2014 STEM Key Issues

Congressional Visits Day 2014

Pre-CVD Briefings

Tim Dominick & Phil Hattis

Building Our Competitive Foundation: Supporting K-12 STEM Education

Issue

• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education provides a critical foundation for national security and economic competitiveness

• Students need adequate preparation at the primary and secondary education levels to advance to university study of STEM and then onto STEM careers

• Teacher training for technology and engineering has been inadequately emphasized

• A 2011 White House report on federally-sponsored STEM programs indicates significant overlap

• The nation must remedy current deficiencies in emphasis, funding, and teacher training to obtain the desired STEM education benefits

Recommendations• Provide incentives for States to adopt Next Generation Science Standards• Developed by a multi-agency working group lead by the National Research Council

• Incentives might include funding for curriculum development, teacher training, or materials

• Provide additional funds for teacher training programs in technology and engineering areas• Hundreds of students can get engineering- and technology-related training each year from just one teacher

• Pursue a research-based evaluation of existing teacher training programs in technology and engineering subjects• Determine which approaches are most successful and deploy those nationwide

• Support creation of a centralized STEM resource for educators to connect to STEM support opportunities from all government agencies

• Require private companies with federally-funded contracts to perform a minimum amount of STEM outreach• Reduces federal overhead for funding of local STEM programs

• Leads to more private industry participation in STEM

• Generates local community involvement

Building Our Competitive Foundation: Supporting K-12 STEM Education

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