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Eric.ed.gov – Important, but Not for Me: Parents and Students in Kansas and Missouri Talk about Math, Science and Technology Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study details parents’ and students’ current thinking about math, science and technology (MST) education and their satisfaction with the existing curriculum which most experts see as vastly below world-class standards. The study finds just 25% of Kansas/Missouri parents think their children should be studying more math and science; 70% think things “are fine as they are now.” The report also explains why parents and students are so complacent in this area and what kinds of changes might be helpful in building more interest in and support for more rigorous MST courses. The findings are based on a random survey of 1,472 parents and 1,295 middle and high school students in Kansas and Missouri, probing their attitudes on math, science, and to a lesser extent, technology education.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – An Examination of Technology Training Experiences from Teacher Candidacy to In-Service Professional Development

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of in-service teachers concerning the effectiveness of technology training from a teacher education preparation program to in-service professional development. The findings of the study revealed that inservice teachers have had varying degrees of technology experiences from their teacher education preparation programs to professional development training ranging from no experience to applicable experiences to help foster transition into classroom teaching and learning. An effective training system in teacher education programs should be implemented to ensure that, with the presence and introduction of new technology in the classroom, the teachers are equipped with newly developed skills. The technology skills that in-service teachers placed the most value on achieving related to the technology tools associated with their discipline of… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Preparing the Future Workforce: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Policy in K-12 Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Last December, the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition–a national organization of more than 600 groups representing knowledge workers, educators, scientists, engineers, and technicians–wrote to President-elect Obama urging him to “not lose sight of the critical role that STEM education plays in enabling the United States to remain the economic and technological leader of the 21st century global marketplace.” While that imperative appears to have resonated in Washington, has it and should it resonate in Madison? This report attempts to answer that question by examining the extent to which STEM skills are a necessity for tomorrow’s Wisconsin workforce, whether schools are preparing students to be STEM-savvy workers, and where STEM falls in the state’s list of educational priorities. The author and his colleagues find that… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Report to the President. Prepare and Inspire: K-12 Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) for America’s Future

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In the fall of 2009, the President asked his President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) to develop specific recommendations concerning the most important actions that the administration should take to ensure that the United States is a leader in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the coming decades. In responding to this charge, PCAST decided to focus initially on the K-12 level. This report examines the history of Federal support for STEM education and consider actions that the Federal Government should take with respect to improving leadership and coordination. Subsequent chapters discuss Standards and Assessments, Teachers, Technology, Students, and Schools. Many of the recommendations in this report can be carried out with existing Federal funding. Some of the recommendations could be funded… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Ecocritically (Re)Considering STEM Integrated Ecological Inquiry in Teacher Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The acronym STEM is a ubiquitous term for seemingly anything in–or related to–the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and the current dominant educational STEM discourse in teacher education is often organized around questions of how to integrate math and science into the other content areas or vice versa. The purpose of this article is to pose a different question: “How can an ecological model for subject inquiry become the organizing focus for an integrated ecological inquiry?” In this article, the author provides a glimpse of where educators are currently in their thinking and writing as they put theory to work in teacher education. For the past few years, educators have been working on a number of exciting endeavors in teacher education, ranging from theoretical explorations… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Building a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education Agenda: An Update of State Actions

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: STEM–science, technology, engineering, and mathematics–is critical to and supportive of many education reforms being undertaken today, from adoption of common internationally benchmarked standards to better teacher preparation to enhanced coordination across the entire K-20 education system. In fact, STEM is not a separate reform movement at all; rather, it is an emphasis. It stresses a multidisciplinary approach for better preparing all students in STEM subjects and growing the number of postsecondary graduates who are prepared for STEM occupations. The National Governors Association (NGA) first addressed STEM in its 2007 report, “Building a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Agenda.” That report provided an overview of the STEM-related challenges, opportunities, and actions from the state perspective. This report updates those recommendations in light of recent state progress to improve… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Engineering Efforts and Opportunities in the National Science Foundation’s Math and Science Partnerships (MSP) Program

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The National Science Foundation’s Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program (NSF, 2012) supports partnerships between K-12 school districts and institutions of higher education (IHEs) and has been funding projects to improve STEM education in K-12 since 2002. As of 2011, a total of 178 MSP projects have received support as part of a STEM education investment of over $900 million. One important movement over the past decade has been increasing interest in incorporating engineering and design content in K-12 teaching and learning, a strategy validated in the National Research Council report, “A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas” (NRC, 2011). The goals of K-12 engineering and design content traditionally have been to prepare students to think critically, creatively, and independently by solving… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Professional Identity Development in Teachers of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Science and Math Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Much of the science education community has advocated for a new vision of instruction emphasizing inquiry-based teaching (National Research Council, 1996). Unfortunately, as Anderson (2002) notes, many science teachers are not adopting inquiry-based teaching practices for a variety of reasons such as that teachers commonly favor text-book approaches to instruction. To facilitate the adoption of reformed teaching, Luehmann (2007) argues that teacher education must address the development of one’s professional identity as a teacher. Unfortunately, little is known about the beliefs, values, experiences, and ways of acting and interacting that teachers in science and related fields use to form their professional teaching identity. Through repeated interviews with 18 graduate students who taught science and related disciplines, this study outlined generalizations defining the developmental trajectory of science educators’… Continue Reading