Conference Strands
K-16 Student Academic Success in STEM
Recent calls for action to retain a competitive advantage in the new global economy and strengthen the vitality of the U.S. workforce have dramatically focused the nation’s attention on the need to produce more highly-qualified STEM students. To Accept the STEM Challenge, new strategies must be implemented that will increase and retain the number of students who succeed in challenging STEM courses. Proposals are encouraged in the following areas: 1) models and initiatives that result in improved STEM student achievement and narrowed achievement gaps; 2) strategies that engage and retain K-16 students in STEM and teaching fields; 3) innovative uses of student and educator performance data for the purpose of informing K-16 student learning; and 4) innovative large-scale efforts to build and connect data collections to monitor student progress in the STEM pipeline. Proposals addressing student academic success from the perspective of the classroom, district, higher education institution, or statewide level are welcome. Preference will be given to proposals that describe work grounded in the literature and that present evidence of effective student learning.
Roles and Effectiveness of K-16 STEM Educators
Increased achievement of K-16 students in STEM courses is a direct result of quality teaching. Federal funding efforts are based upon the premise that greater advances in student achievement may result from collaborative participation of K-12 teachers and higher education faculty in efforts to improve instruction. To Accept the STEM Challenge, strategies are needed to increase the participation of K-16 STEM educators in efforts which inform and improve K-16 teaching and learning in STEM fields. Proposals are encouraged in the following areas: 1) strategies which increase and sustain the involvement of K-16 educators in scholarly teaching and educational research; 2) strategies for expanding the roles of K-12 teachers and higher education faculty in mutually beneficial collaborations to improve student learning; and 3) projects which demonstrate or validate models for effective professional learning or faculty development. Priority will be given to proposals that describe work grounded in the literature and provide evidence of change in practice and activities of STEM educators resulting in improved teaching and student learning.
Partnerships for Effective STEM Education
Partnerships for STEM education combine the contributions and perspectives of multiple stakeholders to build capacity for addressing the challenge of improving K-16 student performance in STEM disciplines. To Accept the STEM Challenge, the value of all members of partnerships must be recognized. Proposals are encouraged in the following areas: 1) strategies for creating and developing effective partnerships to improve STEM education; and 2) strategies that increase parent, community, and business awareness of the importance of STEM education. Partnerships may be characterized as an educational collaboration with business, community and/or parent involvement. Preference will be given to proposals that describe key attributes of the partnership, indicators of its effectiveness, and evidence of impact on K-16 teaching and learning.