Boosting Under-represented Populations in STEM

According to the NAPE STEM Equity Pipeline Press, Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA), has introduced new legislation aiming to boost the participation of women and minorities in STEM fields, through the authorization of additional National Science Foundation grants.  The "Women and Minorities in STEM Booster Act of 2012" (S. 3475) was introduced on 1 August 2012.

Additionally, Google is working to increase the numbers of females in high-tech jobs in the Silicon Valley.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/technology/in-googles-inner-circle-a-falling-number-of-women.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120823

Finally, the Huffington Post's David Goldberg and Mark Somerville discuss the variety of diversity that is necessary to make engineering creative and innovative for future global needs, as well as how to address the diversity gap in engineering education.  Part of the solution appears to be the message about what engineering really involves, thus making it attractive to many more potential engineers.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-goldberg/engineering-education-reform-_b_1826537.html

AVC STEM Grant to Present at STEMtech Conference

Representatives from the Antelope Valley College STEM Grant partnership, including AVC Professor Tooraj Gordi and AVUHSD Math and Science Curriculum Coordinator, Dr. Cindy Hendrix, will present regarding the innovative S-MAP (Senior Math Acceleration and Preparation) course at the STEMtech Conference in Kansas City in October.  To learn more about the conference, visit http://www.league.org/2012stemtech/ .

California and Kentucky Communities Models for STEM Education

Vince Bertram, in the US News "STEM Education" blog, cites industry and education partnerships in California and Kentucky as models of the way that STEM education can be operated, resulting in success for students.  Chevron's California Partnership, Project Lead the Way, and Linking Education and Economic Development "are working together to address the STEM jobs gap in California."  Likewise, "Toyota, Bluegrass Community and Technical College, the University of Kentucky, the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers, and PLTW present another example of a scalable solution addressing the STEM education and workforce needs of Kentucky."  http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/stem-education/2012/08/15/industry-educators-build-in-roads-to-stem-success

Chevron Engineering Design Challenge

New video has been posted about the Chevron Engineering Design Challenge which took place at Bakersfield High School in March 2012; the event is part of Chevron's California Partnership with Project Lead the Way.  Chevron Engineering Design Challenge - Bakersfield

SF Toy Company Aims to Increase Girls' STEM Interest

Founded by Bettina Chen, Jennifer Kessler, and Alice Brooks, engineering students at Stanford University, a student start-up, Maykah, is creating toys designed to increase girls' interest in STEM.  Their first effort is "Roominate," a dollhouse kit which the youngsters construct, including lighting circuit boards, and then decorate.  The toy has been tested with focus groups and at the San Francisco Children's Creativity Museum; it has received crowd-financing and orders from around the globe.  Shipments of the dollhouse are expected to begin in a few months.  http://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/Maykah-builds-girls-interest-in-science-3793765.php

11/10/12 Update:  See a similar story regarding "GoldieBlox" toys headed by Debra Sterling, also a Stanford engineer.  http://www.forbes.com/sites/siliconangle/2012/10/15/women-engineers/ 

New STEM-Focused High School Opens in San Bernardino

According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Indian Springs High School in San Bernardino opened last week with a focus on STEM and career academies.  The site will use a block schedule and other facilities modeling a community college campus to prepare students for post-secondary life.  The campus is being re-purposed from a middle school, and could eventually house up to 2,700 students at maximum capacity.  http://www.pe.com/local-news/san-bernardino-county/san-bernardino-county-headlines-index/20120817-san-bernardino-new-high-school-opens.ece

LEGO Mindstorm Workshop at AERO Institute 8/22/12

The AERO Institute in Palmdale (38256 Sierra Highway) is providing a free workshop from 4:00 to 7:30pm on Wednesday, 22 August 2012, for middle school students aged 9-14 years, accompanied by a parent, on LEGO Mindstorm robotics.  The objective is to train both with the aim of beginning a LEGO Robotics team.  Those interested in participating should e-mail the names of the attendees, student age, phone number, and e-mail address to Cecilia Cordova at cecilia.cordova@nasa.gov; contact Cecilia with questions at 661.276.3266.

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 .

Siemens Math, Science & Technology Competition Entries Due 10/1/12

Team and individual registration for the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology opened 1 May 2012, and the deadline for entries is 1 October 2012.  High school students' entries are initially "blind read" by  panels of judges with experience in the field of the entry; up to 300 projects are chosen as semi-finalists, and up to 30 teams and 30 individual students are selected to go on to regional competitions, including one at Cal Tech in Pasadena (9-10 November 2012).  Regional competitors must do a presentation regarding their project and respond to judging panels' questions; each receives a bronze medal and a $1,000 scholarship.  Regional winners receive a $3,000 scholarship along with a silver medal and advance to the national finals in Washington, D.C.  For more information on the competition, eligibility requirements, and registration, visit Siemens Math Science & Technology Competition 2012 .

Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education Offered Teacher Internships

For the 28th year, the Industry Initiative for Science and Math Education (IISME) in the Silicon Valley offered 165 teachers summer internships to learn how STEM principles taught in the classroom are actually applied, as well as stipends to create new STEM lesson plans that are actually implemented.  A few were available in Southern California. 

Teachers are "paired with universities and tech companies [such as Agilent and Nvidia] in the valley to give [them] a chance to see how principles and ideas they teach in the classroom are translated into real world products and initiatives."    "Kids are really inspired by teachers who have experienced the practical applications and who have worked side-by-side with scientists and engineers who can give them authentic stories," Jennifer Bruckner, IISME Executive Director, says.  http://www.mercurynews.com/mike-cassidy/ci_21273923/cassidy-nvidia-agilent-and-other-silicon-valley-tech

Similar opportunities have been provided to teachers locally in the Antelope Valley, notably in the last several years by the Air Force Research Lab at Edwards Air Force Base.