|
Government
Joe Biden Announces $450 Million In Federal Job-Training Grants (AP)
Vice President Joe Biden announced almost a half-billion dollars of grants Monday to community colleges working with employers on job training. Linking training to industry demand is key to the Obama administration's strategy for improving wages and reducing unemployment. Massasoit Community College in Massachusetts and Wisconsin's Chippewa Valley Technical College received the largest grants of about $20 million each. A Maryland program will receive $15 million to partner with companies like Raytheon and IBM to train workers with little education for jobs in cybersecurity or information technology. Schools in Kentucky will get $10 million to expand online learning for degrees in computer and medical fields. 
Reports
Engineering, Finance and Computer Science top highest paying college majors (ABC7)
Piece of advice: if you want to make a lot of money after college, become an engineer. Recent research published by The Hamilton Project, a Washington D.C. based organization focused on economic policy, showed that the top nine highest paying college majors were all in the fields of engineering, with chemical engineering grabbing the top spot at slightly over $2 million lifetime earnings. The research incorporated census data to determine the highest paying college majors both annually and cumulative lifetime earnings. Asides from engineering, fields like finance, computer science and construction services cracked the top 20 highest paying majors.
Diversity in STEM
AREVA Inc Sharon Elliott Selected as One of STEMconnector 100 Diverse Corporate Leaders in STEM (AREVA Inc)
AREVA Inc. today announced that Sharon Elliott, vice president of human resources for the company�s North American operations, has been selected by STEMconnector� as one of this year�s 100 Diverse Corporate Leaders in STEM. With this program, STEMconnector celebrates corporate leaders who made a difference by supporting STEM education throughout their careers, companies and industries. �I am honored to be selected by STEMconnector and know that we can inspire students by showing them the excitement of STEM and how it can make a difference in their communities,� said Elliott.
Higher Education
Curry School receives funding to research STEM education (UVA Cavalier Daily)
The Education School has received funding to conduct research around the country, aimed at helping to improve teaching methods in [STEM]. The funding came from the National Science Foundation, and was awarded in three grants totalling $4.4 million. The program will consist of three studies, with a different group of University faculty members leading each project. Assoc. Education Prof. Peter Youngs will lead a study which examines how social networks within elementary schools impact novice teachers� instruction of mathematics. Youngs and his team hope to analyze the way teachers plan lessons, and the influence a teachers� peers and superiors have on them and their planning methods.
Bristol Community College getting $525K federal grant for STEM programs (Taunton Daily Gazette)
Bristol Community College is among many community colleges around the commonwealth and nation to receive grant funding through the U.S. Department of Labor, via its Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training initiative. BCC�s share of the total $450 million being dispersed to community colleges via the four-year grant program is $525,000. Of that $450 million, more than $22 million will be dispersed to Massachusetts� 16 community colleges, with Massachusetts Bay Community College also receiving $525,000. In addition, Cape Cod Community College received a $2.5 million grant for training students in aviation maintenance and avionics.
MACC receives $336,000 in federal grant for STEM training (Columbia Tribune)
Moberly Area Community College was among Missouri�s two-year institutions receiving a Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant Monday from the U.S. Department of Labor. MACC President Jeff Lashley said the college received $366,133 from the federal grant. The total awarded to Missouri community colleges and the State Technical College of Missouri was $19.7 million. Lashley said the grant money will fund a new mobile lab for the college�s mechatronics program. Mechatronics deals with electronic and mechanical systems. Equipment for the program � which is increasing in popularity and in need � now is housed only on the Columbia campus.
Ivy Tech lands $2.5M for computer degree programs (Lafayette Journal & Courier)
Ivy Tech Community College will receive $2.5 million from the federal government to expand and improve its new school of computing and informatics, which launched this fall. The funding will help pay for laboratories, data centers and professional development, and will help create a career advising system. Under the terms of the grant, the programs must be suitable for workers who are eligible for a federal program that retrains U.S. workers who have lost jobs because of foreign competition. "A well-educated workforce is essential to strengthening Indiana's economy, and this generous grant will help us continue to provide educational opportunities in career fields showing large growth across the state," Ivy Tech President Tom Snyder said in a statement.
K-12 Education
Princeton freshmen begin four-year STEM journey (Cincinnati)
Math is connected to science, which is linked to history, demonstrated in English, and developed in engineering. It�s a curriculum circuit that five teachers at Princeton High School have developed for a group of ninth-graders. Those students, about 85 in all, will participate in the STEM program throughout their four years at Princeton High School. The Princeton program incorporates this approach, with the inclusion of English and history, to connect the dots for students who will remain together throughout their four years at Princeton. While the STEM program is not an advanced placement track, it�s accelerated from the traditional curriculum at Princeton, according to Brian Lien, who teaches technology education, architecture and engineering at Princeton.
Foundations
Delta College awarded $4 million from Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation (Midland Daily News)
Delta College has been awarded $4 million from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation � the second largest gift in the school�s 53-year history � to expand [STEM] education to local middle and high school students. Jean Goodnow, Delta�s president, announced that the college�s Foundation will receive the funds over a three-year period to support a STEM Explorer initiative. These plans include outfitting a 38-foot customized vehicle with state of the art equipment that will travel throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region visiting schools and community events to bring investigative learning directly to the students.
Princeton Public Schools receive $50K from education foundation for renovations, technology (Times of Trenton)
The town's public school district received $50,000 from the Princeton Education Foundation to fund renovations and technology. The foundation was established in 1995 "as a bridge between our community and the schools" and "encourages private philanthropy to enhance public education for students at all levels," its website said. It has donated nearly $2 million to the Princeton public schools since its inception, its website said. The $50,000 gift was approved by the board of education at its meeting last Tuesday. The money will be used to support robotics programs at all four elementary schools, renovations of Princeton High and Community Park Elementary schools' learning commons, and technology initiatives, district officials announced Monday.
Viewpoints
Bill Church: How Edtech Tools Have Revved Up 21st Century STEM Instruction (EdSurge)
Having taught science and engineering for nearly twenty years, I was recently reflecting on what has changed about the technology I use to teach STEM topics. Is it that I now infuse projects with robotics, computer-based data logging systems and rapid prototyping? Nope. On their own, these technologies are �so last-century.� Or are they? What is new, and why is the beginning of the 21st century an amazing time to be teaching and learning STEM with digital technology tools? Let�s examine a few trends. When I first started using robotics and data collection sensors in the classroom, we used the Rug Warrior, HandyBoard, and BASIC Stamp systems. They were all great systems and my students built some very cool projects, but it took a considerable amount of class time to complete a project.
Georgia
Survey: Teachers do not favor �integrated� math in high schools (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
An overwhelming majority of teachers are not in favor of the way math is taught to high school students in Georgia, according to a recent survey conducted for the state Board of Education. The survey released last week was used to determine whether high school math teachers preferred algebra and geometry to be taught as separate courses � or a more �traditional� model � or for concepts from multiple math areas to be rolled into one course and taught in an �integrated� fashion. The vast majority of high school math teachers surveyed � some 84 percent � were not in favor of the integrated model, which is what�s currently taught in high schools. |
 |
Stay Connected
      
 STEMconnector�
The STEM 2.0 Initiative in Action Update & Video
.jpeg) Since launching the STEM 2.0(TM) initiative, STEMconnector� and its associated leadership councils have taken several steps in moving forward with the action-orientated agenda outlined in STEM 2.0�An Imperative For Our Future Workforce. The work has been focused primarily on the foundational STEM 2.0(TM) capability platforms of Employability Skills 2.0, Innovation Excellence, and Digital Fluency. The following provides an update on each platform (and some important dates for 2014-2015. As part of executing and accelerating the STEM 2.0 agenda, STEMconnector�s Innovation Task Force hosted a roundtable on the importance of empowering students and the next-generation workforce with Innovation Excellence capabilities, with a specific focus on what skills are in demand from an employer perspective. This initiative is lead by Dr. Heidi Kleinbach-Sauter of PepsiCo and Dr. Mitzi M. Montoya of Arizona State University, with support from KPMG, Covidien, and several other organizations.
100 Diverse Corporate Leaders in STEM - Padmasree Warrior of Cisco
 Padmasree Warrior is charged with aligning technology development and corporate strategy to enable Cisco to anticipate, shape, and lead major market transitions. She helps direct technology and operational innovation across the company and oversees strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, the integration of new business models, the incubation of new technologies, and the cultivation of world-class technical talent. Warrior previously served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and also co-led Cisco's worldwide engineering organization. "Cisco believes that it is critical to take steps to encourage women and girls to enter STEM fields. One of many programs that Cisco supports to meet this goal is Girls in ICT. The Girls in ICT initiative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a global effort to raise awareness on empowering and encouraging girls and young women to consider studies and careers in ICTs. Cisco also partners with non-profit organizations to expand STEM education opportunities to underserved communities. Mind Research�s program, for instance, helps students of all backgrounds achieve proficiency in math."
National Math + Science Initiative Boosts College Readiness for More Than 13,000 Students Nationwide, Based on 2013-14 Advanced Placement* Exam Results
 The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) boosted student enrollment in college-level math, science and English courses by more than 50,000 in the 2013-14 school year. Based on the most recent data from the College Board, NMSI�s College Readiness Program � working in just 566 schools � also raised the number of Advanced Placement* qualifying exam scores by more than 18,500 exams, representing more than 13,000 additional students who are better prepared for college after this past school year. Without NMSI�s efforts, these 566 schools would have otherwise increased their number of qualifying exam scores by fewer than 1,400. |
