DECEMBER UPDATE
The InterMountain Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Launch Pilot (IM STEM)
What's going on In the network?
Communications and Resource Sharing
The Communication and Resource Sharing group asks that you get the most out of network membership by engaging in conversation with each other on our social media channels, including our LinkedIn group (IM STEM Network) and Twitter (@imstemequity). We have also created a form on the IMSTEM website where you can enter information about your program, so we can share it across the network in future IM STEM newsletters. 


Please also continue to invite your professional colleagues to take advantage of the network by signing up today at our website: https://www.napequity.org/stem/stem-equity-project/imstem/ . 
Data and Metrics
In partnership with Idaho, this workgroup has developed a pilot data dashboard to display data from Idaho’s career and technical education programs to test the feasibility of using a dashboard to conduct a more comprehensive equity gap analysis. Perkins V requires data to be disaggregated by gender, race/ethnicity and each of the 9 special population groups. This pilot dashboard can inform states as they are working on data collection and accountability in their State Plans for Perkins V. To learn more about Perkins V and to view the national data dashboards go to NAPE’s resource page at https://www.napequity.org/public-policy/frontline-legislation/strengthening-career-and-technical-education-for-the-21st-century-act/  
Asset Map Building

Our asset mapping team is currently working with Nevada to develop an asset map that shows where STEM programming exists. Some states already have maps, including Idaho and Wyoming, and you can view them by clicking on the state name. New Mexico has just launched their “crowd sourced” STEM asset map (for NM STEM programs only). Contact Jeff McConaughy jmcconaughy@explora.us with any questions.  Any other questions about the IMSTEM Asset map initiative, please contact Kathleen Fitzpatrick kfitzpatrick@napequity.org . 
Effective Practice Scaling
The Rubric for Evaluating Programs to Broaden Participation in STEM is complete. Click here to access it . Watch our network meeting where Utah Valley University, UT and Clark County School District, NV share how they are using the rubric to improve their STEM programs.
Pilot Monitoring
This workgroup continues to monitor NAPE’s professional development efforts in the six states. Since the fall of 2017 (the beginning of the NSF INCLUDES DDLP: IM STEM grant) NAPE has conducted professional development (PD) in five states at twelve sites with over 1200 educators. The Pilot Monitoring workgroup will be conducting a follow-up survey with participants to learn more about the impact of this PD.  For more information about NAPE’s PD contact Kathleen Fitzpatrick at kfitzpatrick@napequity.org .
What's going on Around the network?
Colorado

Researchers at the National Center for Women and Information Technology , based at the University of Colorado Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science, wanted to analyze how community college students feel about introductory computing classes, and how that relates to gender, race and ethnicity. They surveyed 500 students attending eight community colleges across the country. Among the things researchers asked about were students’ previous experience in computing, their level of interest, their feeling of belonging, whether they saw others like them in the field, and their expected outcomes. They also gathered data on students’ age, gender, race and ethnicity. Researchers found there are five types of students, with varied demographics among each type. Click on the following link to read more on the researchers’ findings.


Idaho

Idaho State University’s Center for New Directions hosted the Super STEM Girl Conference on October 16, 2019. The goal of the event was to show area girls and their parents about opportunities in STEM careers where women are predominantly under-represented. About 200 eighth-grade girls from Pocatello, American Falls and the Blackfoot area spent the day building basic motors, assembling circuits, learning about nuclear energy, flying drones and hearing from women in nontraditional occupations. 

Center for New Directions
(202) 282-2454


Nevada


The Connective Tissue at the Barrick Museum in Las Vegas, NV is the first large-scale assembly of works by renowned neuroscientist-turned-artist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, creator of  Beyondcurie.com . The exhibition features large scale murals and interactive installations enriched by Phingbodhipakkiya’s belief that power and impact are created through connections and networks. “Just as a flawless pirouette requires recruitment and control of nearly every muscle group in a dancer’s body, the things we hope to achieve as a society cannot be done by individual effort alone,” she says, “they require collective action.”
 
The Clark County School District's Career and Technical Education Department collaborated with the Barrick Museum, Amanda, and several other local organizations to bring her first solo exhibition to life in Southern Nevada.  The exhibition will last through February and over 2000 young women in middle/high school will visit the Museum on Tuesdays and Thursdays as part of the school district's #GirlsinSTEM #GirlsinTECH Initiative and programming.  If you are planning on being in Las Vegas and would like to visit the Museum, please contact Snehal Bhakta, CTE Administrator at CCSD, for more information at  bhakts@nv.ccsd.net .
   


New Mexico

In October 2019, 225 middle school students from 10 schools participated in the Air Force Research Laboratory’s STEM Academy Annual Rocket Launch . During the event, students assembled their rockets and added the parachutes and altimeters (which measured how high the rockets went) before taking their rockets to the launch pad. Recovery teams used GPS to find the rockets and collect data. Then the data was analyzed to see how high their rocket went, what their range was and how this compared to the simulation data that was run before the rocket launched. Activities such as the rocket launch inspire students to think about careers in STEM. It also gets students out of the classroom and “out in the field” to apply the physics they learn in class.


Utah

In October 2019, three Utah girls won $16,000 in awards at the Broadcom MASTERS , a national middle school STEM competition held in Washington, D.C. The three students; Sidor Clare, age 14, Kassie Holt, age 13, and Mercedes Randhahn, age 14; were selected as finalists out of more than 2,300 applicants from 47 states for their projects involving science, technology, engineering and math. Clare received one of the  Broadcom MASTERS ’ top honors, the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation. Holt was awarded first place in the Technology Award and $3,500, while Randhahn received second place in the Engineering Award and $2,500. Ranhahn , who is now a freshman at Saint Joseph Catholic High School, figured out a way for people to safely dispose of leftover and unneeded opioids at home by deactivating the pills in a mixture of activated carbon and vinegar. Clare  and  Holt , who are eighth graders at Beehive Science and Technology Academy, created building materials that could be used on Mars by combining resin with a soil mix similar to what would be found on the red planet. The finalists were judged on their projects, as well as “their knowledge of STEM subjects and their demonstration of 21st century skills” in a series of hands-on challenges. Each finalist’s school will receive $1,000 from the Broadcom MASTERS to benefit their science program. 


Wyoming

Engineers Week is February 17-21, 2020 . The University of Wyoming College of Engineering and Applied Science is giving 3rd grade classrooms throughout Wyoming an opportunity to engage with professional engineers and participate in hands-on engineering activities that inspire innovative thinking, design, and problem solving all while learning the engineering design process. Click on the following link for more information and to sign up.
 

Snehal Bhakta Receives Top Tech Awards Lifetime Achievement

In November 2019, Snehal Bhakta was the Top Tech Awards Lifetime Achievement recipient. Bhakta works as the Career and Technical Education administrator at the Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada where he inspires and empowers women and people in minority populations to explore technology and STEM fields. He is also the Las Vegas Affiliate Coordinator for the National Center for Women & Technology. Bhakta is the founder of the #GirlsinSTEM and #GirlsinTECH programs at CCSD. He also worked with the International Gaming Institute to create Battle Born Girls Innovate, an organization that introduces women to STEM careers in the gaming industry.

Bakta extended his reach beyond the classroom by creating the Student Workforce & Innovation Summit to provide a space for graduating CCSD high school seniors to learn about local internships, job training programs, apprenticeships and support services. By hosting student-led workshops, providing training sessions and creating spaces for women in technology fields to grow and learn, Bhakta has connected countless students with technology innovators and opportunities. His tireless work to provide meaningful resources for women, girls and minorities in technology fields has made a significant impact in Southern Nevada and beyond. Congrats Snehal!  



Join the STEM Teacher Leadership Network!

The National Science Foundation-funded STEM Teacher Leadership Network invites teacher leaders, aspiring teacher leaders, researchers and administrators interested in teacher leadership to join, interact, and connect with this new virtual learning community and collegial network. The free membership provides access to networking tools, resources, and events throughout the year that will help members explore topics related to STEM teacher leadership. Members share their paths, challenges, strategies, opportunities, events, and resources with one another. Each month the Network will focus on a theme to elevate STEM teacher leadership. Each monthly theme will include a featured blog post, an interactive online expert panel, a month-long facilitated discussion with teacher leaders and content experts, and related resources and videos. 



Accelerating Gains in K-12 Engineering Education

A new report by the Education Commission of the States (ESC) examines results from the 2014 and 2018 NAEP Technology and Engineering Literacy assessments. These national tests gauge a sample of eighth graders’ ability to “design…objects, processes and systems to meet human needs and wants.” Accompanying questionnaires ask schools, teachers and test takers about students’ exposure to technology and engineering, both in and out of school. And there is a lot of good news to report yet gaps persist by race, ethnicity, income and gender (hint: the girls are still doing better). For more details, visit https://ednote.ecs.org/new-research-is-the-u-s-still-educating-a-nation-of-inventors/


Girls Steam Ahead with NASA Resources

The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) held an online webinar on November 14, 2019, titled Exemplary Practices using Girls STEAM Ahead with NASA Free Resources . NASA provides resources and experiences that enable youth, families, and lifelong learners to explore fundamental questions in science, experience how science is done, and discover the universe for themselves. The goal of the webinar was to strengthen science learning and literacy and to enable inquisitive learners to discover the universe for themselves in innovative, interactive ways that meet today’s 21st century needs.  Click on the following link to access the recording, slides, and links to resources discussed during the webinar: https://ngcproject.org/exemplary-practices-using-girls-steam-ahead-with-nasa-free-resources


Set a Place at the STEM Table for Youth with Disabilities and their Families

Youth with disabilities hold potential to be productive and creative adults, and yet they are less likely to go to college and less likely to live independently than their peers without disabilities. It’s not because of their disability, but often because of the expectations and opportunities afforded to them. STEM can provide the means to master skills and develop confidence and perseverance that make possible a fulfilling life. Afterschool and summer programs provide many positive impacts as a result of hands-on engagement in safe spaces with caring adults and supportive peers. They increase interest and confidence in STEM and introduce a wide range of career pathways. Click on the following link to read Dr. Linda Kekelis’s case study where she shares how STEM can empower and the programs, such as Deaf Kids Code, that are engaging youth and their families to make STEM learning opportunities accessible and successful: https://43ot971vwwe7okplr1iw2ql1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Set-a-Place-at-the-STEM-Table.pdf


Did you miss the November Network Meeting?
View a recording of it here

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IM STEM is a network of STEM educators and leaders across six states (CO, ID, NM, NV, UT, and WY) working to support STEM equity at key transition points (middle school to high school and high school to college).
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1744472. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.