The STEM COLLECTIVE
US News and World Report STEM Solutions Conference Edition
In this edition, I've put together some of my take-aways from this conference, and hope you can find something that will serve you and your students as you work towards building a STEM mindset in your students and your school.
Mental Notes and Ideas
Girls in STEM
STEM is a natural fit for many boys. While girls often like it, they don't stick with it throughout college, or in their professional lives. One of the most prominent reasons is because girls don't feel like they "fit" in the STEM world. It is true that many STEM fields are dominated by men, which can make women unsure of their place. Girls and women also naturally gravitate to jobs that involve helping others, and many girls don't see how STEM benefits the greater good. In addition, girls and women are more driven to achieve success and perfection in their academics and professions - they don't like to fail. An inherent quality of STEM is the necessity of failure to drive innovation, and that quality can be very detrimental to a girl's psyche. So what can we do?
- Give your STEM challenges a real world purpose. This will invoke a sense of empathy in girls, which often times fills a girl's mind with purpose. If you are doing the egg drop challenge, help students see how their designs could potentially save a human's life in a vehicular crash, or lead to the production of a better helmet for bike riders and football players. If you are building paper homes with the purpose of destroying them in a "tornado," help students understand how their designs could help save someone's life or all their precious belongings, including pets.
- Girls need strong female role models who have been through the STEM degrees and worked in the STEM world. These mentors can be a sounding board for when classes get tough or the girls don't feel like they fit in with the boys. Girls need the reassurance that they're in the right place and they're worth it. Setting your female students up with a successful STEM mentor can give them strength and purpose as they progress in their educations and careers.
- Let your female students practice "failing" now through STEM challenges that . When a female student fails, help them see the benefit of failing, and help them find the courage to try again. Be sensitive to their emotions and feeling of failure and help them find the silver lining in it.
- Prepare your male students for a STEM workforce that includes women. Heterogeneously group your students, allowing boys and girls to work together, and don't always let the students take the stereotypical gender roles.
One-Liners
- Hard skills get you in the door, soft skills keep you there - not only do our students need a strong knowledge base, they also need to be proficient in the STEM Habits of Mind.
- Technology should be a service to teachers, not replace the teachers. -Jessie Wooley-Wilson, Dreambox Learning
- Unlock human potential by unlocking learning potential. -Jessie Wooley-Wilson, Dreambox Learning
Resources
These are several of the companies represented at the conference that may serve some needs in your classroom. For each company, I've listed a website that has more info, a brief summary of what the company offers, and in certain cases an email address for a contact person. If you have any more questions on any of these companies, please feel free to reach out to me or them!
STEM Premier (www.stempremier.com, cragland@stempremier.com)
A STEM Pipeline online
Ages 13+
Kids create online profiles, then companies and schools offer internships and scholarships
Like a STEM LinkedIn for students
RoboNation (www.robonation.org)
Water robot kids - $179/kit
Rec Foundation (www.roboticseducation.org, www.roboevents.com, peter@roboticseducation.org)
The company that hosts Vex Robotics competitions
Give schools without funding free kits
Online challenges - www.challenges.robotevents.com
Start Engineering
Awesome engineering career guides for different levels
You can find sample PDFs here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1D6dOT6tJm-3jWImyPi2Uk6yRKVhNsbPI
Can order the magazines for your classrooms
Sea World Parks and Entertainment (www.buschgardens.com/camps)
Have week long camps (like Space Camp for kids)
Best Robotics (www.bestinc.org, rosemary.mendel@bestinc.org)
A FREE robotics program led by community partners after school
Takes place for six weeks during September-December for grades 6-12
Cricket Media (lwoodside@cricketmedia.com, www.tryengineeringtogether.com)
They are seeking 3rd-5th grade classrooms in need of STEM mentors for the next academic year, and are eager to provide the online mentors through their 100% virtual mentoring program, TryEngineeringTogether. The program is 100% FREE to teachers, as they match teachers with corporate sponsors. Applications are due by 4/30!
Here are a few resources they shared to offer more information:
Take a peek at this animated video explaining the product to teachers: Teacher Video
View this video to hear eMentors talk about their experience in eMentoring!
Teachers can apply here to participate: https://tinyurl.com/tryengineeringtogether
Start Engineering (www.start-engineering.com, sharrison@start-engineering.com)
This company offers books for K-12 students on all different types of engineering
$250 for 175-page teacher’s guide and a set of 25 Dream, Invent, Create books (also have bilingual editions)
They also have good resources for Cyber Security jobs
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (www.nga.mil)
Student opportunities in GIS
American Petroleum Institute (www.powerpastpossible.org)
Job opportunities in the energy field
Making great strides to close the gender wage gap
CompTIA (www.certifications.comptia.org)
Certifications in IT
Middle-High School
CTE
Space Station Explorers
www.tools.iss-casis.org/iss-vr - virtual tour of the International Space Station
Lots of programs that give students a chance to interact with, or put work on, the ISS
Acoustical Society (www.acousticalsociety.org)
The science of acoustics - great for the musically inclined STEM student
US Department of Energy
Wind for Schools program - http://go.usa.gov/xKuwc - FREE wind energy curricula and teaching tools
Science Naturally (www.sciencenaturally.com)
Bringing together math, science, and literacy
Novels, short mysteries, fact books, and novels chock full of science and math for your students
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (www.nationalmaglab.org/education, kari.roberts@magnet.fsu.edu)
Offers research experiences (and scholarships) for teachers
American Nuclear Society (www.nuclearconnect.org)
Opportunities for students
The Optical Society (www.optics4kids.org, jmehltretter@osa.org)
FREE lesson plans and activities
- WE Charity (www.wecharity.org) - an organization that engages schools in experiential learning by making a difference in communities and the world. They provide access to curricular and extra-curricular resources, one to one support from a program manager, posters, workbooks, and a full calendar of ready-made action campaigns for your class or group.
In Other News...
Mission 13: To the ISS!
Grant Opportunities
- Toshiba Grants: Toshiba has grant opportunities running throughout the year, with a few deadlines coming up in May and June. Check them out!
- Possibility Grant Sweepstakes: Schools can enter daily for a chance to win $10,000 for a science lab makeover through Siemens STEM Day.
- eCYBERMISSION Mini-Grant: The United States Army Educational Outreach Program is offering this grant to support teachers and program leaders as they implement the eCYBERMISSION program in the 2018-2019 school year. For educators of grades 6-9. Deadline is October 17.
- If you ever need help with grants, please consider contacting the STEM Facilitator if you need ideas on what to get with grants, or Dr. Laura Denton, the Grants Development Manager, for help writing it up. Dr. Denton is a wordsmith, and very willing to help you achieve your goals! Her email is laura.denton@knoxschools.org.
- Please let me know if you choose to pursue a grant, to help me know which items are of most interest to you all: brianna.fisher@knoxschools.org.
Technology for Rent
STEM "Enrichment" Opportunities
- Apr 21 - Codestock Academy for high school students, 9 am - 4 pm
- Apr 30 - East Tennessee STEM Hub Regional Meeting at ORAU @ 4:30 pm
- May 8-9 - Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit
KCS STEM
Email: brianna.fisher@knoxschools.org
Website: http://knoxschools.org/stem
Location: 912 South Gay Street, 10th Floor, Knoxville, TN, USA
Phone: 865-594-1576
Facebook: facebook.com/Office-of-Innovation-492221904512761/
Twitter: @kcs_stem