Starting out with STEM
Carolyn Cutts
GA Educational Consultant
404-308-2174
STEM by the Numbers
Falling Behind
Number of scientists and engineers 55 or older up
32%
Those under 35 fell to 1%
Share of workers in scientific fields shrank to 4.9% in 2010.
Decline was the first recorded in labor force since 1950.
By 2018, eight million U.S. jobs will relate to science, technology, engineering and math.
The next generation of American employees will be largely unprepared for STEM jobs.
To be considered ready for college, a student must score 24 on the science ACT exam and 22 in math.
In 2015, Georgia’s average Science score was 20.9. Georgia’s average Math score was 20.5.
Starting Early
What the research says
• To increase interest in STEM, students need positive
STEM experiences at a young age.
• As early as second grade, students start stereotyping
math as a boy’s subject.
• Research shows that by the time students reach fourth
grade, a third of them have lost interest
in science.
Grade K
Interest
Lostinterest
Grade 4
Interest
Lostinterest
Grade 8
Interest
Lostinterest
Want to hear something
SCARY?In elementary
classrooms today, 38 percent of teachers lack full confidence in their qualifications to teach science.National Science Board. 2014. Science and Engineering Indicators 2014. Arlington VA: National Science Foundation (NSB 14-01).
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/
Almost as many say they rely more on what they learned in high school science than on what they learned in their teacher preparation courses in college.
Bayer Facts of Science Education X (2004). Are the Nation’s Colleges and
Universities Adequately Preparing Elementary Schoolteachers of Tomorrow to Teach Science?
A New Direction
Hands-On Standards® STEM in Action
• Hands-on activities teach children real-world problem solving and critical thinking skills.
• Approachable, teacher-friendly modules address national and state standards in Science, Math, and ELA.
• Developed with Texas A&M and Purdue Universities to bring STEM to life and establish a lifelong love of learning
for students.
• The series strikes the perfectbalance of rigor and ease of use.
PreK–Grade 5
Modular Classroom Kits
PreK–Grade 5
Plan Solutions
Teacher Planning page from Muddy Mats (grade 2) Exploration
Teacher Support
Rubric
Online videos, IWB activities, and resources
Start out with STEM with
ETA hand2mind!
Carolyn Cutts
GA Educational Consultant
404-308-2174
@CarolynCutts @ETAhand2mind