I had the privilege of being among 300 education leaders, students, and teachers at NBC's Education Nation summit held at the New York Public Library a few weeks back. Guest speakers and panelists included Arne Duncan (Secretary of Education), Condoleezza Rice, Chelsea Clinton, Jeb Bush, and presidents and CEOs from multiple corporations and organizations.
There was significant discussion on three topics that are most pertinent to our education programs at the Verizon Foundation: Common Core standards implementation, building a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) pipeline, and technology integration in education.
The Common Core Initiative seeks to standardize the curricula covered by each state so that everyone, regardless of where they went to school, will have the same knowledge. In addition, the initiative seeks to clearly set rigorous and relevant benchmarks, raising the bar for today's students. States are working to meet the new standards by 2014, and in order to do this they are focusing on two important areas: informing parents and preparing teachers.
Parent awareness is paramount to the success of the Common Core. Because these assessments are more challenging, it's anticipated that student performance may decrease compared to prior years and assessments. This is expected as we transition to the new assessments, but if parents are informed of these changes well in advance, we can all work together to best prepare students and to set appropriate, though still high, expectations.
Secondly, this new model is just that. It's new, and teachers are spending a lot of time and effort to best prepare. They are seeking Common Core aligned resources, like those available through the Verizon Foundation's Thinkfinity platform, a free online resource that offers lesson plans and more, all aligned to Common Core standards. And it was clear that these educators are engaging in train-the-trainer professional development in their schools. Armed with relevant resources and the support and guidance of their peers, today's teachers will be well prepared as they adopt and align curriculum and strategies toward the new standards.
The summit also showcased the role of technology in teaching and learning. As Zoran Popovic, a University of Washington professor in the Center of Game Science, stated, "Anyone with a smartphone can have a customized education." His team is developing educational games that constantly scale based upon a user's performance. With effectively integrated technology, especially mobile technology that is available 24/7 and tied to one user, teachers benefit from real-time feedback and individualized learning based upon prior performance.
Lastly, the summit provided a forum for excellent programs aimed at increasing interest in STEM subjects. In the United States only 5 percent of college graduates enter the workforce with STEM degrees. This is shocking compared to China at 46 percent. In the meantime, STEM jobs are expected to grow at twice the rate of jobs in any other field over the next five years. Our focus should be two-fold: to help teachers to innovate the way students are learning science and math so that they gain confidence and achieve while also driving interest and passion for STEM. And this needs to happen well before students enter high school.
STEM careers don't end with scientists and engineers; we all recognize the need for more well-qualified math and science teachers. It is estimated that 280,000 math and science teachers are needed by 2015 for the U.S. to remain globally competitive. However, about 71 percent of 12th graders have low interest in STEM fields, regardless of how proficient they are. Organizations like UTEACH, created by the National Math and Science Initiative, are focused on emphasizing pedagogy with math and science majors. Ninety-two percent of graduates of the UTEACH program go on to teach, and 85 percent of them are still teaching five years later. The program is so successful it is currently in 34 universities across the country.
We are doing our part at the Verizon Foundation by providing free Common Core Standards aligned content to educators, by training teachers through our Verizon Innovative Learning School program on how to effectively integrate mobile technologies in classroom instruction, and by focusing our efforts on improving student academic achievement in STEM to prepare our children to be globally competitive when they enter the workforce.
Thinking as a Science (1916) by Henry Hazlitt
http://www.scribd.com/doc/104611461/Henry-Hazlitt-Thinking-as-a-Science
http://librivox.org/thinking-as-a-science-by-henry-hazlitt/
Omnilingual (Feb 1957) by H. Beam Piper
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/03/scientific-language-h-beam-pipers-qomnilingualq
http://www.feedbooks.com/book/308/omnilingual
http://librivox.org/omnilingual-by-h-beam-piper/
Badge of Infamy (Jun 1957) by Lester del Rey
http://librivox.org/badge-of-infamy-by-lester-del-rey/
http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book/badge-of-infamy-by-lester-del-rey
1957 was the year of Sputnik, but it was launched in October. Both of these stories were published before the Sputnik launch. It was not until 1958 that the van Allen belts were discovered and 1965 that a probe sent to Mars discovered that the planet had no magnetic field and only one percent of Earth's atmospheric pressure. So this information changed our thinking about the chances of life developing on the planet and Mars stories from before 1965 would most likely have significant inaccuracies. But these are both decent and interesting stories nonetheless.
So forgive me if I do not wax enthusiastic about STEM opportunities. Very often STEM pathways are hyped by the powers that be to create a glut in order to further drag down salaries. From what I see in some of the professional journals, the opportunities are seldom as advertised once the newly credentialed graduate starts looking for a real job that pays the bills.
Be very careful. The educational institutes have a vested interest in keeping their classrooms full of eager students chasing that fat paycheck. Business interests have a vested interest in keeping these markets glutted. You need to dig deeper and talk to people who are in the trenches working in your field. Ask them what they think the opportunities are going to be going forward. You may find that in the "real world" there is far less enthusiasm.
I know the kids who score high in English. They are the avid readers. And I am pretty sure that avid reading behavior also helps kids with math--perhaps because avid readers learn how to process information efficiently. And, of course, the avid readers score high in science as well, because they can read and so access new science information.
I think that, to help kids do well in all of their subjects across the board, there is nothing we can do that is more effective than turning kids into avid readers. Avid readers read better, write better, concentrate better, and have wider frames of reference that make all learning easier.
So, surprisingly, giving kids books they can easily love, such as science fiction and mysteries and fantasy, may be the best way to ensure we have great scientists and mathematicians in the future.
http://teachloveofreading.blogspot.com/
Grade 11 - Full time running start, college level pre-engineering
Grade 10 - pre-calculus, IB Physics and IB Chemistry + English, History, Spanish
Grade 9 - Algebra 2, Physics, Chemistry, English, History, Spanish
Grade 8 - Geometry, Biology, English, History, Spanish