make science relevant to kids’ everyday lives, the program brings an authentic, live, hip-hop concert experience of unprecedented size and proportion to middle schools across the country. FMA Live! is completely underwritten by Honeywell and has traveled 82,500 miles, reaching more than 265,800 students at 760 middle schools in all 48 contiguous U.S. states and Canada. The innovative, traveling hip-hop science concert is named for Sir Isaac Newton’s second law of motion (force = mass x acceleration). The program uses professional actors, original songs, music videos and interactive science demonstrations to teach middle school students Newton’s three laws of motion and universal law of gravity.

FMA Live! helps support the current administration’s nationwide effort, Change the Equation (CTE), to better prepare students to lead in the 21st century in science and math. CTE is a CEO led effort of partnerships with leading universities, foundations, non-profits, and organizations representing millions of scientists, engineers, and teachers that motivate and inspire young people across the country to excel in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). “FMA Live! performances are a great way to engage students and get them energized to study science, technology, engineering, and math — or STEM — subjects,” said Leland Melvin, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Education. “It’s been a successful partnership between NASA and Honeywell that uses a highly interactive and entertaining approach to show young people how pursuing STEM studies can lead to rewarding and exciting careers.” FMA Live! has received an impressive seventeen awards for excellence since touring began in 2004. More details and a “teachers lounge” are at www.fmalive.com.

SSP SELECTS TOP U.S. MATH AND SCIENCE TEACHERS FOR 2011 FELLOWSHIP

The Society for Science & the Public (SSP) has announced the selection of the 2011 class of the SSP Fellowship. Ten teachers will join twenty active Fellows from the classes of 2010 and 2009. Through a grant from Intel, the SSP Fellowship provides funds and training to selected U.S. science and math teachers who serve under-resourced students, to enable interested and motivated students to perform high-quality, independent scientific research. The program began with its first class in 2009. SSP Fellows design independent research programs to be implemented in their schools and help their students to develop a strong network of scientific mentors. The 2011 Fellows are from across the United States and were named for their unique plans to reach students in underserved communities and to inspire excellence in independent scientific research. Competitively selected from a large entrant pool of high school science and math teachers from 42 states and American Samoa, each Fellow will receive: (1) $8,500 in 2011 directly for their classroom and community; (2) full support to attend the Fellows Institute to be held July 25-29, 2011 in Washington, D.C.; and (3) ongoing training and resources from SSP. Successful participants can retain their Fellowship for up to four years to ensure that promising students can pursue independent research through their high school years.

The 2011 class of Fellows includes teachers selected from rural and urban areas, large and small communities, and schools that serve under-resourced communities. The Fellows Institute provides intensive training to teachers and enables each Fellow to earn graduate level credit for their work. Additional information about the SSP Fellowship is at www.societyforscience.org/outreach. The application for the 2012 Fellowship will open November, 2011. Society for Science & the Public is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the achievement of young researchers in independent research and to the public engagement in science. Established in 1921, its vision is to promote the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement. Through its education competitions, including the Intel Science Talent Search, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and the Broadcom MASTERS, and its award-winning publications, Science News, which reaches more than 120,000 subscribers, and Science News for Kids, SSP is committed to inform, educate, inspire. For more information about SSP and its work, visit www.societyforscience.org.

200 TEACHERS SELECTED TO ATTEND THE NATIONAL MICKELSON EXXONMOBIL TEACHERS ACADEMY

The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy has announced the selection of 200 elementary school teachers from across the country to enhance their math and science teaching skills through an innovative development program at the national Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy. This year’s national academy will be held at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ. An additional 400 teachers will be selected later this spring to attend programs in Houston, TX and New Orleans, LA. The selection of the teachers marks the third year that teachers from all 50 states have been chosen to participate in the professional development program that began six years ago. “Through our support of math and science educational programs, ExxonMobil is investing in the development of a highly skilled workforce to help our nation remain globally competitive,” said Suzanne McCarron, general manager, public and government affairs, Exxon Mobil Corporation. “Programs like the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy enable us to give today’s teachers the tools they need to engage students in math and science and open their eyes to the possibility of a career in these fields.”

The Academy is an intensive one-week, all-expense-paid professional development program designed to help teachers develop innovative math and science teaching skills. The participants were selected by a panel of educators from Triangle Coalition members, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Science Teachers Association, and were based on their qualifications, dedication to inspiring students at an early age, and overall commitment to enhancing the teaching profession. In 2005, ExxonMobil partnered with Phil Mickelson and his wife, Amy, the National Science Teachers Association and Math Solutions to launch the program, which has trained more than 2,600 teachers to date. The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy is part of a long-term commitment to education by ExxonMobil. The company supports initiatives that encourage students to take an active interest in careers in the math and science fields, support the professional development of highly qualified teachers and promote involvement of women and minorities students. For a complete list of teachers selected to attend the 2011 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy, visit www.sendmyteacher.com. More details about the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation are at www.PhilMickelson.com.

$5,000 GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR 2012 UNIVERSITY STUDENT LAUNCH INITIATIVE

The NASA Minority Innovation Challenges Institute, or MICI, will be offering Minority Serving Institutions the opportunity to apply for a $5,000 grant to assist the school in entering the 2012 NASA University Student Launch Initiative. USLI is a competition that challenges university-level students to design, build, and launch a reusable rocket with a scientific or engineering payload to one mile above ground level. The project engages students in scientific research and real-world engineering processes with NASA engineers. It culminates in an actual launch competition near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. Those interested in this grant opportunity should click here to register for a free, live videoconference on April 6, 2011, at 3 p.m. EDT in which MICI organizers will explain how to apply. Triangle Coalition member, NASA provides many educational programs and resources to support STEM education in the United States. More details are at http://education.nasa.gov.

___________________________________________________________

– TCEB Sponsors

This issue of the TCEB is made possible by a grant from:

3M – 3M is a diversified technology company committed to providing practical and ingenious solutions to help customers succeed.

To find out how your organization can sponsor the TCEB or support the Triangle Coalition in other ways, visit http://www.trianglecoalition.org/support-triangle.

____________________________________________________________

The TCEB is a newsletter provided to members of the Triangle Coalition. Triangle Coalition members may forward individual articles or the issue in its entirety to internal member lists, providing that credit is given to the Triangle Coalition, and contact information is included in any republication.

Member organizations that choose to redistribute the TCEB internally must provide an electronic method for these additional recipients to be removed from the member organization's mailing list.

To submit information for possible inclusion in TCEB, contact tcebeditor@aol.com.

If you are receiving the TCEB directly from the Triangle Coalition, and would no longer like to receive the newsletter, please either email Joanne Van Voorhis at tcebeditor@aol.com.