STEM Educator Initiative Blog
Blog Categories
Practical Strategies and Insights from Highly Effective Educators
Learn what’s working in today's classrooms from highly effective STEM educators. These posts offer practical, effective strategies that others can apply right away to support student learning and improve their outcomes.
In Their Words: Student Reflections On What Matters Most
Students and recent graduates share honest, heartfelt stories about the teachers, moments, and environments that shaped their learning. Their voices highlight what truly makes or has made a difference in their learning and academic growth, one experience at a time.
CTE Leadership: Tough Issues and Answers From the Field
Experts from the field confront difficult truths faced by today's CTE educators as they navigate the shared complex challenges. These reflections tackle the tough topics with honesty, clarity, and practical advice.
Beyond the STEM/CTE Classroom: Access, Policy, and Mindset
Dives into the underlying systems, beliefs, and structures that shape educational decisions. This gives us space to explore broader themes that influence long held educational assumptions and impact student outcomes.
Workforce Voices : What Today's Employers Want You to Know (Coming soon!)
Business and industry professionals share what they’re seeing in today's workforce related to STEM skills shortages, human-centric competencies, and the challenging transition between school and career entry for students. What does it mean to be "job ready" and how has that phrase changed over time? How can educators better collaborate to ensure students, businesses, and communities thrive? Effective programs and practices are shared.
The Power of Observation: Igniting Learning Through Curiosity and Empowerment
Beyond the Scalpel: The Power of Reflection in the Pig Dissection Lab
From Molecules to Meaning: Eight Takeaways from the STEM Classroom this Week
A Celebration of STEM Students and Educators at the VEX Unified Robotics Tournament
Had an incredible time at Unified Robotics at Hopewell Area High School, where students of all abilities teamed up to design, build, and compete in an inclusive and inspiring STEM challenge. From coding precision-driven robots to problem-solving in real-time, the event showcased teamwork, innovation, and resilience. The energy was electric as students cheered each other on, proving that robotics is about more than competition—it’s about empowerment and community.
Understanding the Current State: Reflections from the STEM Equity Initiative
Prepping for your CLNA 2023
Some tips for preparing for your upcoming meeting with stakeholders to conduct a Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA),
Better Assessing the Whole Child to Achieve Higher Academic Outcomes
The long-held convention of focusing on academic assessments without understanding or assessing students’ social and emotional development is a missed opportunity and has left us unable to see, understand, and appreciate the whole child.
Data Literacy as a Tool for Program Improvement
Trying to understand how to improve student academic interest and performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and specifically career and technical education (CTE) courses, programs, and careers is not easy because of the exhaustive number of variables involved. Students and their experiences, culture, caregivers, adolescent development, prior education (or access), language development, socioeconomic factors, employment options, class, gender, race, community life (and more) all add data to the education equation we are trying to solve.
Questions from the field: How do we continue to increase numbers of male and female students in educational programs that are nontraditional for them?
I’m often asked the questions, “How can we affect changes in student selection decisions for career and technical education (CTE) programs of study?” and “How can I convince a girl entering high school to consider a program in manufacturing or building trades or a boy entering high school to consider a nursing program?” Because so many potential factors influence student course and program choices (e.g., parents, peers, prior learning, cultural bias, hormones, and more), how can educators ensure the all students have full access to any and all of the CTE programs? Equally important, how can educators ensure that progress toward increasing enrollment for traditionally underrepresented students continue over time?
Questions from the field: the Elephant in the Room
Use this blog post to ask anonymous questions about race, gender, and equity broadly, or comments and suggestions to open the discussion.
