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Women, Minorities Vastly Underrepresented in Engineering Profession
Tweet Share on Facebook October 28, 2011 Comment (4)The number of minority professionals in engineering is creeping up, but not fast enough, according to a new report by the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.
"We continue to see modest increases at every level of engineering," Irving Pressley McPhail, CEO of the organization, says. "But the larger question remains—and that is the issue of proportionality. As the underrepresented population continues to grow, the number of them becoming engineers hasn't kept pace."
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Rubik's Cube Finds a Home in American Classrooms
Tweet Share on Facebook October 27, 2011 Comment (3)With 54 little squares, six sides, 43 quintillion different solutions, and more than 350 million cubes sold, the numbers surrounding Erno Rubik's Cube are staggering. Now some teachers are using the puzzle to teach math in their classrooms.
Brad Culbertson, a fifth-grade teacher in Port St. Lucie, Fla., has been using the cubes for two years to teach students geometry topics, including edges, faces, and vertices. But the cube has other educational uses—he can teach his students about algebraic problem solving, patterns, and graphing as well. When the students are done with their work, they compete to solve the cubes.
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Public / Private Partnerships the Way Forward on STEM
Tweet Share on Facebook October 26, 2011 Comment (6)Joe Laymon is vice president of Human Resources, Medical and Security for Chevron Corporation. He oversees Chevron's global human resources, medical services and security functions.
Few would have predicted that the country that put the first man on the moon would, just a few decades later, face significant disparities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. But with the United States experiencing 9.1 percent unemployment, and with many jobs in technical fields unfilled, our challenges are clear.
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Marc Ecko: Education Innovators Have to Be Like 'Civil Rights Leaders'
Tweet Share on Facebook October 26, 2011 Comment (1)Fashion designer and media mogul Marc Ecko has spent almost 25 years building up his clothing brands, Ecko Unltd., Eckored, and Marc Ecko Cut & Sew. Along the way, he’s started Complex Magazine, released video games, and started a production company. He’s also started a host of philanthropic organizations, including Sweat Equity Education, which seeks to teach students about entrepreneurship and design while re-engaging them in school. Last month, Ecko shook things up at the U.S. News Making Science Cool event, where he expressed frustration with the slow speed of education innovation and the difficulty of implementing new programs in schools.
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College Board Official Explains AP Chemistry, Biology Changes
Tweet Share on Facebook October 20, 2011 Comment (3)Yesterday, the College Board announced that a redesigned Advanced Placement chemistry course would enter American high schools starting in 2013. The AP biology course has also undergone a facelift and will enter classrooms next fall. I talked with Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president for the Advanced Placement program and college readiness, about the new curricula, what students can expect, and why the whole process took so long.
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Demand, Pay for STEM Skills Skyrocket
Tweet Share on Facebook October 20, 2011 Comment (3)People with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees or certifications are in a prime position in the economy, according to a new workforce study released this morning.
Workers with associate's degrees in STEM fields out-earn 63 percent of people who have bachelor's degrees in other fields. Almost half of workers with bachelor's degrees in STEM fields out-earn workers with Ph.D.'s in other fields, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
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College Board Announces Changes to AP Chemistry Course
Tweet Share on Facebook October 19, 2011 CommentThe College Board announced today that it has revised its Advanced Placement Chemistry and Spanish courses. The new courses will go into effect starting fall 2013.
Trevor Packer, senior vice president for the AP program at the organization said in a statement that the courses were redesigned to “represent the best practices in their disciplines.”
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12 Hispanic Students Win 'Obama' Teaching Scholarships
Tweet Share on Facebook October 18, 2011 Comment (1)When President Obama won the Nobel Prize in late 2009, he donated his $1.4 million winnings to 10 different charities. Frank Alvarez, CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, knew just what to do with the $125,000 his organization got.
The fund decided to divide the money into 24 $5,000 scholarships for Hispanic students studying STEM-related fields. Award winners would also have shown an interest in giving back to the community and becoming STEM teachers.
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Press Release: STEM Summit 2012
Tweet Share on Facebook October 18, 2011 Comment (2)U.S. News and Co-Presenters Innovate+Educate and STEMconnector select Dallas to host Major June 2012 Conference Addressing America's Severe Shortfall in STEM Skills
Co-sponsors of STEM Summit 2012: "STEM Means Jobs" include Intel, AT&T, Monster, Lockheed Martin, CSC, and Ingersoll-Rand joining with the Business Roundtable, College Board, The Manufacturing Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Math and Science Initiative, and 33 co-chairs from industry, associations, and education.
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U.S. News to Host June 2012 Conference Addressing STEM Shortfall
Tweet Share on Facebook October 18, 2011 CommentFresh off the heels of last month's Making Science Cool event, U.S. News & World Report, Innovate+Educate, and STEMconnector are hosting a three-day event called STEM Summit 2012 in Dallas on June 27, 28, and 29.
The event will bring together officials from major corporations including Intel, AT&T, and Monster, as well as policy experts from the National Conference of State Legislatures, and education experts from the National Math and Science Initiative and other educational organizations.
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Advanced Placement math and science courses provide rigorous training for college, and these 250 schools excel in preparing students with technical skills.
U.S. News STEM Leadership Hall of Fame
Richard B. Alley
Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences Penn State
Mary L. Good
Special Adviser to the Chancellor for Economic Development University of Arkansas-Little Rock
Freeman A. Hrabowski III
President University of Maryland--Baltimore County
Tom Luce
Chairman National Math + Science Initiative
Ray Mellado
Chairman & CEO Great Minds in STEM
