April 2023

Monthly News

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IN THIS ISSUE


What Do You Get From 70 STEM Leaders in a Room?


Keokuk Students Grow with Computer Science


Battle of the Bridges Stamped with Seal of Approval


STEM Council Programming Extended Thanks to Private Investments

UPCOMING EVENTS


May 11, 2023 - 10:00 a.m.

Northwest Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting

More information


May 11, 2023 - 2:00 p.m.

North Central Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting

More information


May 16, 2023 - 10:00 a.m.

Northeast Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting

More information


May 18, 2023 - 4:00 p.m.

Southeast Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting

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May 22, 2023 - 2:30 p.m.

South Central Regional STEM Advisory Board Meeting

More information

What Do You Get From 70 STEM Leaders in a Room?

Students from Okoboji Middle School share about their workplace experiences, lessons and ambitions through the STEM BEST Program No Boundaries at the 25th STEM Advisory Council meeting at Accumold in Ankeny.

Inspiration. Evidence. Ideas. Future vision. Those were the outcomes of the 25th meeting of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council held in Ankeny on April 20. The setting, a global precision micro-molding manufacturer, Accumold, symbolized the economic opportunities and fulfilling careers ahead for students of STEM. Under Accumold’s roof, the meeting began with eighth grade students from Okoboji Middle School profiling their school + workplace projects and the inspirational skills and ambitions baked into their experiences. Okoboji’s No Boundaries is one of 125 STEM BEST® Program models across Iowa.


Evidence of effect was next on the agenda, portrayed by lead evaluator Dr. Erin Heiden from the Center for Social and Behavioral Research at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). In a series of charts and statistics from the 2021-2022 year of STEM, she shared that youth in STEM were six percent more likely to want to live and work in Iowa. And, students of STEM performed two points higher in mathematics and three points higher in science on statewide tests. For students of color, the gains were +5 and +6. These and other data points likely lie behind her team’s finding that almost 90 percent of Iowans want STEM to be a priority in their local schools.


Ideas for continuous improvement of Council programs and reach were provided by three standing committees of the Council. The Rural STEM working group, co-chaired by Dr. Evrim Baran, Educational Technology Associate Professor at Iowa State University (ISU), and North Central Regional STEM Manager Mauree Haage recommended the Council amplify mentoring, promote the STEM teaching endorsements and target communications of STEM opportunities to rural stakeholders. They were followed by the STEM for All working group co-chaired by ISU’s Dr. Sara Nelson (represented by South Central STEM Manager Sarah Derry) and iJAG’s Carly Harper, who recommended that the Council build out a speaker series, a STEM Signing Day across Iowa and mentorships. Finally, the Youth Advisory Board (YAB), co-facilitated by John Deere executives Amber Pargmann and Allison Plunkett, featured three members of the YAB: Gabi, Eliz and Shreyas, who sought Council support for a Youth STEM Conference and advocacy for robotics teams across the state.


Concluding with future vision, the advice of Council members was sought for maximizing the merger of STEM into the Iowa Department of Education on July 1. Common themes from hundreds of inputs include expanded reach and impact, exportation of piloted best practices to other fields of study, deeper integration of STEM across the learner experience, clearly define roles and goals, preserve the hard-earned brand and innovation of the STEM Council and communicate. All while leveraging the rich assets of the Department of Education.


A bountiful harvest of guidance from a three-hour investment of time. Presentations and member inputs, as well as the agenda from the meeting, are publicly available at https://www.iowastem.org/archive.

Keokuk Students Grow with Computer Science

Students from Hawthorne Elementary School in Keokuk who participated in the STEM Scale-Up Program Robot Investigations with Finch Robot reported more confidence with new technology and increased interest in computer science and robotics.

Each year, STEM Scale-Up Program evaluation data indicates positive impact in students’ test scores, in interest in STEM subjects and in pursuing STEM careers. Diane Berner, Keokuk Community School District K-3 teacher and talented and gifted program coordinator, observed a significant shift in student attitudes toward computer science and technology after incorporating the STEM Scale-Up Program Robot Investigations with Finch Robot into her curriculum at Hawthorne Elementary School.

 

Berner administered a before-and-after survey about students’ comfort and interest with technology while incorporating the Finch Robot Scale-up. Her survey showed:

  • Increased excitement, happiness and confidence and decreased nervousness about trying new technology
  • Confidence with new technology ratings of a 4 or 5 increased from 51 percent to 84 percent
  • Interest in computer science and robotics rating of a 4 or 5 increased from 66 percent to 97 percent

 

“Student responses indicate a significant positive impact from the Finch experience,” said Berner. One of Berner’s students commented, “It was hard, but I did it!”

 

Nearly 100,000 students and 2,000 educators are impacted by the STEM Scale-Up Program annually. Since 2012, more than one million PreK-12 Iowans have participated in STEM Scale-Up Programming. For more information about the STEM Scale-Up Program, visit www.IowaSTEM.org/scale-up.

Battle of the Bridges Stamped with Seal of Approval

The Quad City Engineering and Science Council (QCESC) Battle of the Bridges earned the STEM Council Seal of Approval for their success in advancing STEM principles in Iowa.

Another Iowa program earned the STEM Council Seal of Approval for their effort to enculturate, sustain and spread STEM thinking across the state. The Quad City Engineering and Science Council (QCESC) Battle of the Bridges is an annual event held at the Putnam Museum in Davenport where teams compete to build the most efficient bridge. As part of this competition, participants apply techniques that are applicable in the classroom and beyond.

 

Battle of the Bridges launched in 2008 to showcase and complement a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit at the Putnam Museum. Excitement for the event has grown over the years. Multiple categories are offered for students in grades 4 through college, family members and STEM professionals to complete, including a multi-generational family division.

 

A total of 31 events or programs have received the Seal of Approval since 2015. The purpose of the Seal of Approval is to recognize programs and events that align with the STEM Council goal of inspiring the next generation of Iowa innovators and elevate the opportunities taking place in addition to STEM Council activities and programs.

 

Any program or event that significantly advances STEM principles and thinking in Iowa and is unaffiliated with existing STEM Council programs is invited to apply.

 

For more information about Battle of the Bridges, visit https://qcesc.org/battle-of-the-bridges. To learn more about the STEM Council Seal of Approval and the 30 additional Seal of Approval recipients, visit www.IowaSTEM.org/Seal.

STEM Council Programming Extended Thanks to Private Investments

Statewide demand for STEM Council programming reached record levels and STEM partners delivered with additional support to further reach to and impact on youth in Iowa.

The 2022-2023 year has proven to be one of outstanding demand and need for the Iowa STEM Council’s programming and resources to educators and students across Iowa. Even with the generous bi-partisan legislative support provided for this fiscal year, the demand for ALL of our STEM educational programs has far exceeded the resources available. Private investors and corporate donors have invested in the STEM Council to help close the gap between supply and demand.

 

In the fall of 2022, a record number of STEM BEST® + HD program applications were completed, with 37 funded, thanks to a $700,000 grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority to augment a legislative budget line. An additional $320,000 was contributed by numerous private charitable gifts from Iowa-based companies to expand the STEM BEST® Program partnership total to 155 since 2014.

 

Additionally, the Iowa STEM Teacher Award, sponsored by Kemin Industries, recognized six trailblazing educators from a pool of 127 nominees, making it one of the highest total nomination pools in nine years.

 

The STEM Scale-Up Program this year set records for number of applications received, teachers to benefit, students to be impacted and yes, dollars needed. Additional funding from grants and private investors allowed the STEM Council to stretch resources and deliver more kits, software, lab activities and educator training to more schools and classrooms than ever. 

 

The STEM Council is fortunate to have generous support from public and private partners to closer meet the demand for STEM programming in Iowa. Through these partnerships, we are able to inspire even more of Iowa’s future innovators.

Contact the Iowa STEM Operations Center by phone at (319) 273-2959
or by email at info@IowaSTEM.org.