Triangle Coalition For Science And Technology Education

Tuesday night’s State of the Union Address focused heavily on education and specifically called for greater emphasis on STEM education. President Obama covered the full-spectrum of recent education issues including: Race to the Top, No Child Left Behind, international competitiveness, standards, the teaching profession, as well as STEM teachers, and more. In addition, four science students attended and sat in the box as guests of First Lady Michelle Obama.

President Obama stressed global competitiveness, pointing out that other nations, including China and India, are focusing greater efforts on educating their children in math and science. He also referenced lagging math and science proficiency among American students compared to their international peers. In December 2010, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results revealed that U.S. students ranked 17th in science and 25th in math out of 70 other international economies.

“We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world,” the President stated. This statement comes only a few weeks after he signed into law the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 5116), which sets goals to do exactly that.

Race to the Top, the $4.35 billion grant competition, is the “most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation,” he said. The President has requested that Congress continue the competition in the FY2011 budget, which has not yet been approved. The President also applauded the states who have adopted the new Common Core State Standards.

In addition, President Obama called for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Many education policy experts are skeptical of the likelihood of this being accomplished in a highly divided Congress. President Obama, however, consistent with his optimistic tone, sounded confident as he said, “Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what’s best for our kids.”

Of course the budget was also a main topic throughout his remarks, but he cautioned law makers regarding edu-cuts. He compared gutting our investments in innovation and education to be like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine.

Teachers, or “nation builders” as they call them in South Korea, should be treated with the utmost respect, said the President. He referred to his recent announcement of a goal to recruit and train 100,000 great STEM teachers over the next ten years who are able to prepare and inspire students. This goal is aligned with the recommendations(pdf) recently made by the President’s Council of Advisors in Science and Technology (PCAST). In an appeal to young people, he said, “If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child — become a teacher. Your country needs you.”

Overall, the State of the Union Address was extremely favorable for STEM education, especially this statement, “We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.”

Over the last year, a committee at the National Research Council has been developing a framework to guide new science education standards. Triangle Coalition, along with many of our members, has been involved with providing feedback to the National Academy of Sciences, Board on Science Education on the project’s draft. Below is an update from the committee chair, Helen Quinn on the progress of the framework.

As the committee nears completion of the framework, Triangle Coalition will continue to work with the committee and include our members in the ongoing development process. Stay tuned for more information to come in the new year.

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Dear Colleague,

We are writing to update you on the status of our project “Conceptual Framework to Guide the Development of Next Generation Standards for K-12 Science Education”. The authoring committee is hard at work revising the framework based on the extensive and thoughtful feedback received during the July public comment period. Once the committee has carefully considered all of the feedback and completed its revisions, the revised framework will undergo a confidential external review by a group of independent experts selected by the National Research Council. The report will be released once it has cleared this rigorous external review process.

At this point, we anticipate releasing the Framework in spring of 2011.

Background on the Framework:

The Framework is the first step in a process for revising existing standards in K-12 science education. In the second step, Achieve, Inc., an independent, bipartisan, non-profit education reform organization that works closely with states will develop a full set of internationally-benchmarked standards based on the Framework. The Framework will also be available for immediate use by states, curriculum and assessment developers, and leaders of professional development for teachers. Both efforts; creating a framework and developing standards based on this framework, have been funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The Framework is being developed by a committee of 18 experts convened by the NRC. The committee members are all unpaid volunteers and represent expertise in the natural sciences, engineering, learning sciences, learning and teaching, curriculum, assessment, and education policy.

The Framework describes the major ideas and practices in the natural sciences and engineering that all students should be familiar with by the end of high school. The Framework is designed to help realize a vision for education in the natural sciences in which students actively engage in science practices in order to deepen their understanding of core ideas in science over multiple years of school. This new vision of the key ideas and practices students should learn is vital as science influences virtually every decision a person makes today and is a key component of innovation, which drives U.S. competitiveness and economic growth.

As the Framework is not a set of fully elaborated standards, it does not include an articulation of the ideas and practices at every grade level. Instead, it offers assumptions only at some key grade level “anchor points” and provides a few examples of performance expectations to serve as illustrations for standards development.

We thank you for your interest.

Sincerely,

Helen Quinn, Chair
Labels: National standards, STEM Education

Reflecting on this past year’s first session of the 111th Congress, various issues related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education were brought to the table, but most were referred to the appropriate committees for review and then saw no further action.

In 2009, two resolutions related to Science education were passed in the House of Representatives, H.RES.558, designating a National Computer Science Education Week, and H.RES.793, supporting National Chemistry Week. Congressman Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), sponsor of Computer Science Education Week, stated, “Computer science is becoming increasingly important and relevant in today’s high-tech jobs, but fewer and fewer students are choosing this course of study. We can help reverse this trend by introducing students to computer science at an early age so they will be prepared for the jobs of the future.”

A significant amount of focus was placed on creating uniform standards for STEM education across the country. The Standard to Provide Educational Achievement for Kids Act, or the SPEAK Act, H.R.2790 was reintroduced by both Congressman Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) and Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT). The Act would create and implement rigorous and voluntary American education content standards in science and mathematics for kindergarten through grade 12. The bill was sent to the House Committee on Education and Labor. In addition, accreditation standards for undergraduate and graduate programs in the field of biofuel engineering were addressed in H.R.3523, but no actions have yet been taken.

Several of the bills addressed the need for grants to fund specific STEM programs. Congressman Gerald Connolly (D-VA) introduced H.R.3331, requesting that the Secretary of Defense make grants available for STEM research and projects to supplement the security functions of the Department of Defense. In July, Congressman Paul Hodes (D-NH) introduced H.R.3230 to establish an Innovation Inspiration school grant program within Triangle Coalition partner, the National Science Foundation (NSF). Both of these bills were referred to the appropriate House subcommittees for review.

Focusing specifically on STEM workforce related issues, the Health Care Professional Pipeline Act of 2009, H.R.2946, would recruit and prepare students for future careers in health care professions. Also addressing workforce training was the Community College Energy Training Act of 2009 H.R.3731, which would focus on providing training and education for careers in sustainable energy industries. Likewise, the Improving Mathematics and Science Teacher Quality Act, H.R.3950, would address instruction in mathematics and science by amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include informal science education centers, and business consortia, as well as training departments in higher education. However, no action has been taken on these bills since they have been under committee review.

In November the National STEM Education Tax Incentive for Teachers Act of 2009, S.2754, was introduced, which would grant a tax credit to teachers, encouraging them to pursue careers in STEM subjects. At this time, the bill is still under the review of a Senate committee.

While no major STEM legislation was passed in 2009, Congressional members were repeatedly reminded of the fundamental need to address STEM issues throughout the introductions and discussions of the bills. Congressman Michael Honda (D-CA) reintroduced H.R.2710, the Enhancing STEM Education Act of 2009, a bill intended to encourage coordination and collaboration among the many STEM education programs throughout the country. Honda stressed the need for agencies engaged in STEM programs to open lines of communication and work together to maximize the impact of their education initiatives. During his opening remarks on the bill, the former teacher, principal, and school board member said, “Developing citizens that are critical thinkers and scientifically literate will help drive a vibrant society and create sound economic policy. Our economy depends on our country’s education.” Another similar bill that stressed the need for STEM program coordination was S.1210, STEM Education Coordination Act of 2009.

Overall, STEM issues have seen strong support from the Nation’s leadership, starting with President Obama’s launch of “Educate to Innovate” Campaign for Excellence in STEM education. The campaign is a call to action to improve the performance of American students in STEM through collaborative partnerships between the Federal Government, companies, foundations, non-profits, and STEM related societies, as well as a strong focus on improving teacher quality. “The quality of math and science teachers is the most important single factor influencing whether students will succeed or fail in science, technology, engineering and math,” President Obama said. “Passionate educators with issue expertise can make all the difference, enabling hands-on learning that truly engages students—including girls and underrepresented minorities—and preparing them to tackle the grand challenges of the 21st century.”

One of the initiatives that has already been implemented includes National Lab Day, a platform to scale hands-on learning across the country. The President called upon the nation in his April 27th speech to the National Academies of Science, saying, “I want to encourage you to participate in programs to allow students to get a degree in science fields and a teaching certificate at the same time. I want us all to think about new and creative ways to engage young people in science and engineering, whether it’s science festivals, robotics competitions, fairs that encourage young people to create and build and invent — to be makers of things, not just consumers of things.”