The Case for STEAM Education Now! Executive Summary

Transcription

1 The Case for STEAM Education Now! Executive Summary STEAM (STEM and Arts) education shows real promise to improve the ability of students to become better problem solvers, understand concepts more fully, inspire innovative thinking, and work well in diverse teams. STEAM is gaining momentum and is practiced at a small but growing number of schools across the U.S. What is needed is a comprehensive, unified approach to implementing STEAM in the classroom with supporting resources, tools, and training. Innovate Our World is equipped to create a STEAM Integration Model (SIM) to provide what is needed to move STEAM into more schools, train and certify STEAM educators, and measure student success. SIM will define the what, why, and how of STEAM. The two-year SIM project will engage STEM, Arts Integration, educational outreach, and corporate partners to validate the model and publicize STEAM. Support of all kinds is needed for IOW to pursue this groundbreaking work. Background The push for increasing and improving STEM education is justified considering how recent scientific and technical breakthroughs in information and communications technology, nanotechnology, human genome, neuroscience, 3-D printing, and many other areas are driving economic vitality in an otherwise stagnant U.S. economy. As these developments have proven, it takes much more than just STEM proficiency to produce results; creativity, critical thinking, innovative mindset, and working as a team with other disciplines is needed to rapidly take new ideas from the lab to success in the marketplace. Colleges and universities recognize this. They are interdisciplinary by their nature. Cross-disciplinary degree programs are producing students with diverse skill sets, ready to contribute upon graduation. Many universities have projects and internships to build these interdisciplinary connections, such as having scientists working with artists to show their results visually, business students working with engineers to build the next generation wearable computing, and so on. But what about students entering college from our high schools? Are they prepared to prosper in college much less in careers? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be no. A recently released ACT National Curriculum Survey examined college preparedness from secondary educators perspective vs. those in college. Eighty-nine percent of secondary educators felt their students were well or very well prepared for college work in their content areas whereas only 26 percent of college educators agreed with that statement. This huge difference shows that there is much more to be done preparing our students, especially at the upper grade levels, for success in college and career. So what can be done to improve upon this situation?

2 Adoption of the Common Core State Standards is ongoing through the U.S. Department of Education s Race To The Top (RTTT) program and is intended to improve student performance and readiness for college and beyond. While full implementation won t occur for at least another year, there are already indications that emphasis of new standards and its associated testing regimen won t be enough to turn the tide. There is a ground swell of educators, students, parents, and others that see something is missing from the focus on content area standards testing. Many emphasize that real life problem solving is not restricted to one content area; so why should learning be? What can be done to address this shortcoming? STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) brings a cross-disciplinary, integrated focus on learning that engages and inspires students, brings students with diverse interests together in a team environment, and encourages imaginative, innovative, and critical thinking towards solving problems, going beyond the rote memorization of facts and figures. Led by prestigious institutions such as the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), STEAM is in the nascent stages of adoption. Several school systems are creating STEAM schools or STEAM magnet programs while some have been in operation for just a few years. Most begin by immersing arts into traditional STEM coursework. Using this one approach, STEAM has already shown promise. Here is one recent example from a recent Washington Post magazine education issue: Patrick Pope, who took over as Savoy principal in 2011, turns to the one available yardstick: test scores. The three years before I got here, scores declined every single year, he says. This year, after the start of the arts immersion program, they stopped declining. There are a multitude of STEAM approaches, tools, resources, and methodologies. Innovate Our World (IOW) recognized this situation from our June 2012 Gathering STEAM Conference held in Baltimore, MD. With nearly 70 STEM and Arts Integration educators attending and a dozen presentations, this day-long event showed the diversity of STEAM efforts and, at the same time, the lack of a central definition and set of practices and tools for STEAM practitioners. This is similar to what is happening today in the STEM world, where the definition of what is STEM is still hotly debated from state to state and even from school to school. Using the lessons learned from the STEM wars, for STEAM to succeed there needs to be a unified and prctical set of approaches, models, tools, and resources for educators to use, backed up by performance validation. Combined with using new educational technology and smartly applying approaches such as blended learning and project-based learning, STEAM can be the next great lever that ratchets up not only student performance in secondary school and compliments STEM education, but leads to better and more creative thinkers for eventual placement in the workforce. Harvey White, a California independent business development, consulting and angel investment firm professional, perhaps said it best: So, how do we address this looming innovation gap and is what we are doing with STEM sufficient? This question and part of the answer leads to STEAM going a step beyond STEM by assuring the arts are an integral and necessary part of educating our future innovators so they can compete successfully in the forthcoming world economy. This is not

3 an issue about including arts because it is nice to do so, but rather it is an imperative because our economic future is at stake. Now is the time for action. In February 2013, RISD and others helped shepherd the creation of the Congressional STEAM Caucus, comprised of over 30 members and growing. Government agencies and private industry alike are seeking ways to kickstart innovation. The NEA has joined the STEAM movement as of summer Momentum is starting to build for STEAM. IOW has consulted with several STEAM experts and they have unanimously agreed that our approach is necessary for STEAM to eventually reach the tipping point of inclusion in schools. IOW intends to develop this capability to be a one-stop shop for STEAM across the U.S. and elsewhere. So what is our plan? Developing and Implementing a STEAM Integration Model (SIM) Currently, there are only fragmented efforts to bring STEAM to the classroom. What is needed is a single, validated framework and approach that gives educators options, tools, resources, training, and support to integrate across content areas no matter their school s environment. The STEAM Integration Model will provide those core capabilities and give educators the flexibility to implement STEAM according to their needs and constraints. Without a unified approach and robust toolset, the ability of STEAM to impact our students and economy will be limited. Here s how it works: Define a two-year project to build an integration model to define the what, why, and how of STEAM with follow-on pilot and a resource content management system. First, build a SIM Education Advisory Committee made up of STEAM, STEM, Arts, Curriculum, and other Educational experts to provide a framework and peer review mechanism for SIM Working Group activities. The Education Advisory Committee met for the first time in June 2013 and will evaluate an initial model framework in early 2014 As SIM work begins, form a SIM Industry Advisory Committee made up of companies and organizations with an interest in promoting STEAM. They will provide expertise, advice, review of SIM materials, and financial support. This Committee was formed in January Form a SIM Executive Council for advisement on critical strategic issues. Each member will make an annual financial and/or in kind contribution. Begin Committee activity in Once a basic SIM framework is established and committees are established, form a SIM Working Group to build out the model and identify needed resources, tools and barriers to implementation (addressing the how of STEAM). Start in Winter Start validating SIM work to educational (both STEM and Arts/Humanities) and industry groups via roadshow presentations/meetings in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. during Spring Use feedback to update SIM. Build out initial capability, including sample courses, lesson plans, and resources, to be made available within a content management system for easy use by educators, students, parents, and the public. Present and publicize SIM at June, Building STEAM Conference at Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD campus. This event will

4 attract nearly 200 educators from the Eastern Seaboard to get introduced to STEAM and SIM and will include training sessions and workshops on how to implement STEAM. Post-conference, continue with educator professional development training/support, develop and implement a STEAM educator certification, and pilot SIM use in schools. Ongoing, gather data and make adjustments to SIM and associated training. The SIM Project transitions to STEAM training, certification, research, and support in Hold annual STEAM conference in June 2015 to announce/celebrate project completion and continuing activities. Value Proposition Members joining the SIM Industry Advisory Committee can contribute any amount to participate. Each SIM Executive Council member organization is expected to contribute at least $10,000 and/or equivalent in-kind services for annual membership. What can member organizations expect for their contribution? First, organization contributions will go towards the cost of conducting the SIM Project. This is expected to cost nearly $200,000 over two years. Significant contributions will come from companies, grants, and sponsorship and advertising opportunities at roadshows and conferences. This is not organizational support or discretionary funding. All SIM-directed contributions go to supporting the SIM Project. How can this contribute to your educational mission? STEAM promises to increase innovation, instill better critical thinking skills, build teamwork among different roles, and provide a wider worldview, all highly pertinent to company and societal success. Better student preparation for college success, especially in STEM fields, leads to better employees and overall company performance. High-value jobs in the 21st century will be from the creative class according to Richard Florida and other economic thinkers. STEAM brings more students into this high-value stream. But can STEAM help all students, regardless of background? Yes, STEAM is for all schools, all students, and all backgrounds. IOW plans on implementing STEAM at schools with different characteristics. IOW s mission is to impact students everywhere, but with a focus on socioeconomically challenged schools and closing the gender gap in areas like STEM. We also recognize how technology can bring learning to more students and improve the quality of learning. STEAM resources will be online to provide maximum access no matter where the school or student. SIM development and implementation incorporates these principles and we will work in tandem with our industry partners to ensure these are fully integrated within our efforts. Most business cases rely on quantitative data to make their case. Because STEAM is new, there isn t much available data, although ongoing National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Education studies may eventually provide such data. The qualitative business case for STEAM education, however, is strong. The true evidence of STEAM market penetration and student/educator effectiveness (and therefore success) is reliant not just on building SIM model and resources, but just as much on implementation and support strategies. That is the differentiator between IOW and others. Our focus on how to implement STEAM and on continuous improvement will make the difference between a good and poor educational investment.

5 Finally, for supporting SIM, companies will receive the following direct benefits from Innovate Our World (IOW): assign one representative for the SIM Education Advisory Committee company logo on all SIM-produced publications and materials company marketing collateral on SIM material to be distributed at STEM and Arts educator workshops (planned for Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region of U.S.) company logo on Innovate Our World website company news featured on IOW monthly newsletter (twice per year) company news featured on IOW homepage (once per year) company news featured on IOW Facebook page (up to four times per year) company news featured on IOW Twitter feed (up to four times per year) company given five minute keynote opportunity at Building STEAM Conference company marketing materials for attendees and company logo in program for Building STEAM Conference company logo on materials distributed at other IOW events Your investment will create better and more diversely educated students (your eventual employees), address socioeconomic and gender gaps in STEM industries, and provide your organization direct benefits. What About IOW? While IOW is a young educational nonprofit (started in 2010), our management team has years of experience in education, training, technology, continuous improvement, and project management. In addition to our focus on STEAM through our conferences and related activities, we have also developed a pilot high school aerospace challenge called the Moon Mission Challenge (MMC). Once SIM becomes mature, we ll expand and adapt the MMC to become a mechanism to instill STEAM into schools. Our team has consulted for the Maryland State Department of Education on RTTT projects, taught college entry level humanities/arts classes, provided training for educators and other professionals in several subject areas, redesigned business processes, used continuous improvement to boost process quality, and performed technology strategy consulting for other nonprofits. The SIM Project will be led by a certified PMP with educational project experience. IOW knows the value of leveraging partnerships to accomplish our objectives. We have educational content (STEAM, STEM, and Arts/Humanities), educational technology (e.g., LMS), and industry (especially STEM) association and council partners to work with us on our projects and programs. These partnerships provide additional expertise, receptive audiences, and feedback mechanisms for our work products and services. Summary IOW has the vision, mission, and plan to bring STEAM education to our schools, a growing set of partners to assist us, experience and project management skills to build a sustainable set of tools and processes, and a singular focus at the right time to make STEAM education a success, positively impacting your organization and community, society, and economy.