STEM Efforts I Am Thankful For
From Megan Rokop
We can surely all agree on one thing — working in STEM education can be a frustrating and challenging career. So I thought it would be nice to take a moment to reflect on 10 projects, announcements & meetings that have recently provided me with uplifting moments of inspiration & reflection, in an often-daunting field. Naturally (as with seemingly everything in the field of STEM education), there are complications, caveats & possibilities for debate hovering behind each of these issues. But just for a moment, I ask you to put those aside, don your “idealism hat,” and think about how much it means, even just to have these events initiated and underway. So without further ado, here they are — a combination of local, state & national efforts — listed below in no particular order:

• International Teacher Scientist Partnership Conference: In Boston in February 2013 (right before the AAAS annual meeting), the 1st International Teacher Scientist Partnership Conference will be held. Proposals are due December 3, 2012. http://education.agu.org/news/announcing-the-1st-international-teacher-scientist-partnership-conference/
  

• STEM Master Teacher Corps: In July, President Obama announced that $100 million would be immediately dedicated to recognizing & rewarding STEM teachers, beginning with 50 teachers, with plans to expand to 10,000 teachers over 4 years. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/17/president-obama-announces-plans-new-national-corps-recognize-and-reward-

• Innovation schools: This August, Governor Deval Patrick awarded $585,000 to 20 schools in Massachusetts, thereby enabling their implementation plans as Innovation Schools that are “given the flexibility to be creative in their approach to improving education for students.” This second round of grants includes several STEM schools. http://www.mass.gov/edu/grants-to-20-innovation-schools-awarded.html

• NGSS: Very soon, the second publically-available draft of the Next Generation Science Standards will be released for review. These new standards are written to be centered around practices, cross-cutting concepts and core ideas: http://www.nextgenscience.org/three-dimensions

• cPALMS: Florida has led the way in developing a curriculum-sharing platform for K-12 educators to “Collaborate, Plan, Align, Learn, Motivate & Share.” Lesson materials are submitted, and reviewed by educators. Resources that are vetted and approved become freely available on the site, listed by the standards they address. http://www.cpalms.org/homepage/index.aspx

• MA STEM Summit: In October, the 9th annual state STEM summit was held in Massachusetts, with over 1200 registrants, therefore requiring it to be held in quite a large venue – Gillette Stadium, no less! Speakers included the state’s Lieutenant Governor and the Secretary of Education, and astronaut Cady Coleman. http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=v4ocxwbab&oeidk=a07e6br5u0605006998

• AP science redesign: The AP science courses & exams are being redesigned to focus on big ideas and science practices. For example, for AP biology, the new curriculum is being implemented for the first time during the 2012-2013 school year. http://press.collegeboard.org/releases/2011/content/college-board-announces-changes-ap-biology-course-and-exam

• MA State Science & Engineering Fair: I have been participating at MSSEF for years now, as a judge, a career panelist, and most recently on the Operations Committee & the Board. This inspiring organization not only sent 26 high school students to the Intel International fair (ISEF) this May, but also produces a fascinating blog. http://www.massscifair.com/

• The MIT K-12 outreach community: I am a very proud member of the MIT K-12 Outreach community, and it has been so motivating for me to watch the community grow, and continue to get together and share best practices. How exciting is it, when a single university has so many outreach programs, that we need our own database? http://mitpsc.mit.edu/outreach/

• How to end the list? I must say, that for me personally, the number one thing that motivates me every day is interacting in person with all of the high school students in Boston and Cambridge who come to work in my lab at the Broad Institute. It is surely those personal interactions that, day after day, melt away the frustrations and challenges of teaching STEM, and provide endless fulfillment and inspiration to me.

Megan Rokop is Educational Outreach Program Director at the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard

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