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Common Core
Common Core educational standards are losing support nationwide, poll shows (Washington Post)
A year ago, the term Common Core meant little to the American public. But today, a vast majority of people in the country are familiar with the nationwide educational standards, and most of them oppose the initiative touted by the Obama administration, a new survey shows. The results of an annual poll by Gallup and the Phi Delta Kappa educators� organization provide more evidence that support for the Common Core State Standards, originally adopted by 46 states and the District, has faded in recent years. The survey showed that those who opposed the standards thought that the Common Core will hurt teachers� ability to craft lessons that they think will be best for students. The latest survey results echo findings from other polls on Common Core support. 
Government
Can You Can 3D Print a Car? This Program Trains Veterans How (Nation Swell)
While manufacturing is no longer the number one industry employing Americans, it�s still a vital source for jobs, as the U.S. is the world�s second largest manufacturer. And as the military continues to downsize, more veterans will be looking for work that builds on the skills they developed during their service, so the U.S. Department of Energy has launched the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advanced Manufacturing Internship for veterans. The first six-week-long program of classes was held at Pellissippi State in Tennessee this summer, and it featured hands-on training at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory�s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility.
Coons calls for report on manufacturing (The Hill)
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate how federal manufacturing policies could be improved. Coons led a bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday in writing a letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro asking whether federal manufacturing programs and tax incentives are effective. �Given the importance of manufacturing in the United States, it is critical that federal manufacturing policy be effective,� the senators wrote. �However, because the sector is diverse, no one federal department or agency deals exclusively with manufacturing.� The senators requested a list of federal programs and incentives for manufacturers, along with the cost and effectiveness of the initiatives.
STEM Competitions
A 17-Year-Old Invented This Smart Device That Makes Clean Water And Power At The Same Time (Fast Co.Exist)
Around the world, many of the 783 million people who don't have clean drinking water also don't have access to electricity. A new design from an Australian high school student aims to solve both problems at once: While the device purifies wastewater, it uses pollutants in the water to boost power production in a separate compartment. 17-year-old Cynthia Sin Nga Lam, one of 15 finalists in this year's Google Science Fair, started researching renewable electricity generation last year, and quickly realized that she could incorporate water purification into her process. Her prototype, called H2Pro, is a portable device powered only by sunlight. Dirty water goes in one end, and a titanium mesh, activated by the sun, sterilizes the water and sends it through an extra filter.
Diversity in STEM
Olivia Pavco-Giaccia (Junior, Yale University; Member, NGCP National Champions Board): LabCandy: This is What a Scientist Looks Like (National Girls Collaborative Project)
As a young girl, I never believed that I was a 'science' kid, until I took Ms. Mary Cahill's 6th grade class. Not only did we work together in teams with lots of hands-on activities, but Ms. Cahill's dedication and enthusiasm to her subject convinced me to give STEM a try. I was fortunate again my freshman year in high school when I was assigned to Ms. Denise Rietz as my academic advisor. Ms. Rietz taught biology, and she pushed me to pursue my passion. Not everybody is lucky enough to have a Ms. Cahill or a Ms. Rietz to mentor them. By the time I reached high school, I noticed that fewer and fewer of my girl friends were taking STEM classes. In fact, the numbers had been declining since middle school.
Julie Crockett: How your daughter can change the world with an engineering degree (BYU Digital Universe)
A female college student tiptoes into an engineering class. Her eyes take a wide scan of the room; it�s filled with men. While this may deter or intimidate some, BYU mechanical engineering professor Julie Crockett claims women have just as much to offer engineering as men do. And she wants girls to start learning young. �I really want you to get excited about the types of things I�m excited about,� Crockett said as she began her Education Week class. She explained that engineering topics can be fascinating to young children when presented in the right way. Ordinary occurrences like making pancakes or freezing water can serve as simple, fun engineering lessons for kids.
Higher Education
Give engineering education a boost (eSchool News)
TeachEngineering.org is a collaborative project between faculty, students and teachers associated with five founding partner universities, with National Science Foundation funding. The collection continues to grow and evolve with new additions submitted from more than 50 additional contributors, a cadre of volunteer teacher and engineer reviewers, and feedback from teachers who use the curricula in their classrooms. TeachEngineering.org is a searchable, web-based digital library collection populated with standards-based engineering curricula for use by K-12 teachers and engineering faculty to make applied science and math (engineering) come alive in K-12 settings.
New Jersey
Coding in N.J. classrooms: 'Language' of computer science grows as life-skill (NJ.com)
And as with Spanish, French, German or Italian, a growing number of K-through-12 districts in New Jersey are including the �language� of technology in their curriculum. It�s estimated that one in every 10 schools now offers classes in coding for students at all grade levels.. Thanks, in part, to the momentum created by code.org, he says, the state Assembly has passed a bill that would allow an Advanced Placement course in computer science to satisfy some mathematics or science credits required for high school graduation. The bill is under consideration by the Senate and, if approved by the Senate and signed into law by the governor, would take effect this month for ninth-grade students.
Ohio
Six product startups to compete in pitch competition during manufacturing month in October (Cleveland Plain-Dealer)
Regional startups in the development phase of products that range from medical devices to technology focused consumer products, have a shot at raising funding and increasing awareness with help from the incubator at Magnet. Magnet, a nonprofit that champions advanced manufacturing in Northeast Ohio, is expanding the submission deadline for its inaugural ProtoTech pitch competition to Sept. 16. Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network rescheduled the event to Oct. 21 in order to be part of "Manufacturing Month in Ohio." "There seems to be a huge focus on technology, and people forget that many physical products are technology-based, or use technology to be manufactured," said Dave Crain, executive director of entrepreneurial services at Magnet.
Florida
Teachers learn guitar-building to illustrate application of STEM principles (Tampa Tribune)
Nikki Grottano, a Newpoint High School teacher from Escambia County, wants to teach guitar building as part of a physical science class. She came to Tampa and Brandon to learn how. �This is so cool,� she said. �Who wouldn�t want to build a guitar? It�s a great hook for students.� The National Science Foundation, through a grant, in August sponsored a weeklong institute called the National STEM Guitar Project for teachers at Hillsborough Community College-Brandon and Erwin Technical School. Marilyn Barger, executive director of the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center (FLATE) at Hillsborough Community College-Brandon, brought the guitar project to Florida after discovering how empowering it was to create her own instrument last year in Arizona.
STEM Food & Ag
Dream Job Alert: Chocolate Scientist (Fast Company)
.jpg) If you�ve ever unknowingly dropped some chocolate on your lap, you can sympathize. The sad truth is that the instant chocolate touches your hands--or face or clothes or any other extension of yourself--it begins to melt, quickly. And while melting in your mouth is a great feature of eating chocolate, it makes shipping and stocking it harder. This has apparently proven enough of a problem that the University of Cambridge is looking for a solution. According to this job posting, the university is on the hunt for a doctoral student willing to get down and dirty with the rich confection. The end goal of this 3.5-year stint is to figure out what would allow chocolate to remain solid and delicious in warm climates.
STEM Innovation
35 Innovators Under 35 2014 (MIT Technology Review)
 All 35 of these people are doing exciting work that could shape their fields for decades. But they�re solving problems in remarkably different ways. We consider some of them to be primarily Inventors; they�re immersed in building new technologies. Others we call Visionaries, because they�re showing how technologies could be put to new or better uses. Humanitarians are using technology to expand opportunities or inform public policy. Pioneers are doing fundamental work that will spawn future innovations; such �breakthroughs will be taken up by tomorrow�s Entrepreneurs, �people who are building new tech businesses. Everyone on the list was nominated either by the public or by MIT Technology Review�s editors. |
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 STEMconnector�
Science Center to Host Free Admission Day on Aug. 24
 On Sunday, Aug. 24, general admission to Carnegie Science Center will be generously underwritten by the Jack Buncher Foundation. Visitors can discover hundreds of hands-on exhibits, including Highmark SportsWorks�, free of charge from 10 am � 5 pm. Guests can engineer a mini-city in the BLUE! exhibit, explore a walk-in replica of the International Space Station, challenge a robot to a game of air hockey, and take a walking tour of western Pennsylvania at the world-renowned Miniature Railroad & Village�, plus much more.
Russian School of Mathematics Brings Award-Winning Afterschool Math Program to New Hampshire
 The Russian School of Mathematics (RSM) � the award-winning afterschool math program renowned for developing excellence in mathematics and lifelong critical thinking skills � will open in Nashua, New Hampshire this September in response to high demand for quality after-school math education from area families. Located at 84 Lake Street, RSM-Nashua will be the math school's first branch in the state of New Hampshire. The new math school will be led by Igor Chernin, principal of RSM's venerable Acton, Mass. branch, and his experienced team. Having witnessed the remarkable results of the RSM program as parents, Igor and his wife Bela decided to bring the benefits of the RSM program to the Acton, Mass. community in 2008; and with the opening of the Nashua branch they will now extend those same benefits to K-12 students throughout Southern New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts. "Our Nashua branch will be situated in the heart of New Hampshire's high tech industry where families are highly educated and particularly attuned to the enduring value of a quality math education," says Chernin, a former principal engineer.
30 Teachers Across America Win $2,500 Grants To Use for Positive Change in the Classroom
 Farmers Insurance, one of the nation's largest multiline insurers, announced the third round of 30 winners of its "Thank A Million Teachers" program, a national initiative through which Farmers is inviting America to offer heartfelt thanks to teachers, present and past, for their positive impact on students and communities across the United States. Since the beginning of the year, more than 730,000 thank-yous have been received for teachers. As part of the national program, Farmers invited teachers to submit proposals for $2,500 grants. During the months of June and July, the public voted on hundreds of proposals with the top six vote-getters in five regions selected as winners. In all, Farmers has committed to donating $1 million to teachers and education programs in 2014. "These teachers are amazing mentors and truly dedicated to their student's futures. They have such a unique approach and vision of how to captivate their students to promote new learning experiences. Farmers is proud to be able to grant these teachers with the funds necessary to help advance education in communities throughout America," said Randy Rice, National Manager of Education Programs for Farmers Insurance. "Over the course of this program it's been exciting to see communities rally around their local teachers as they vie to win grants for their classrooms." Josephine Golcher, who teaches at Rosary High School, an all girl's school in Fullerton, California, wants to provide materials for her students to design, build and program robots. Golcher will use the grant money to form a robotics class for girls and drive interest for |
