STEM Education in Minnesota: What Superintendents Need to Know

1
STEM Education inMinnesota What Superintendents
Need to Know
Minnesota Superintendents Conference August 17,
2006
2
(No Transcript)
3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
The Flattening

• The fall of the Berlin Wall
• The rise of the Internet
• Work flow software
• Open source
• Outsourcing
• Offshoring
• Supply chaining
• Insourcing
• In-forming
• The steroids - Digital, Mobile, Personal and
  Virtual.

6
The Gathering Storm

• The United States takes deserved pride in the
  vitality of its economy, which forms the
  foundation of our high quality of life, our
  national security, and our hope that our children
  and grandchildren will inherit ever-greater
  opportunities. That vitality is derived in large
  part from the productivity of well-trained people
  and the steady stream of scientific and technical
  innovations they produce.
• Source Rising Above a Gathering Storm
  (Washington, D.C. National Academy of Sciences,
  2006)

7
To sustain American competitiveness in science
and engineering, we need a focused, long-term,
comprehensive initiative by the public and
private sectors to

• Build public support for making improvement in
  STEM performance a national priority.
• Motivate U.S. students and adults, using a
  variety of incentives, to study and enter STEM
  careers, with a special effort geared to those in
  currently underrepresented groups.
• Upgrade K12 mathematics and science teaching to
  foster higher student achievement.
• Boost and sustain funding for basic research,
  especially in the physical sciences and
  engineering.

8
Americas Pressing Challenge Building A Stronger
Foundation

• The NSB identifies priorities
• strong public support for the value of STEM
  education for all students and citizens,
• a high quality teaching force,
• appropriate learning opportunities for all
  students
• effective guidance counseling on STEM education
  and careers, and
• assessment tools that reinforce learning in STEM
  fields.

Americas Pressing Challenge Building a
Stronger Foundation A Companion to Science and
Engineering Indicators (2006) National Science
Board (NSF) http//www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsb0602
/
9
A Case for Action

• The global economy is changing the nature of work
  and the kinds of jobs young people will enter.
• Students need higher levels of knowledge and
  skills than ever before to succeed in workplaces
  of the 21st century.

10
A Focus on STEM

• Innovation. Competition. Technology. Information.
  As these forces change our world, they also
  change the face of science and mathematics
  education. Change from
• just finding the answer to identifying the
  problem
• emphasis on computation to reasoning and problem
  solving
• paper and pencil-driven to computer-driven
• doing routine tasks to discovering new paths for
  ideas,
• working alone to working in groups.
• Instead of "filtering out" students, science and
  mathematics expands the future options of all
  students.

http//www.scimathmn.org
11
STEM for Everyone!

• New research from ACT shows that the level of
  readiness needed to enter jobs offering a livable
  wage is not lower than that needed for college.
  Therefore, all high school students need to
  graduate ready for college.
• The demands of college and work are dramatically
  different today than a generation ago, and it is
  the job of high schools to prepare students for
  these demands.
• Source Graduation Pays, NGA Center for Best
  Practices, www.nga.org, 2005

12
Expectations are the same for both college and
good jobs

• American Diploma Project found a high degree of
  convergence.
• The knowledge and skills that high school
  graduates will need to be successful in college
  are the same as those they will need to be
  successful in a job that
• pays enough to support a family well above the
  poverty level,
• provides benefits, and
• offers clear pathways for career advancement
  through further education and training.

13
What About Minnesota?

• By 2012, Minnesota will see a 20 increase in
  jobs requiring at least some post-secondary
  education.

Source Americas Career Information Network,
Bureau of Labor and Statistics (2004)
14
Comparing Innovation Capacity
MN 27
USA 29
EU 36
South Korea 46
China 59

• Source National Science Foundation, 2001 US
  Department of Education, Integrated Postsecondary
  Education Data System, 2004.

15
Preparing for and Completing College in the U.S.A.
16
Preparing for and Completing College in Minnesota
17
Out of every 100 Minnesota ninth graders
18
82 graduate from high school
19
54 enter college
20
38 are still enrolled in the sophomore year
21
25 graduate from college.
22
Minnesotas National Governors Association Phase
I Honor States Grant
23
Minnesotas National Governors Association Phase
I Honor States Grant

• A Governor's roundtable on STEM for business,
  education and civic leaders was held March 31,
  2006 to assess statewide needs for math and
  science,
• Regional Forums will be held in October 2006.

24
Minnesotas NGA Grant

• A Minnesota student summit on STEM opportunities
  and future career options will be held in Fall
  2006.
• Digital Content Conferences for Educators
• October 18, 2006 at the Science Museum
• October 25, 2006 in Alexandria

25
MDE Instructional Assistance to Schools

• 80 teachers receive Lesson Study training, report
  changes in instruction, achievement
• 2000 teachers participate in Surveys of Enacted
  Curriculum to align curriculum with state
  academic standards and best practices
• 75-100 mentor relationships are established among
  math, science and career/technology teachers

26
MDE Incentive GrantsTechnology-Engineering-Design

• 7 incentive grants for technology-engineering-desi
  gn (TED) programs
• Washburn High School (Minneapolis)
• Cass Lake-Bena High School
• Marshall County Central High School
• GFW Gibbon/Fairfax/Winthrop High School
• South St. Paul Secondary
• Duluth East High School
• Jefferson High School (Alexandria)

27
MDE Incentive Grants STEM Lighthouse

• 3 incentive grants for new Lighthouse High
  Schools as models for STEM
• Lincoln High School (Thief River Falls)
• Moorhead High School
• GFW Gibbon/Fairfax/Winthrop High School

28
MDE Incentive Grants Digital Content

• 5 incentive grants for high school programs using
  digital content
• Prior Lake High School
• Armstrong/Cooper High Schools (Robbinsdale)
• Stillwater High School
• Cambridge-Isanti High School
• Arlington High School (St. Paul)

29
MDE Incentive Grants for Remediation at
Transition Points

• 5 incentive grants for model programs in math,
  science remediation at transitions points
  (entering or leaving high school)
• Henry Sibley High School (with Heritage and
  Friendly Hills Middle Schools in West St.
  Paul/Mendota Heights)
• East Central Secondary School (Finlayson)
• Moundsview/Irondale High School
• Roseville High School
• Lincoln High School (Thief River Falls)

30
MDE Incentive Grants for Career Technical
Education

• National Research Center on Career and Technical
  Education at the University of Minnesota and the
  Quality Teaching Network (QTN) in Career and
  Technical Education conducted a survey to assess
  regional needs to determine high
  school/postsecondary/industry partnerships that
  should be created and/or expanded to implement
  more CTE pathways leading to industry
  certification.
• Provide incentive grants (20,000 per site) for
  up to eight model programs to establish new
  career certification pathways. Proposals due
  September 29, 2006.
• Increase the number and visibility of career and
  technical education pathways leading to industry
  certification.

31
MDE offers Engineering Software Training

• Pro/ENGINEER Schools Edition software, an
  engineering computer-aided design (CAD) tool
• The addition of free engineering software and
  trained teachers in Minnesota schools is designed
  to encourage and motivate students to engage in
  STEM fields.

(Parametric Technology Corporation)
32
Why Engineering?
ENGINEERS make a world of difference by turning
ideas into reality. Engineers question and
challenge the things we encounter in everyday
life. They seek to improve the products we use in
all aspects of our lives. A degree in
engineering is preparation for many different
careers in almost any field.
33

• Educators, parents, and business leaders need to
  promote the benefits and rewards of pursuing a
  career in science and technology. All too often,
  these careers are seen as the domain of nerds and
  geeks, instead of inventors and leaders. Our
  attitudes even discourage people from these
  fields by promoting how hard they are instead of
  how rewarding they can be.
• Source AeA, Advancing The Business Of
  Technology, 2005

34
Neil G. Siegel-Engineer

• The impression we convey to children the
  potential scientists, engineers, technologists,
  and mathematicians of tomorrow is that our work
  is dominated by calculation, by rote processes,
  by standards and rigor. Those things do have
  their place. But these fields are also places
  that require creativity, imagination, . If one
  has a design for a structure, it may require a
  mechanical calculation to determine if it will
  sustain the desired loads. But creating that
  particular design, balancing many conflicting
  goals, finding new solutions even to old problems
  this is not a mechanical or rote process it is
  art is in highest form, combining personal
  technique, vision, and holistic solutioneering
  to reach ever-better outcomes. I doubt that we,
  as a society, convey much of this joy, much of
  this side of our business, to our potential
  work-force. So they pursue other fields.

35
Neil G. Siegel-Engineer
Worse, we fail to convey the big picture of our
work. something like 90 of the remarkable
increase in human life-span accomplished over the
last hundred years is due to engineers clean
water, waste disposal, safer products, and so
forth. In other words, the most likely way that
an individual human being can improve materially
the lot of human beings on this planet is to
become an engineer, scientist, technician, or
mathematician. This is a high calling. And
largely, we leave this message unsaid.
36
Marine Engineering
Ceramic Engineering
Astronautical Engineering
Agricultural Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Fire Protection Engineering
Aeronautical Engineering
Minerals, Metals, and Materials Engineering
Heating, Ventilating, Air-Conditioning and
Refrigeration Engineering
Biological Engineering
Software Engineering
Ocean Engineering

Industrial Engineering
Manufacturing Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
Surveying Engineering
Optical Engineering
Construction Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Biomedical Engineering
Materials and Metallurgy Engineering
Acoustical Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Automotive Engineering
Audio Engineering
Chemical Engineering
37
An Ocean Engineer Junior Engineering Technical
Society www.jets.org
Evan says that he likes the fact that his
engineering specialty is a frontier field. He
says its a part of engineering where there is
much to be done. Invention and innovation takes
place on a day-to-day basis in this field, he
says. We get continual challenges not only from
oil companiesbut also from mother nature, he
says. Evan recommends the field to students
looking for a challenge, the opportunity to
innovate, and a field with high demand. Its a
very dynamic industry!
38
How do we prepare our students for the 21st
century?

• Foster positive attitudes toward math and
  science.
• Create excitement around the wonderful career
  opportunities in STEM
• Inform students of the need to be literate in the
  STEM disciplines in order to be prepared for
  their future
• Promote STEM courseshigher enrollment
• Provide more awareness of the opportunities in
  the exciting fields of STEM
• Recognize and defeat negative attitudes in
  adults, regarding math and science
• Provide opportunities for teachers in STEM
  related courses to collaborate to enrich the
  learning experiences and strengthen rigor
• Expect success!

39
Adult Attitudes Matter!

• Math is hard.
• Im not surprised you dont
• do well in math, I didnt like
• math either when I was in
• school.
• I wasnt very good in math
• and Im a success, so dont
• worry about doing well.

40
21st Century Education
Our biggest challenge is the time zone
difference. In New York, its 245 but at our
school its 1974.
41
MDE Initiatives Related to High School Redesign

• Level I Assistance-
• Services for all High Schools
• Communications
• Blueprints (Electronic Newsletter)
• Resources and Links Page
• Network for Student Success regional meetings
  High School workshops and conferences High
  School Data Retreats

42
MDE Initiatives Related to High School Redesign

• Level II Assistance-
• Intensive services provided to a select number of
  high schools
• Identify several high school partners who are
  poised for change and willing to implement
  substantive school improvement that addresses the
  core components of the Minnesota Model for High
  School Redesign over a three year period
• Provide intensive leadership training for high
  school principals and site teams

43
Other High School Work

• America Diploma Project
• Dropout Prevention Grant work
• Lighthouse High Schools
• Get Ready/Get Credit

44
Sue Wygant STEM Content Specialist
651-582-8581 susan.wygant_at_state.mn.us
Sally Wherry Supervisor High School Initiatives
651-582-8478 sally.wherry_at_state.mn.us