More STEM at CEHD
One area of particular focus by University educators is science, technology, engineering, and math, also known as STEM, where career demand exceeds qualified college graduates. Our faculty and staff are collaborating with government, business, community leaders, and K–12 educators to develop a pipeline of STEM majors and future professionals. Here are a few examples of their work.
Setting the standard
Curriculum and instruction lecturer Terry Wyberg spent the summer writing curriculum for new Math and Science Teacher Academies, which will bring middle school teachers up to speed on new algebra requirements. Supported by a $1.5M grant from the State of Minnesota, the academies are being delivered in partnership with Hamline University, Normandale Community College, and Twin Cities school districts.
Over the course of the 2008–09 school year, more than 500 metro-area teachers will learn how to teach Algebra I at the middle school level; the course was previously taught in high school. Meetings throughout the year will give teachers the chance to use what they learn in the classroom and reflect as a group. The academies will integrate pedagogy as well, connecting what research shows about how younger children learn algebra with how teachers communicate with their students.
Wyberg is collaborating with Tamara Moore (curriculum and instruction), and Brian Lindaman from the University’s School of Mathematics on the academies. They have received additional funding for a module related to elementary STEM education and hope to include secondary science as well.
Connecting science with life
Assistant professor Bhaskar Upadhyay (curriculum and instruction) is working with immigrant parents and students, particularly from Hmong communities, to increase participation in science through the Linking Food and the Environment (LiFE) curriculum. The curriculum encourages lower income families and marginalized groups to draw connections between science and technology and their home and community experiences.
Upadhyay hopes to identify student experiences that offer sources of knowledge for teaching science and study how teachers integrate those experiences into the classroom.
Supporting teacher practice
Misty Sato, assistant professor of science education, is helping teachers improve ongoing student assessments and define instructional practices that support this approach. While research has demonstrated that student outcomes improve when teachers apply formative assessment strategies—adapting their teaching to learner response and feedback—studies also show that most teachers do not really comprehend the relevant strategies.
“Assessing student understanding is one of the most important jobs that teachers do,” Sato explains, “and they do it hundreds of times every day, not just at test time.”
As part of Sato’s research, ten high school science teachers are integrating formative assessment into their teaching and sharing their experiences in person and online as members of the research team. Sato is examining regulated learning environments and collaborative inquiry while using her research on formative assessments to guide teacher inquiries and to analyze changes in their teaching practice.
Preparing students with disabilities
Students with disabilities are less likely to gain the high school-level opportunities and experiences they need to stay current with technology. As a result, they often enter adulthood with limited employment options.
The Institute on Community Integration (ICI) has partnered with Minnesota’s Pathways to Employment Project to promote careers in technology for more than 75 Minnesota youth through the High School/High Tech project (HS/HT). This national network gives young people with disabilities access to experiences and resources that may lead to technology-related jobs and ensures they have the supports they need to succeed as adults.
“I can see that the students really enjoy the curriculum, most of which is in work readiness, financial literacy, and adult living,” says ICI’s Joe Timmons, the state coordinator for HS/HT along with Ann Mavis, also from ICI. “Because many students with disabilities spend so much time on remedial academics, HS/HT activities provide developmental opportunities essential for transition age youth in work and social settings.”
Among other tasks, Timmons and Mavis have been developing
curricula and strengthening community supports in a number of local school
districts. They are also working with partners including Medtronic and Unity
Hospital on e-mentoring and other activities to provide an entrée to work
experiences for youth with disabilities.
More about STEM and the college
STEM integration takes center stage