Alcoa Foundation and Discovery Education Unveil "Manufacture Your Future" Website

According to STEMConnector [ STEMConnector Blog "Manufacture Your Future", the Alcoa Foundation and Discovery Education have partnered to unveil the "Manufacture Your Future" website to provide information and free resources for middle and high school students, teachers, counselors and others to explore current manufacturing careers.  The site includes lesson plans, virtual field trips, family discussion starters, and a career guide, among other items.  Visit the site at Manufacture Your Future .

"SHPE" Day at Discovery School on 3/25

100 engineering students from Cal Poly Pomona
facilitate "SHPE Day" at Discovery School

One hundred engineering students from Cal Poly Pomona facilitated "SHPE Day" at Discovery School in Lancaster on  25 March.  Nearly 1,000 elementary and middle school students took part in hands-on projects, including making straw rockets, straw skyscrapers, and working with parallel and serial circuits, as well as heard from a variety of speakers, including software engineer Anthony De La Vara from Northrop  Grumman's Electronic Systems Division in Azusa.  Patty Mucino from Cal Poly also provided a parent workshop.



 

Parent Roadmaps to the Common Core Math Standards

The Council of Great City Schools has published Parent Roadmaps to the Common Core standards; the roadmaps lay out how parents can support their students in math from kindergarten through eighth grades.  Guides are also posted for English Language Arts.  For more information, visit Parent Roadmaps to Common Core Standards .

"Moms' Night Out for STEM" Webinar Scheduled 8/28/12

The STEM Equity Pipeline is hosting a free webinar event on 28 August 2012 at 10:00am PDT entitled "Moms' Night Out for STEM."  The webinar, moderated by Dr. Jeffery Weld and Linda Bisgaard from Iowa, is designed to provide suggestions on how to mobilize the community, particularly moms, to motivate children to study and pursue STEM subjects.  To find out more and to register, visit Moms Night Out for STEM Registration .

Microsoft STEM Survey Reveals Parent and Student Opinions

Microsoft Corporation revealed results in early September of a survey of college STEM students and parents.  Among the key findings were that only half of those parents who believed that STEM should be a US priority felt that it actually was; more felt that the priority was important for global competitiveness than for higher wages or job fulfillment for their children; only 24% were extremely willing to spend extra money to ensure their children's success in math and science classes. 

Of college students pursuing STEM degrees, 20% made the decision in middle school or earlier, while 78% made it in high school; somewhat more females than males were led to the decision by a teacher.  Only 1/5 of students felt adequately prepared by high school courses, and the less-prepared students felt that more STEM offerings in high school would have been helpful.  Approximately two-thirds of the students chose STEM fields for job security or wages or intellectual challenge, rather than at parent urging.  While males generally chose the field because of enjoyment of STEM subjects, most females chose the pathway because they wanted to make a difference.  http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2011/sep11/09-07MSSTEMSurveyPR.mspx

Background information with the survey results also outlines Microsoft's initiatives supporting STEM education.