Maryland STEM Portfolio Project

Region 1 Summer Academy

Science
Technology
Engineering
Math
 Rising Above the Gathering Storm

• Chaired by Norm Augustine

• Dr. Grasmick was the only K-12

– Pipeline – Who are we missing?
– Dedicated Funds
– STEM Coordinators
– STEM Advisory Groups
– Maryland’s STEM Website
 Concerns
 Shortage of students entering these
fields
 Threat to security

 Economic growth

 Children’s future for jobs

 Social promotion/remedial courses

 Governor’s STEM Taskforce
 Align P-12 STEM curriculum with college requirements and workplace expectations in
order to prepare all students for postsecondary success
 Triple the number of teachers in STEM shortage areas who are prepared in Maryland
programs, increase their five-year retention rate from an estimated 50% to 75%, and
enhance the STEM preparation and aptitudes for elementary and early childhood teachers
 Ensure that all P-20 mathematics and science teachers have the knowledge and skills to
help all students successfully complete the college- and career-ready curriculum
 Provide STEM internships, co-ops, or lab experiences for all interested high school and
college students to jump-start their successful transition to the workplace
 Increase the number of STEM college graduates by 40% from the present level of 4,400
graduates by 2015
 Boost Maryland’s global competitiveness by supporting research and entrepreneurship
 Create Maryland’s STEM Innovation Network to make STEM resources available to all
Final Race to the Top Criteria
 STEM

• Science
– Inquiry based learning into natural systems

• Technology
– New to instruction

• Mathematics
– Problem solving and justification
• Designing systems for specific
purposes
– Trans-disciplinary
– Creative
– Persevere through repeated design –
test cycle
– Communication
Engineering Fields
 Acoustical engineering
 Behavioral engineering
 Biomedical engineering
 Coastal engineering
 Combat engineering
 Ecological engineering
 Electrical engineering
 Environmental
engineering
 Reliability engineering
 Safety engineering
 Tissue engineering
 Computational finance
 Fire protection
engineering
 Food process engineering
 Forensic engineering
 Forest engineering
 Genetic engineering
 Landscape engineering
 Nanoengineering
 Security engineering
 Traffic engineering
• Engineers
–4 year degree
• Technician
–2 year certification/ AA degree
• Operator
–High School Diploma plus visual
acuity and manual dexterity
STEM Initiatives
• Increased access for students
– Magnet schools
– Signature Programs
– After school and summer programs/clubs
• Purchased technology
• Increased the number and scope of student
internships and teacher externships
• Revised curriculum
Maryland - Before “STEM”
Magnet Math and Science Schools
◦ Eleanor Roosevelt High School in PG County
◦ Argyle Middle School in Montgomery County
◦ Aberdeen High School in Harford County
Career and Technology Programs
◦ Oracle, Project Lead the Way
Advanced Placement Courses
Internships and Externships
◦ Frederick County High Schools
◦ Martin Marietta Fellows
 Revise the Maryland State Curriculum PreK – 12, assessments and
accountability system based on the Common Core Standards to assure
that all graduates are college and career ready.

 Adopt Common Core Standards by Summer 2010

 Agree with higher education on college-ready standards
 Revise high school graduation requirements
– 4 years of mathematics, including Algebra II
 Develop interdisciplinary STEM curriculum
 Begin work on new assessments based on Common Core
Standards (as part of assessment consortia)
 Build a statewide technology infrastructure that links all data elements
with analytic and instructional tools to monitor and promote student
achievement.

 Accelerate and fully implement the longitudinal data system

 Develop online instructional toolkit to support new
standards and assessments
 Align data systems with higher education and workforce
 Provide high quality professional development on the access
and use of data systems
 Redesign the model for the preparation, development, retention, and
evaluation of teachers and principals.

 Define effective and highly effective teachers and principals

 Develop teacher and principal evaluation frameworks with
student growth being a significant component
 Revise teacher preparation programs to meet the demands of
the 21st century
 Develop programs to prepare teachers and principals for the
challenges of working in low-achieving schools
 Fully implement the innovative Breakthrough Center approach for
transforming low-achieving schools and districts.

 Cross-divisional, statewide system of coordinating,

brokering, and delivering support for low-achieving schools
 Builds upon Title I program success
 Helps maximize resources in education, business,
government, and research centers
 Currently in a limited number of schools and districts
 Recognizing STEM
• Asking systems to think systemic!

• Start early! Pipeline!

• “Investing in STEM to Secure Maryland’s

Future” http://www.mbrt.org/news/2009/stem-task-force-report.pdf

• A Policymaker’s Guide to 21st Century Skills

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
Essential Components of a STEM Activity

• Problem-based learning
• GIS software
• GPS equipment
• Research Model
• Information literacy
• Minimum of 2 Web 2.0 resources
• Best Practices
 Problem-based Learning
What is PBL?
 A learning strategy characterized by self-
directed active learning starting with an “ill-
structured problem” before any instruction
 Learners probe deeply into issues searching
for connections, grappling with complexity
and using knowledge to fashion solutions
 An excellent instructional method that can
cultivate students’ critical thinking, develop
their abilities to analyze and solve problems
 Traditional
The teacher…

Teaches
Demonstrates
Tests
 PBL
The student…

Collaborates

Discovers

Performs
 Why PBL?
 Asks students to demonstrate understanding,
not to just gather and rewrite information
 Builds critical thinking and reasoning skills
 Promotes student creativity and
independence
 Allows students to manage their own activities
 Can change bored students into engaged
students
 http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning-
introduction-video
 Successful MS Strategies
Student choice

Student decision making

Student involvement in self assessment

Frequent reformation of groups

Cooperative learning

Alternative assessments such as portfolios

Challenging, complex work

Anderman, Lynley Hicks, Midgley, Carol . "Motivation and Middle School Students." ERIC Digest 1997.
6/30/10 <http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-1/motivation.html>.
PBL in K-12
Solve a complex question or problem through a
collaborative process of investigation
Learn content, information, and facts necessary
to draw conclusions about the question
Learn valuable skills and habits of mind
Are evaluated on their ability to reason and
apply knowledge as they work on a problem
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-
learning-overview
K-12 con’t
Students work in flexible groups to solve
challenging problems that are authentic,
curriculum-based, and often interdisciplinary
Students create knowledge and understanding
through learning activities built around
intellectual inquiry and a high degree of
engagement* with meaningful tasks
Projects take the role traditionally given to
tests and quizzes
• Research Model

• Information literacy
• Best Practices
GIS software
GPS equipment
 November 12, 1999
• Read Pages 1-10

• Answer questions 1-5

www.readpages1-10.com
Minimum of 2 Web 2.0 resources
 Web 1.0: Read Only Web
Top Down Model:

Producer
Author

Consumer
Web Page

Audience Audience Audience

Copyrighted by Edvibes.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 US License
 Web 2.0: Read Write Web

Audience/
Author
Bottom Up Model:

Producer + Consumer = ProSumer

Audience/ Audience/
Web Page
Author Author

Audience/
Author
Copyrighted by Edvibes.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 US License

http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=190705&title=Web2_0&ref=Ehaines24