The STEM Immersion Guide is web-based and provides a framework to help educators in Arizona develop STEM programs. The STEM Immersion Guide contains key design elements that support project-based, interdisciplinary STEM instruction by providing practical tools and information to enable teachers, schools and districts, and administrators that want to improve student outcomes by integrating STEM. The website includes an interactive and a downloadable version of the guide, as well as a self-assessment of a school/district’s current level of STEM implementation, an implementation guide, and additional resources.
Generation STEM: The Four Cs of Next Generation Engineering Standards
This article aligns the “four Cs – collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication” from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2004) to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The author advocates that the NGSS lay out a vision of science education that embraces a project-based STEM education connected to these four Cs, as is particularly evident in the NGSS sections on engineering design and science and engineering practices.
Contextual Factors that Influence the Achievement of Australia’s Indigenous Students: Results from PISA 2000-2006
From the Publisher: “The analyses presented in this report show that there are still large gaps in the socioeconomic background of [Australian] Indigenous and non- Indigenous students. Lower levels of attendance at pre-school, less access to home educational resources, and parents with lower levels of experience of education contribute to many Indigenous children starting school at a disadvantage and then these problems compound as throughout their school lives Indigenous students are more likely to be late to school on a regular basis, to miss consecutive months of schooling, and to change school several times. In national tests in the early years of primary schooling, Indigenous students consistently achieve at lower levels than their non- Indigenous peers, and as schooling continues, the gaps that are there at the beginning of primary school gradually widen as poor attendance compounds a poor start to school. Lower achievement and discontinuity of schooling can lead to lower levels of self-confidence and self-efficacy, which in turn further hinder academic achievement. One of the aims of education is to provide students with opportunities in their lives, and it is important that students and their parents understand the impact of their choices in terms of limiting these opportunity. School systems can and should have a role in furthering this understanding, not just putting punitive measures into place to combat truancy.”
How Are States Reporting on College and Career Readiness?
From the Publisher: “Preparing students for success in college and careers is one of the primary goals of our education system. How states track and report progress toward the goal of college and career readiness is important for public accountability and transparency; making data available publicly provides a window into how students – and the institutions that serve students – are doing. This brief describes the range of college and career readiness measures states are currently reporting publicly. The brief also provides guidance for what states should be doing to measure students’ college and career readiness.”
Overview: State Definitions of College and Career Readiness
This overview highlights common elements of state definitions of “college and career readiness.” Through the review of state definitions, the author identifies six broad common categories, including academic knowledge; critical thinking and/or problem solving; social and emotional learning, collaboration, and/or communication; grit, resilience, and perseverance; citizenship and/or community involvement; and other additional activities.
New Science Standards: A Readiness Assessment for State Boards of Education
From the Publisher: “This document consists of a self-assessment matrix – a Standards Readiness Assessment – as well as guidance and explanations that SBE (state board of education) members can use interactively to help determine their state’s overall readiness to adopt and implement science standards. Its purpose is to help SBEs identify existing gaps and monitor their states’ progress toward readiness in each of the process and policy domains described in the assessment. Based on SBE members’ answers to the guiding questions, the Standards Readiness Assessment offers action steps to influence or promote their states’ readiness for implementing new science standards in each domain.”