Indicators for Monitoring Undergraduate STEM Education

Indicators for Monitoring Undergraduate STEM Education PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309467888
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 245

Book Description
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals generate a stream of scientific discoveries and technological innovations that fuel job creation and national economic growth. Ensuring a robust supply of these professionals is critical for sustaining growth and creating jobs growth at a time of intense global competition. Undergraduate STEM education prepares the STEM professionals of today and those of tomorrow, while also helping all students develop knowledge and skills they can draw on in a variety of occupations and as individual citizens. However, many capable students intending to major in STEM later switch to another field or drop out of higher education altogether, partly because of documented weaknesses in STEM teaching, learning and student supports. Improving undergraduate STEM education to address these weaknesses is a national imperative. Many initiatives are now underway to improve the quality of undergraduate STEM teaching and learning. Some focus on the national level, others involve multi-institution collaborations, and others take place on individual campuses. At present, however, policymakers and the public do not know whether these various initiatives are accomplishing their goals and leading to nationwide improvement in undergraduate STEM education. Indicators for Monitoring Undergraduate STEM Education outlines a framework and a set of indicators that document the status and quality of undergraduate STEM education at the national level over multiple years. It also indicates areas where additional research is needed in order to develop appropriate measures. This publication will be valuable to government agencies that make investments in higher education, institutions of higher education, private funders of higher education programs, and industry stakeholders. It will also be of interest to researchers who study higher education.

Assessing and Responding to the Growth of Computer Science Undergraduate Enrollments

Assessing and Responding to the Growth of Computer Science Undergraduate Enrollments PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309467020
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 253

Book Description
The field of computer science (CS) is currently experiencing a surge in undergraduate degree production and course enrollments, which is straining program resources at many institutions and causing concern among faculty and administrators about how best to respond to the rapidly growing demand. There is also significant interest about what this growth will mean for the future of CS programs, the role of computer science in academic institutions, the field as a whole, and U.S. society more broadly. Assessing and Responding to the Growth of Computer Science Undergraduate Enrollments seeks to provide a better understanding of the current trends in computing enrollments in the context of past trends. It examines drivers of the current enrollment surge, relationships between the surge and current and potential gains in diversity in the field, and the potential impacts of responses to the increased demand for computing in higher education, and it considers the likely effects of those responses on students, faculty, and institutions. This report provides recommendations for what institutions of higher education, government agencies, and the private sector can do to respond to the surge and plan for a strong and sustainable future for the field of CS in general, the health of the institutions of higher education, and the prosperity of the nation.

Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century

Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309472733
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 203

Book Description
The U.S. system of graduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has served the nation and its science and engineering enterprise extremely well. Over the course of their education, graduate students become involved in advancing the frontiers of discovery, as well as in making significant contributions to the growth of the U.S. economy, its national security, and the health and well-being of its people. However, continuous, dramatic innovations in research methods and technologies, changes in the nature and availability of work, shifts in demographics, and expansions in the scope of occupations needing STEM expertise raise questions about how well the current STEM graduate education system is meeting the full array of 21st century needs. Indeed, recent surveys of employers and graduates and studies of graduate education suggest that many graduate programs do not adequately prepare students to translate their knowledge into impact in multiple careers. Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century examines the current state of U.S. graduate STEM education. This report explores how the system might best respond to ongoing developments in the conduct of research on evidence-based teaching practices and in the needs and interests of its students and the broader society it seeks to serve. This will be an essential resource for the primary stakeholders in the U.S. STEM enterprise, including federal and state policymakers, public and private funders, institutions of higher education, their administrators and faculty, leaders in business and industry, and the students the system is intended to educate.

STEM Integration in K-12 Education

STEM Integration in K-12 Education PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309297990
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 143

Book Description
STEM Integration in K-12 Education examines current efforts to connect the STEM disciplines in K-12 education. This report identifies and characterizes existing approaches to integrated STEM education, both in formal and after- and out-of-school settings. The report reviews the evidence for the impact of integrated approaches on various student outcomes, and it proposes a set of priority research questions to advance the understanding of integrated STEM education. STEM Integration in K-12 Education proposes a framework to provide a common perspective and vocabulary for researchers, practitioners, and others to identify, discuss, and investigate specific integrated STEM initiatives within the K-12 education system of the United States. STEM Integration in K-12 Education makes recommendations for designers of integrated STEM experiences, assessment developers, and researchers to design and document effective integrated STEM education. This report will help to further their work and improve the chances that some forms of integrated STEM education will make a positive difference in student learning and interest and other valued outcomes.

Encouraging Transnational Learning Through Virtual Exchange in Global Teacher Education

Encouraging Transnational Learning Through Virtual Exchange in Global Teacher Education PDF Author: Slapac, Alina
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1668478145
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 447

Book Description
The literature on higher education discusses globalization and internationalization in areas such as competencies, mobility, policies, and knowledge transfer. The COVID-19 pandemic and advancing educational technologies have prompted universities to rethink education, leading to innovative ways for teacher educators and students to connect and learn virtually. Educators and administrators are seeking to advance their teaching through intercultural partnerships and relevant models to improve the quality of education through international connections. The current global situation has also prompted the need to further knowledge of communication technologies. Encouraging Transnational Learning Through Virtual Exchange in Global Teacher Education aims to provide resources and recommendations for global teacher educators, practitioners, researchers, and pre-service and in-service teachers on developing international virtual exchange programs in teacher education. The book aims to showcase effective online pedagogies, provide practical values of online collaborative teaching and learning, and connect theory to practice in critical global citizenship, digital literacies, and teacher development. Led by educators and researchers in teacher education programs involved in virtual exchange partnerships and research, the book shares implications for teacher development with an international component based on shared studies. The book will be a resource for connecting international partners and efforts to internationalize institutions. Covering topics such as virtual exchanges, collaborative online international learning (COIL), telecollaboration, and global education, this book is ideal for international teachers, teacher trainers, students, and researchers interested in collaborative online international learning (COIL).

Improving Indicators of the Quality of Science and Mathematics Education in Grades K-12

Improving Indicators of the Quality of Science and Mathematics Education in Grades K-12 PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309037409
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 231

Book Description
This book presents a carefully developed monitoring system to track the progress of mathematics and science education, particularly the effects of ongoing efforts to improve students' scientific knowledge and mathematics competency. It describes an improved series of indicators to assess student learning, curriculum quality, teaching effectiveness, student behavior, and financial and leadership support for mathematics and science education. Of special interest is a critical review of current testing methods and their use in probing higher-order skills and evaluating educational quality.

Quality in the Undergraduate Experience

Quality in the Undergraduate Experience PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309443040
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 99

Book Description
Students, parents, and government agencies need as much information as possible about the outcomes of the higher education experience and the extent to which they can expect a fair return on their investment in higher education.In order to better understand the concept of quality - enabling students to acquire knowledge in a variety of disciplines and deep knowledge in at least one discipline, as well as to develop a range of skills and habits of mind that prepare them for career success, engaged citizenship, intercultural competence, social responsibility, and continued intellectual growth - an ad hoc planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Board on Higher Education and Workforce, with funding from the Lumina Foundation, organized a workshop in Washington, D.C., on December 14-15, 2015.This report summarizes the presentations and discussion of that event.

Integrating Discovery-Based Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum

Integrating Discovery-Based Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309380898
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
Students who participate in scientific research as undergraduates report gaining many benefits from the experience. However, undergraduate research done independently under a faculty member's guidance or as part of an internship, regardless of its individual benefits, is inherently limited in its overall impact. Faculty members and sponsoring companies have limited time and funding to support undergraduate researchers, and most institutions have available (or have allocated) only enough human and financial resources to involve a small fraction of their undergraduates in such experiences. Many more students can be involved as undergraduate researchers if they do scientific research either collectively or individually as part of a regularly scheduled course. Course-based research experiences have been shown to provide students with many of the same benefits acquired from a mentored summer research experience, assuming that sufficient class time is invested, and several different potential advantages. In order to further explore this issue, the Division on Earth and Life Studies and the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education organized a convocation meant to examine the efficacy of engaging large numbers of undergraduate students who are enrolled in traditional academic year courses in the life and related sciences in original research, civic engagement around scientific issues, and/or intensive study of research methods and scientific publications at both two- and four-year colleges and universities. Participants explored the benefits and costs of offering students such experiences and the ways that such efforts may both influence and be influenced by issues such as institutional governance, available resources, and professional expectations of faculty. Integrating Discovery-Based Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum summarizes the presentations and discussions from this event.

Cracking the code

Cracking the code PDF Author: UNESCO
Publisher: UNESCO Publishing
ISBN: 9231002333
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 82

Book Description
This report aims to 'crack the code' by deciphering the factors that hinder and facilitate girls' and women's participation, achievement and continuation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and, in particular, what the education sector can do to promote girls' and women's interest in and engagement with STEM education and ultimately STEM careers.

Developing a National STEM Workforce Strategy

Developing a National STEM Workforce Strategy PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030939161X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
The future competitiveness of the United States in an increasingly interconnected global economy depends on the nation fostering a workforce with strong capabilities and skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). STEM knowledge and skills enable both individual opportunity and national competitiveness, and the nation needs to develop ways of ensuring access to high-quality education and training experiences for all students at all levels and for all workers at all career stages. The National Science Foundation (NSF) holds a primary responsibility for overseeing the federal government's efforts to foster the creation of a STEM-capable workforce. As part of its efforts in this endeavor, NSF's Directorate on Education and Human Resources asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a workshop that would contribute to NSF's preparation of a theoretical and evidence-based STEM Workforce Development R&D Core Framework. Participants discussed research themes, identified gaps and emerging research opportunities, and recommended refinements in the goals of the framework. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.