STEM for ALL:
Effective Models for
Underrepresented Students
October 10, 2013
The context: options, choices, and
STEM
Option: a thing that is or may be chosen
Choice: the mental process of judging the
merits of multiple options and selecting
one or more of them
Options and choices
Options
Choices
STEM
STEM education is an approach to teaching and learning that
integrates the content and skills of science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics. STEM Standards of Practice
guide STEM instruction by defining the combination of
behaviors, integrated with STEM content, which is expected of a
proficient STEM student. These behaviors include engagement
in inquiry, logical reasoning, collaboration, and investigation. The
goal of STEM education is to prepare students for postsecondary study and the 21st century workforce.
~ http://www.msde.maryland.gov/MSDE/programs/stem
Confront the brutal facts
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By 2018, 92% of traditional STEM jobs
will be for those with some postsecondary
education.
Close to two-thirds of STEM job openings
will be for those with Bachelor’s degrees
and above.
Source: Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce: STEM
Did you know 2013
The 25% of the population in
China with the highest IQ’s is
greater than the total
population of North America.
In India, it’s the top 28%.
Translation: They have
more honors kids than we
have kids.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdvo5FlRqmM
Did you know 2013
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Today’s learner will have 10-14 jobs by the age
of 38.
The top ten in-demand jobs in 2010 did not
exist in 2004.
We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist,
using technologies that haven’t been invented….
in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems.
Did you know 2013

In 2002, Nintendo invested
more than $140 million in
research and development

The U.S. Federal
Government spent less than
half as much on Research
and Innovation in Education
Did you know 2013
Today more than 220 of the
world’s biggest companies have
their IT operations based in India
Did you know 2013
We live in exponential times
 2.7 zetabytes (2.7x1021) of
unique information will be
created worldwide this year
That is more than in the previous 5,000
years
 The amount of new technical information
is doubling every 2 years.
Did you know 2013
For students starting a four-year technical or
college degree,
half of what they learn
in their first year of study
will be outdated
by their third year
of study.
Maryland – creating the foundation
Maryland School Performance Assessment
Program 1991 - 2002
 Standards-based, aligned to curriculum
 Constructed response
 Integrated reading, language, writing,
mathematics, science, social studies
 Used for program evaluation and school
improvement
Maryland – creating the foundation
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No Child Left Behind 2002 - 2014
Four High School Assessments were
required as a graduation requirement
beginning with the class of 2009
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End-of-course, standards-based tests,
aligned to the curriculum
Used for individual scores and school
improvement
Maryland – creating the foundation

Race to the Top - 2010
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Focused on student achievement, reducing
gaps, turning around struggling schools,
improving teaching profession
ESEA Flexibility Waiver
Effective instruction – the secret of the
cycle
Curriculum
and
Instruction
Monitor
and Adjust
Instructional
Cycle
Evidence
and Data
Analysis
Assess
Effective use of data
Use data as a flashlight, not a hammer
Guiding Questions
How are we doing compared to:
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STANDARD? (Local, State, National)
SELF? (Trends over time)
Others? (Local, State, National)
A picture is worth a thousand words
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
Advanced
Proficient
50%
Basic
Below Basic
Missing
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
AfAm HS
AfAm Gr
White HS
White Gr
Student Data Management System
Reading
W
B
Math
W
B
State and local efforts
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Educator Effectiveness Academies
Preschool STEM
Maryland Out of School Time (MOST)
network
Uteach program
State and local efforts
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Maryland Business Roundtable
PreK – 6th grade teacher endorsement in
STEM
K12 Longitudinal Data System
Office of STEM Initiatives
Technology Education: the T and E in
STEM

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One credit graduation requirement that includes the
application of knowledge, tools, and skills to solve
practical problems and extend human capacities (COMAR
1992)
MD State Curriculum based on five overarching standards
aligned to ITEEA’s Standards for Technology Literacy:
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The nature of technology
The impacts of technology
The engineering design and development process
The core technologies
The designed world
CTE Career Clusters & Pathways
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Arts, Media and Communication
Business Management and Finance
Construction and Development
Consumer Services, Hospitality and Tourism
Environmental, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Health and Biosciences
Human Resource Services
Information Technology
Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology
Transportation Technologies
Critical Thinking:
The 16 Habits of Mind
1. Persisting
2. Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
3. Managing impulsivity
4. Gathering data through all senses
5. Listening with understanding and empathy
6. Creating, imagining, innovating
7. Thinking flexibly
8. Responding with wonderment and awe
Critical Thinking:
The 16 Habits of Mind
9. Thinking about thinking (metacognition)
10. Taking responsible risks
11. Striving for accuracy
12. Finding humor
13. Questioning and posing problems
14. Thinking interdependently
15. Applying past knowledge to new situations
16. Remaining open to continuous learning
Things to think about right now
• Advocate for students
• Equity in
Educator Expectations
roles
• Understanding the
Integration of STEM
into the full curriculum
Things to think about right now
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Micromessaging
 Small, subtle, semiconscious messages we
send and receive when interacting with others
Micro-inequities
 Negative micromessages
Micro- affirmations
 Positive micromessages
~ excerpted from PowerPoint by Claudia Morrell, NAPE
~ based on research of Mary P. Rowe, Ph.D.
Equality vs. Equity
People look into the future and expect that the
forces of the present will unfold in a coherent and
predictable way, but any examination of the past
reveals that the circuitous routes of change are
unimaginably strange.
No logic and no prophesy can explain ….
Rebecca Solnit