FEATURE: Academic Competitiveness Council Finds Little Scientific Evidence Backs Federally-Funded Math and Science Education Programs
|
The Academic Competitiveness Council released its report, finding that although STEM education is supported financially across the US, little is known about the efficacy of such education. The Academic Competitiveness Council Report calls for methodical assessment and improvement of K-12 STEM education, without increases in funding until an organized plan for progress is made.
FEATURE: Keeping China's best and brightest at home (06/15/07)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IF15Ad01.html
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently released a study showing that
China sends more top scholars to the United States than any other country,
70% of who never return to China. In an effort to curb “brain drain”,
the Chinese government has begun offering financial incentives for highly
educated Chinese people to return home, and some officials have even suggested
that an “alarm” system be instituted to monitor talented Chinese
leaving the country.
Keeping Score (A map of STEM education in various countries)
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/317/5834/64
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070624143002.htm
A University of Michigan study has reported that fathers’ gender stereotypes
can significantly influence whether or not their daughters pursue further
studies in math. Girls with fathers, who espouse gender stereotypes of any
kind, were shown to be less likely to pursue math.
Opportunities to Learn in America's Elementary Classrooms (05/30/07)
http://www.sciencemag.org.ezp1.harvard.edu/cgi/content/full/315/5820/1795
The authors evaluate students’ “opportunities to learn”
on the basis of several factors, including classroom emotional climate and
time spent learning in small groups. They find that students rarely received
emotional support and generally did not learn as much working in groups, regardless
of teacher credentials or experience.
Women Get Raw Deal in UK Universities (05/29/07)
http://news.ulster.ac.uk/releases/2007/3209.html
Professor Rosalind Pritchard of the University of Ulster discusses why females
are underrepresented in higher-level academic positions in both the UK and
Germany, and especially lag in attainment of PhDs in STEM fields.
Schools Pinched In Hiring
Teacher Shortage Looms As Law Raises Bar and Boomer Women Retire
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/23/AR2007062301394.html
With higher standards due to No Child Left Behind and retiring baby-boom teachers,
many schools are facing deficits in hiring teachers. In addition, while teachers
have been predominantly women, modern women have more education and more options
than in the past, and are less likely to pursue teaching.
Looking to the Future With Room to Grow- Bigger Schools Add Up to
Savings Later
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071002358.html
Loudon County, in the Washington area, has just finished construction on the
largest middle school in the county, and plans to build a large high school
nearby. Officials say that this is the most financially sound way to cope
with the rapid population growth of this area, and will attempt not to sacrifice
teacher-student contact.
At Tech Camp, Video Games, Robots -- and No Lanyards
|
At Cybercamps, computer-science camps located at 50 college campuses around the country, students aged 9-15 study video-game design, Web site design, robotics and digital photography. The camp intends to draw upon students’ interest in games and encourages the students to create their own games or other projects.
Mo. Professors Host Girls' Science Camps
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201235.html
The University of Missouri-Rolla is hosting several science camps for girls
in grades 7-10, using fun experiments to empower girls and increase their
confidence in the university’s metal foundry, experimental mine and
various labs.
Straight Talk About STEM Education
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5834/78
Science interviews scientists from Barnard College in New York City,
Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, and the University of Maryland,
Baltimore County (UMBC), about their goals for STEM education. They spoke
of attempts to retain students interested in the sciences through engaging
introductory classes, as well as supporting underrepresented groups with academic
counseling.
Science Teaching Roundup
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5834/17
Donald Kennedy notes the poor quality of high school science education and
declining numbers of science postdocs, and proposes that these issues may
be resolved by studying differences between science at institutions. He raises
the point that liberal arts colleges often produce more science PhDs than
research universities.
Can These Kids Save American Science? (7/5/07)
http://www.forbes.com/leadership/2007/07/05/science-innovation-students-lead-innovation-cx_cs_0705scifair.html
Amid concerns that jobs in science and engineering are growing at twice the
rate of the science and engineering workforce, organizations such as the National
Science Teachers Association are encouraging students to enter science competitions
in hopes of sparking an interest in pursuing science careers.
Girls learn to love high tech (06/29/07)
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_6259416
The NASA/Ames robotics and aeronautics institute is sponsoring programs for
Girl Scouts in an effort to motivate girls to pursue careers in math, science,
technology, and engineering. The high school aged girls spend a week at the
NASA/Ames Research Center performing experiments and gaining experience with
robots, flight simulators, and wind tunnels.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/11/AR2007061102110.html?referrer=emailarticle
Higher starting salaries, more rigorous teacher training programs, and additional
support for first year teachers are just a few of the incentives needed to
deal with a projected shortfall of more than 280,000 math and science teachers
across the country by 2015.
Museum of Science Launches First School Textbook Publishing Partnership with
Key Curriculum Press (06/05/07)
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070605005250&newsLang=en
The Boston Museum of Science recently announced plans to publish a high school
science textbook that will challenge students with hands-on engineering tasks,
such as designing and building a boat. The book is part of the Museum’s
plan to integrate engineering into elementary through high school education,
which has historically been dominated by the natural sciences. The book also
showcases a wide variety of careers in engineering and encourages students
to think like engineers with their own Engineer’s Notebook.
A 'MUST' for Students Who Love Exploring Science and Math (05/29/07)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,112485.shtml
The MUST scholarship is offered to minority students who demonstrate outstanding
ability and interest in science and math. Students receive a scholarship of
up to half of their college tuition, as well as summer internships at NASA
and special opportunities with faculty in STEM fields.
Director Announces Plans to Retire in August 2008
http://digital50.com/news/items/PR/2007/07/02/DCM024/nsta-executive-director-announces-plans-to-retire-in-august-2008.html
Dr. Gerald F. Wheeler, executive director of the National Science Teachers
Association since 1996, announced July 2 that he will be retiring from the
organization but will continue to promote education in the STEM fields. Dr.
Wheeler’s contributions to the science teaching community are extensive,
including the creation of the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy, the NSTA Learning
Center, the NSTA Building a Presence for Science program, and SciLinks, a
textbook-online linkage resource.
Higher Education
Science features ‘The World of Undergraduate Education’
(07/06/07)
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/vol317/issue5834/index.dtl
In a special issue, Science features the world of undergraduate education
in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Highlights include profiles
of faculty members from around the world, who discuss the common challenges
in promoting the values of scientific thinking despite vast cultural, economic
and political differences in regions across the globe.
Science graduate studies see revival in numbers (06/28/07)
http://www.ftd.de/karriere_management/business_english/218482.html
The number of American students in engineering and science graduate programs
peaked in 2005, while total enrollment of foreign students decreased, possibly
due to the increased difficulty in getting visas. This decline in foreign
students has resulted in a decrease in the number of students enrolling in
engineering studies, although math and physical sciences enrollments increased.
Is 'Computer Science' an Outdated Term? (05/29/07)
http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/index.php?id=2101
Institutions such as the Georgia Institute of Technology are moving away from
traditional Computer Science programs in order to attract students by offering
more exciting, specialized programs such as robotics or bioengineering.
Foreign Faculty Face Challenges (02/02/07)
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2007_02_02/foreign_faculty_face_challenges
Foreign academics in the US experience many problems as a result of their
nationality, including delays in getting visas, being passed over for funding,
inability to communicate with Americans because of an accent, and lack of
understanding of American culture.
More Education articles…
Cal Poly president makes pitch (06/18/07)
http://www.pacbiztimes.com/index.cfm?go2=articles/wk_061807c
Warren Baker, president of California Polytechnic State University, urged
state and local governments to cooperate with businesses in addressing the
shortage of qualified math and science teachers in the United States.
Baby boomers could help fill teacher void (06/14/07)
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/oped/ci_6138043
A private-public program headed by Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposed to provide
$45 million to train retirees as teachers in order to meet the growing demand
in California
Calling Would-Be Science Teachers (06/12/07)
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/06/12/teachers
The Business-Higher Education Forum released a report outlining plans for
improving K-12 STEM education, including partnerships with local universities.
Teacher shortfall of 280K predicted by 2015 (06/11/07)
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-litteac0612,0,4823516.story?coll=ny-top-headlines
In response to a predicted deficit in K-12 STEM teachers, the Business-Higher
Education Forum released a report outlining a plan to recruit, train, and
retain higher-quality science and math teachers.
DaimlerChrysler honors teachers for closing tech gap (05/19/07)
http://www.reliableplant.com/article
K-12 Alliance Launched to Reverse Declining Participation of Girls
in Computing Careers (06/25/07)
http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=19484191
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) will implement
the NCWIT K-12 Alliance, a program designed to increase the number of girls
studying science and technology.
Center aims to boost the number of women in engineering (05/03/07)
http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=210
Graduation, enrollment rates rise in nuclear engineering (07/02/07)
http://www.oakridger.com/stories/070207/new_181502189.shtml
Thomas Friedman Challenges Graduates To Shape the World With Creativity,
Innovation (06/10/07)
http://www.exduco.net/news.php?id=1696
George Mason Announces New Type of IT Degree (06/07/07)
http://www.hpcwire.com/hpc/1601630.html
George Mason introduced the Bachelor of Science in Computational and Data
Sciences, a new degree intended to channel students into the high-tech workforce.