It is clear that, given the dynamics of today’s economy, this nation can ill-afford to wait to innovate. States can and should lead the way by strengthening the innovative processes within their boundaries and staying ahead of the global competition unleashed by the computing and communications revolution. Innovation America: A Final Report, National Governors Association, 2007
Two prominent barriers to successfully marketing STEM products are a perceived lack of funding and confusion about product capacity. Fortunately, both of these challenges may be overcome through partnerships and communication. According to Linda Brent, Ed. D. and CEO of The Asta Group, there are a multitude of initiatives underway at local, state, and national levels to encourage growth of STEM programs within K-20 education. These efforts often pair industry with schools or districts. AWIM’s Ciuca agrees—many of his programs receive funding and support from local engineering or technology sector businesses.
In October of 2009, The Asta Group received National Science Foundation funding to create a cyberlearning taskforce with the expressed purpose of
advancing Cyberlearning for the improvement of STEM education and how to use technology to connect underrepresented groups with resources and tools to which they have never before been exposed. ASTA and the national defense industrial community have encountered and solved many of the same implementation issues arising now in education and have actively sought ways that technology can improve education and training effectiveness, efficiency, and accessibility. NSF Award Abstract #0940773, Building a National Program to Improve STEM Education and Lifelong Learning
Brent specializes in multi-user virtual environments, modeling and simulation, and game-based learning, all approaches that she anticipates will take hold as more consistent and better quality educational resources arise.
In late November of 2009, President Obama announced the “Educate to Innovate" Campaign for Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) Education. The effort raised $260 million in financial and in-kind support to “create methods of generating and maintaining student interest and enthusiasm” and “reinvigorate the pipeline of ingenuity and innovation”. Funding and support led to five public-private partnerships all dedicated to advancing STEM education. Corporations involved include Time Warner, Discovery Communications, and Sesame Street.
Partnerships with industry and government will help coordinate efforts and centralize funding for STEM education. Individuals seeking avenues into schools and districts will benefit from creating new partnerships and supporting existing ones.
Educate Clients
To ensure that prospective clients review your product, highlight how it aligns to state standards in science and mathematics while employing technology and/or engineering. The need to be explicit cannot be understated. Curriculum review committees have limited time and resources to dissect products in detail. Documentation must clearly and concisely convey how your product aligns to state standards. Consider providing a rubric or matrix that demonstrates exactly how the learning outcomes of each lesson or component of the product meet state standards. If your product takes an engineering design approach to teaching science and mathematics, a reviewer may dismiss it due to an inability to recognize the traditional science and mathematics embedded in engineering challenges. Ensure that you communicate explicitly how an engineering approach requires students to demonstrate their understanding and knowledge of fundamental science and mathematics.
Coming Soon-- Part IV:State STEM Initiatives
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