PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New report offers roadmap for success in K-12 STEM education

With funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council reports on effective approaches in teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics

New report offers roadmap for success in K-12 STEM education
2011-06-28
(Press-News.org) From educators to leaders in industry, there is broad agreement that U.S. schools have a crucial challenge in improving teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) among students from kindergarten through high school. A background in STEM is not only essential to many current and future careers; it is also a means for citizens to understand and participate in an increasingly complex world--from understanding the challenges of environmental sustainability to addressing the need for alternative sources of energy.

The NRC report, "Successful K-12 STEM Education," is a response to a request from a member of Congress, Rep. Frank Wolf, to identify the characteristics of highly successful K-12 schools and programs in STEM. The report was prepared by a committee of educators led by Adam Gamoran of the Department of Sociology and Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The committee's work included examining existing research and research in progress on STEM-focused schools, as well as a broader base of research related to effective STEM education practices and effective schooling in general. The committee also conducted a public workshop to explore criteria for identifying highly successful K-12 schools and programs in the area of STEM education through examination of a select set of examples.

The report offers two sets of recommendations, geared for schools and districts, and for state and national policy-makers. They are summarized as follows.

Districts seeking to improve STEM outcomes should:

Consider the adoption of STEM-focused schools. The report identifies three models for such schools: selective STEM Schools for academically talented students, who need to apply for admission; inclusive STEM high schools, often referred to as "magnet schools;" and schools and programs with STEM-focused career and technical education.

Devote adequate instructional time and resources to science in grades K-5.

Ensure that their STEM curricula are focused on the most important topics in each discipline, are rigorous, and are articulated as a sequence of topics and performances.

Enhance the capacity of K-12 teachers.

Provide instructional leaders with professional development that helps them create the school conditions that appear to support student achievement.

Educational organizations and policy makers at the state and national levels should:

Elevate science to the same level of importance as reading and mathematics.

Develop effective systems of assessment that are aligned with the next generation of science standards and that emphasize science practices rather than mere factual recall.

Invest in a coherent, focused, and sustained set of support for STEM teachers.

Support key areas for future research.

"NSF appreciates Chairman Wolf's deep interest in improving K-12 STEM education," said Subra Suresh, NSF director. "This report, developed at Rep. Wolf's request, is a resource that will be very useful to all involved in STEM education--from policy makers to teachers to education researchers. The report's findings will be shared with these groups in the months ahead and will guide future research in the field."

"The National Research Council, through leading education researchers, has done a thorough job of identifying evidence-based directions for successful K-12 STEM education," said Joan Ferrini-Mundy, NSF assistant director for Education and Human Resources. "This report will guide a number of follow-up and implementation activities to bring the results to practitioners, state and local STEM education leaders, and others.



INFORMATION:

The report can be accessed from the National Academies Press website.


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
New report offers roadmap for success in K-12 STEM education

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Wars steadily increase for over a century, fed by more borders and cheaper conflict

2011-06-28
New research by the University of Warwick and Humboldt university shows that the frequency of wars between states increased steadily from 1870 to 2001 by 2% a year on average. The research argues that conflict is being fed by economic growth and the proliferation of new borders. We may think the world enjoyed periods of relative freedom from war between the Cold War and 9/1 but the new research by Professor Mark Harrison from at the University of Warwick's the Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy, and Professor Nikolaus Wolf from Humboldt University, ...

Track and Field News: Oxygen4Energy Athlete Kellie Wells Wins National Championship and Keeps #1 World Ranking

2011-06-28
When Oxygen4Energy Athlete Kellie Wells got to Eugene, Oregon this past week, she had only one thing on her mind... winning a national championship. She knew that all of the nation's top competitors would also be there gunning for the title, but she was definitely up for the challenge. So far this year, Kellie has been the most dominant figure in women's hurdles by tying an American Record (55m Hurdles), winning the Indoor National Title, running multiple World Lead times, winning the first Diamond League event, and never finishing worse than 2nd place in any race she ...

Fertility rates affected by global economic crisis

2011-06-28
The global economic recession of 2008-09 has been followed by a decline in fertility rates in Europe and the United States, bringing to an end the first concerted rise in fertility rates in the developed world since the 1960s, according to research published today. "In a new study, scientists from the Vienna Institute of Demography of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (VID) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) identify that economic recessions tend to be followed by a decline in fertility rates - and also identify how specific groups of ...

Student team invents device to cut dialysis risk

Student team invents device to cut dialysis risk
2011-06-28
Johns Hopkins University graduate students have invented a device to reduce the risk of infection, clotting and narrowing of the blood vessels in patients who need blood-cleansing dialysis because of kidney failure. The device, designed to be implanted under the skin in a patient's leg, would give a technician easy access to the patient's bloodstream and could be easily opened and closed at the beginning and end of a dialysis procedure. The prototype has not yet been used in human patients, but testing in animals has begun. The students learned about the need for ...

Zinger Replaces Printed Posters With New Digital Poster Kiosks

Zinger Replaces Printed Posters With New Digital Poster Kiosks
2011-06-28
Zinger Digital Signs today introduced eight new free-standing digital poster kiosk solutions for the retail and office/corporate markets. The digital signage poster kiosks are aimed at replacing printed posters used in retail and corporate environments. The new digital poster kiosks are certified for true 24/7 operations in commercial applications. Digital posters offer many benefits to printed posters including savings from printing, shipping & handling. Digital posters can be updated instantly, giving retailers a tremendous benefit for those last minute sales or ...

Tapping titanium's colorful potential

Tapping titaniums colorful potential
2011-06-28
A new, cost-effective process for colouring titanium can be used in manufacturing products from sporting equipment to colour-coded nuclear waste containers. "The new method uses an electrochemical solution to produce coloured titanium, improving on an older, time-consuming and expensive method where heat was used to develop a coloured layer," says Gregory Jerkiewicz, a professor in the Department of Chemistry. Dr. Jerkiewicz's new technique can be finely tuned to produce over 80 different shades of basic colours. In addition, the coloured titanium produced using the ...

Marketing expert finds attachment to cellphones more about entertainment, less about communication

2011-06-28
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- That panicked feeling we get when the family pet goes missing is the same when we misplace our mobile phone, says a Kansas State University marketing professor. Moreover, those feelings of loss and hopelessness without our digital companion are natural. "The cellphone's no longer just a cellphone; it's become the way we communicate and a part of our life," said Esther Swilley, who researches technology and marketing. This reliance on cellphones and other mobile technology in daily life is an interest of Swilley's, and a phenomenon she hopes to explain. One ...

Does grilling kill E. coli O157:H7?

2011-06-28
Top sirloin steaks have been getting a grilling in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food safety studies. USDA microbiologist John B. Luchansky and his colleagues are conducting experiments to help make sure that neither the foodborne pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 nor any of its pathogenic relatives will ruin the pleasure of eating this popular entrée. The scientists are learning more about the movement of E. coli into "subprimals," the meat from which top sirloin steaks are carved. Their focus is on what happens to the E. coli when subprimals are punctured-as ...

Fidgeting your way to fitness

2011-06-28
Walking to the photocopier and fidgeting at your desk are contributing more to your cardiorespiratory fitness than you might think. Researchers have found that both the duration and intensity of incidental physical activities (IPA) are associated with cardiorespiratory fitness. The intensity of the activity seems to be particularly important, with a cumulative 30-minute increase in moderate physical activity throughout the day offering significant benefits for fitness and long-term health. "It's encouraging to know that if we just increase our incidental activity slightly--a ...

Scientists measure body temperature of dinosaurs for the first time

Scientists measure body temperature of dinosaurs for the first time
2011-06-28
Were dinosaurs slow and lumbering, or quick and agile? It depends largely on whether they were cold- or warm-blooded. When dinosaurs were first discovered in the mid-19th century, paleontologists thought they were plodding beasts that relied on their environment to keep warm, like modern-day reptiles. But research during the last few decades suggests that they were faster creatures, nimble like the velociraptors or T. rex depicted in the movie Jurassic Park, requiring warmer, regulated body temperatures. Now, researchers, led by Robert Eagle of the California Institute ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New perspective highlights urgent need for US physician strike regulations

An eye-opening year of extreme weather and climate

Scientists engineer substrates hostile to bacteria but friendly to cells

New tablet shows promise for the control and elimination of intestinal worms

Project to redesign clinical trials for neurologic conditions for underserved populations funded with $2.9M grant to UTHealth Houston

Depression – discovering faster which treatment will work best for which individual

Breakthrough study reveals unexpected cause of winter ozone pollution

nTIDE January 2025 Jobs Report: Encouraging signs in disability employment: A slow but positive trajectory

Generative AI: Uncovering its environmental and social costs

Lower access to air conditioning may increase need for emergency care for wildfire smoke exposure

Dangerous bacterial biofilms have a natural enemy

Food study launched examining bone health of women 60 years and older

CDC awards $1.25M to engineers retooling mine production and safety

Using AI to uncover hospital patients’ long COVID care needs

$1.9M NIH grant will allow researchers to explore how copper kills bacteria

New fossil discovery sheds light on the early evolution of animal nervous systems

A battle of rafts: How molecular dynamics in CAR T cells explain their cancer-killing behavior

Study shows how plant roots access deeper soils in search of water

Study reveals cost differences between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare patients in cancer drugs

‘What is that?’ UCalgary scientists explain white patch that appears near northern lights

How many children use Tik Tok against the rules? Most, study finds

Scientists find out why aphasia patients lose the ability to talk about the past and future

Tickling the nerves: Why crime content is popular

Intelligent fight: AI enhances cervical cancer detection

Breakthrough study reveals the secrets behind cordierite’s anomalous thermal expansion

Patient-reported influence of sociopolitical issues on post-Dobbs vasectomy decisions

Radon exposure and gestational diabetes

EMBARGOED UNTIL 1600 GMT, FRIDAY 10 JANUARY 2025: Northumbria space physicist honoured by Royal Astronomical Society

Medicare rules may reduce prescription steering

Red light linked to lowered risk of blood clots

[Press-News.org] New report offers roadmap for success in K-12 STEM education
With funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council reports on effective approaches in teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics