PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION OF STEM INNOVATORS: INDENTIFYING AND DEVELOPING OUR NATIONS HUMAN CAPITAL

http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/stem/

Summary
The development of our nation's human capital through our education system is an essential building block for future innovation. Currently, the abilities of far too many of America's young men and women go unrecognized and underdeveloped, and, thus, they fail to reach their full potential. This represents a loss for both the individual and society. There are students with high potential from every demographic and from every part of our country, who with hard work and the proper educational opportunities, will form the next generation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) innovators. The National Science Board (Board) believes that the recommendations set forth in this report will help ensure a legacy of continued prosperity and a renewed aspiration towards equity and excellence in U.S. STEM education.
Background for the STEM Innovators Project
To produce this report, in August 2008, the Board charged the Committee on Education and Human Resources to form an ad hoc Task Group on STEM Innovators. The Task Group was directed to identify strategies for increasing the number of future STEM innovators and synthesize recommendations for how the National Science Foundation (NSF), and possibly other Federal entities, might engage in fostering the development of these individuals. This report and the recommendations set forth herein are based on the findings from an expert panel discussion held on August 23-25, 2009, and a 2-year examination of the issue by the ad hoc Task Group.

FULL PUBLICATION AVAILABLE
Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators: Identifying and Developing Our Nation's Human Capital (Full Report; PDF)
National STEM Action Plan
A National Action Plan for Addressing the Critical Needs of the U.S. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education System
Download A National Action Plan for Addressing the Critical Needs of the U.S. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education System.

Paper copies of the action plan can be ordered by submitting a Web-based order form at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/orderpub.jsp.

We invite you and your students to participate in the second annual Calculus Field Day at Northeastern University, a half-day event drawing students from across the region to a team-based calculus problem- solving competition, held on Wednesday, April 14th (1:30 – 4:30 PM).

There has been strong positive feedback in previous years from teachers and students alike who have been excited to gather and work
collectively in a forum focused on math. This year we are
expanding the experience and are inviting students to return to
Northeastern the following afternoon at 4:00 PM for an exclusive
presentation of ‘Calculus – The Musical’ performed by a nationally
touring cast from Matheatre.


Calculus Field Day is part of a larger ‘Calculus Days’ experience at
Northeastern focusing on emphasizing the importance of high
mathematics achievement and mathematical research for our society.

How Does It Work?
Teams of three students from each school will work collaboratively on
a group of assigned calculus problems for a set period of time, with
awards given to teams from each category and division.

Teams will be placed in one of three category areas (Pre-Calculus,
Calculus, and AP Calculus) based upon the course they are currently
taking in school.


What Do I Need To Do?
Right now, we just need you to provide us with the number of teams you
intend to submit, as well as the names of calculus teachers
accompanying students on Calculus Field Day. We have established a
quick and easy form via

SurveyMonkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/
calculusfieldday2010)

which you can use to reply to us with this
information. (Alternatively, you can respond directly to this e-mail
with the participating teacher and student information).

We encourage you to submit as many teams as you are able. However,
for space reasons, schools are limited to submitting 2 teams per
category area (2 teams of 3 students each, for Pre-Calculus, Calculus,
and AP Calculus).

As in previous years, participating teachers will receive a packet of
practice calculus problems via e-mail four weeks in advance to begin
preparing students for the competition.


Important Information
Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Time: 1:30 – 4:30 PM
Location: Northeastern University (Curry Student Center – McLeod
Suites)
Food: Food for students and teachers will be provided at 3:30 PM


More information including a detailed schedule is forthcoming.

Any specific questions can be directed to Stephanie Crisp
(s.cr...@neu.edu; 617-373-8380).

We look forward to your participation this year!

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

Applications are now being accepted for the Research Experience for Undergraduates Program through both the Gordon Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging - http://www.censsis.neu.edu/education/REU/

and the Department of Homeland Security Center - ALERT
http://www.censsis.neu.edu/education/REU/.

Please contact Kristin Hicks at khicks@coe.neu.edu if you have questions about the summer program.

Summer Research Opportunity for Teachers and Community College Faculty - Northeastern University

Summer Research Opportunity for Teachers and Community College Faculty - Northeastern University

The Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)
program is a six-week summer research experience for high school mathematics and science teachers and Community College Faculty funded by the National Science Foundation. Participants work in state-of-the-art research laboratories affiliated with the Colleges of Arts & Sciences and Engineering, The Bernard M. Gordon Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems (CenSSIS), the Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats (ALERT) Center, and the Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN).

A stipend of $6,000 will be provided to participants in addition to $500 for classroom materials and supplies.

Professional development for participating teachers is provided by the Center for STEM Education.
Completed applications must be received by April 2, 2010. Applicants will be notified of their status via email by April 16, 2010. Due to the intensity of the program, we cannot make provision for vacation or personal time during the program except under extreme circumstances.
Please feel free to contact Claire Duggan, Project Director (c.duggan@neu.edu) at 617.373.2036 with any questions.

For more information about the Research Experiences for Teachers at Northeastern University program, visit http://www.stem.neu.edu/ret.htm

Research Experiences for Teachers

The 2010 Research Experiences for Teachers program at Northeastern University is now accepting applications. Program information and applications can be found at www.stem.neu.edu/ret.htm.

Community College Students Invited

A note from the Biomedical Science Careers Program:

Dear Colleague:

Re: Biomedical Science Careers Student Conference
The Westin Hotel Copley Place, Boston, Massachusetts
Friday Evening, February 26 and Saturday, February 27, 2010

The deadline to apply for the conference has been extended to January 22, 2010!

BSCP will hold its tenth biennial New England-wide BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE CAREERS STUDENT CONFERENCE for postdoctoral fellows; medical, dental and graduate students; post-baccalaureates; college and community college students on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at The Westin Hotel Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM. All postdoctoral fellows; medical, dental and graduate students; post-baccalaureates; college and community college students are also welcome to join us on Friday evening, February 26 for dinner and keynote address. Dinner will be followed by interactive workshops. There is no registration fee for the conference but pre-registration is required.

We are asking for your help in recruiting postdoctoral fellows; medical, dental and graduate students; college and community college students; post-baccalaureates (particularly African-American, Hispanic American and American Indian/Alaska Native individuals) involved in biomedical or health-related field who would benefit from attending this conference.

Students interested in receiving an application form and tentative agenda need to e-mail us as soon as possible at fahri_ercem@hms.harvard.edu


Thank you in advance for any assistance you could provide.

Best regards,

The BSCP Team


_______________________________________
Mr. Fahri Ercem Biomedical Science Careers Program
Office for Diversity and Community Partnership
Harvard Medical School
164 Longwood Avenue, # 310 Boston, MA 02115 Phone: (617) 432-2729 Fax: (617) 432-3834http://www.bscp.org

Gates Foundation Dedicates funds to Community Colleges

From the Gates Foundation:

"Emerging Technologies Ready to Reshape Community Colleges
Investments of $12.9 million aimed at boosting graduation rates, fostering faculty collaboration, creating new learning tools"

"A summary of the grants announced today:

Global Skills for College Completion (GSCC) ($3.6 million) to innovate math and writing basic skills pedagogy via Web 2.0 and social media that consistently results in increased student pass rates, and is driven by an online community of 26 outstanding basic skills faculty in 16 states on 13 campuses. GSCC is a collaboration between the League for Innovation in Community College, LaGuardia Community College, Knowledge in the Public Interest, and the Community College Research Center.

Monterey Institute for Technology and Education (MITE) ($5 million) to produce developmental mathematics course materials that will be made available as an OER. The project aims to dramatically increase the number of students that meet the required mathematics standards for admittance to desirable postsecondary educational programs and career opportunities through interactive and adaptive multimedia and games. Individual students and teachers will have free access to the material through the HippoCampus website, and institutional rights-of-use may be purchased with a nominal membership fee.

Carnegie Mellon University’s Community College Open Learning Initiative (CC-OLI) ($2.5 million) for the collaborative development, use, evaluation, and continuous improvement of web-based open learning environments for high-demand “gatekeeper” courses. The CC-OLI learning environments will be developed by teams of learning scientists, human-computer interaction experts, software engineers, and faculty subject matter experts from over 40 community colleges across the country. The project will use intelligent tutoring systems, virtual labs, simulations, and provide frequent opportunities for assessment and feedback to combine the best technology with person-to-person instruction in “blended” courses. The target, over the next three years, is to increase successful course completion rates in the classes using CC-OLI by 25 percent.

National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) ($1.8 million) to engage community colleges in redesigning developmental math based on proven methods of integrating technology and learner-centered pedagogy. Course redesign at NCAT partner institutions has resulted in an average of 51 percent increase in course completions and 37 percent reduction in instructional costs."

To read more about the projects or to apply for a grant (if applicable), please visit the Gates Foundation for more information or the specific grantees/partner websites.
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/press-releases/Pages/fundamental-changes-to-community-college-education-091203.aspx