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STEM career activities: teacher practices

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STEM career activities: teacher practices

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Below you will find a summary of main practices.

1. Utilize career materials in science texts/journals/articles: consult these sources and extract/incorporate articles or supplemental readings in your lessons.​​​​​​

2. Integrate experiential activities in the classroom: role-playing or designing research posters.

3. Incorporate authentic research: give students the opportunity to participate in real research projects.​​​​​​​

4. Invite guest speakers: ask speakers from a variety of careers to talk to your students, to present their educational and career pathway. Invite also parents engaged in STEM fields to speak.​​​​​​​#

5. Research science careers / map out career paths: assign homework where students have to research various careers, support students in building resumes or to analyze their skills.​​​​​​​

6. Support inclusion of science careers in school career fairs.​​​​​​​

7. Weave career information informally into lessons: try to frame or open your lessons with career information, or as you work throughout a particular chapter or unit, make sure you point out career aspects where relevant.​​​​​​​

8. Share personal experiences: share your own experience of working in STEM fields, participate in professional development opportunities and share also your own educational and career pathway.​​​​​​​

9. Expose students to worksites and outside opportunities: take students on visits to various STEM centers (companies, research centers, etc.), prepare them before, seek funding and see how you can bridge the education-industry gap for your students.​​​​​​​

10. Be a mentor/advocate.

The full details of these practices can be found in the The Emerging Role of Science Teachers in Facilitating STEM Career Awareness (Cohen & Patterson, 2012) study.

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Case study: The Teen Science Café experience in Malta

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Case study: The Teen Science Café experience in Malta

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As seen in previous sections, there are numerous types of events to support STEM careers induction. One that has not been brought up but which has increased in popularity -over the last years- is the Science Café Format; Science Cafés are events that take place in informal settings and which involve engaging, lively conversation with a scientist or a STEM professional about a specific topic. In this section, we will describe the experiences from the Teen Science Café, in Malta.

The Teen Science Café is an initiative led by the Science Centre in Malta, offering young teenage students opportunities to encounter a number of professional experts in different STEM fields. The focus of these encounters is that of supporting interactive exchange between professionals and students and to engage the latter in conversations about STEM topics and career paths, in an informal setting. The objectives of this project are to positively affect students' academic and career choices and to serve as an outreach exercise to promote careers in science and technology.

The organization of Science Cafés can entail numerous rewards for pupils, as they offer an excellent opportunity for students to engage with the science community. Furthermore, they are planned in a dynamic manner, involving two-way interactions between scientists and students. In this manner, students will feel empowered to learn and they will gain valuable perspectives from both the STEM professional and academic worlds.

Science Cafés need adequate planning to invite accomplished professionals, as the right choice of experts is key to ensure effective and dynamic interaction. Ideally, Science Café activities will be held out of the typical class environment. The objective of this is to ensure the informal setting of the science cafés in order to facilitate interaction and engagement. Take a sneak peek at the activities of the Teen Science Café initiative, through the following video.

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STEM careers fair organization. Strategies for success

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STEM careers fair organization. Strategies for success

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3. Post event activities

Last but not least, it is essential to complete a number of post event actions, not only as follow up activities with different stakeholders, but also as a way to disseminate the main outcomes of the event and, most importantly, to evaluate its results.

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STEM careers fair organization. Strategies for success

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STEM careers fair organization. Strategies for success

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2. Implementation

Once the planning stages are completed, the event will start coming to life. However, it is important not to miss a trick and to keep in mind that there are still many duties to carry out, specifically, related to the event implementation and during the event itself. From risk assessment to logistics, it will be essential to draw a masterplan that keeps the team and its activities together. Watch the video below to learn about the main tasks in the implementation phase.

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STEM careers fair organization. Strategies for success

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STEM careers fair organization. Strategies for success

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1. Planning

Organizing a job fair takes substantial time and effort. Most efforts occur during the planning stage, were organizers are busy laying the groundwork (from establishing objectives, targeting an audience or planning a budget). Indeed, the specifics of organizing careers events are manifold and attention to detail is key. Watch the video below to find out about the key steps you should follow in the planning phase of a STEM careers event.

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The problem in Good Will Hunting - Numberphile

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We now have a Tumblr: Tumblr: http://numberphile.tumblr.com This paper on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221197137799? Just how hard was the second problem cracked by Will in Good Will Hunting? Matt Damon! And who doesn't love Homeomorphically Irreducible Trees?

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STEM Professionals Go Back to School Webinar - For teachers and school

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Programme of the webinar Introduction to the PGBS scheme: Aims and benefits Presentation of the booklet: How to organise a visit from a STEM professional?

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5. Career exhibitions

Career exhibitions provide with static displays with information related to different STEM careers. While they provide with a nice option to show specific evidence, they often lack the human factor, which can make them less engaging. Nonetheless, when set-up in conjunction with other initiatives (such as career talks or events fairs) these exhibitions can be an interesting option to support STEM career engagement.

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4.  Career talks / workshops / seminars

These career related options provide students with a number of presentations related to specific careers, often held by a professional in the field.  The advantages of these options include:

Students can discuss specific queries with professionals during or after the talk, workshop or seminar.

Direct face-to-face contact facilitates smoother and improved communication.

Parents or student guardians can join the discussion to support their children in their career choice.

The main setbacks related to these career related options, include:

Students might find difficulty to attend career talks if these clash with their school/study scheduling.

Professionals might lack the skills to share their work in a specific field in an appealing, engaging manner. This can result in students being disinterested or detached.

It might be difficult to convince professionals from a wide range of fields to carry on STEM career talks. Therefore, students might only be exposed to a limited range of options.

The STEM Alliance and the SYSTEMIC projects have developed a guide to engage company professionals (technicians, scientists, engineers, researchers or employment and recruiting managers) to visit schools and participate in collaborative activities with them. The aim is to close the gap between industry and education sectors, to raise pupils and teachers’ awareness on STEM careers and to promote STEM jobs. Check out the following two booklets, one addressed to schools and one addressed to companies. These booklets are based on the framework of the “Professionals go back to school” initiative.

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3. Virtual job fairs

Virtual job fairs are the online version of a traditional career fair. These fairs allow students to meet and discuss employment opportunities through specialised websites in a live but fully interactive manner. Some disadvantages of virtual job fairs include:

Technological glitches: While technology provides students with a variety of new ways of connecting, technical glitches can create a disadvantage for networking and effective communication.

Digital divide: Not all students might have direct access to a digital devise. Therefore, virtual job fairs might not ensure equal access to all pupils.

Visual elements: The interaction between students and professionals might appear to be limited or superficial, since the face-to-face contact is non-existent.

Inertia about new technologies: Students and/or professionals may be apprehensive about learning to use a new digital tool.

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2. STEM career fairs

(STEM) career fairs offer students with a great opportunity to connect with employers and learn about different career prospects. These can offer students many benefits, among them:

A convenient and unique opportunity to meet key professionals and employers from different STEM fields, in one same location;

A networking occasion for students to meet not only with professionals and employers abut also with researchers and with more advanced students;

A chance to gain first-hand information about local (and potentially foreign) employers;

The prospect of collecting promotional information (brochures, business cards) related to different companies;

However, there are always challenges related to STEM career fairs. Some of them being:

Mass appeal: Unless tailored to a specific field, career fairs might feature professionals from a wide range of business or fields, making it difficult for attendees to adapt the visit to their needs.

Limited quality time: A careers fair atmosphere is usually loud and crowded, leaving little quality time or space for effective interaction between students and professionals. This context can prove challenging for students to communicate, ask questions and network.

Organisational costs: STEM career fairs require a high budget, extensive time and personnel to get organised.

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1. Student internships / job shadowing

Student internships (or job shadowing initiatives) give direct opportunities to profit from an insider’s view of different STEM career jobs.
Both of these options offer students with excellent chances, specifically:

to explore a career field by experiencing life at a real workplace;

to learn how to apply academic subject knowledge through discussions with a professional;

to assess one’s aptitude for a particular position/role/career;

to observe the day-to-day activities of a professional/researcher;

to discuss specific STEM related research and careers pathways;

to create career connections and establish valid networking opportunities.

Nonetheless, these initiatives can also entail a number of challenges, as it follows:

Non-involvement: In some circumstances, job shadowing limits the involvement of the trainee/student to observation and does not allow the student to contribute to the work efforts. Moreover, job shadowing does not always provide students/trainees with an understanding of the responsibility or specific skills needed in the workplace.

Distortions: The success of job shadowing will depend on the professional selected “to be shadowed”. The time selected for shadowing can also create distortions, as it can provide inadequate understanding of the level of difficulty and/or of the necessary engagement.

Timing: Job shadowing will usually take place during a limited period. This brief exposure can cause the student shadowing to miss out key work challenges that may not occur during the time of the placement.

Supervision: To ensure an effective experience, students will need to be supervised and mentored, which can be very time consuming for the professionals.

Disruption: Job shadowing can disrupt the smooth functioning of working environments, in different ways. The professional, conscious of being observed, might behave differently than normal, which can affect the quality of output. Another related inherent risk, from an organisational point of view, is the student getting to know confidential information of a particular organization.

Other challenges might relate to the lack of space or of other infrastructure to accommodate interns or the work schedule incompatibilities that may not match students’ availabilities.

Overall, the success of a student internship (or job shadowing) will depend on highly motivated professional job shadowers. Students/interns will benefit by taking time to reflect on the critical aspects of the job profile, work culture and other habits beforehand, thus facilitating a better understanding of what and how to make the best out of the internship experience.

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Big Bang Digital 2020 - science, engineering & Covid-19

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The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) for young people in the UK.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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STEM careers fair organization. Strategies for success

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STEM careers fair organization. Strategies for success

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Evaluation activities will be essential to recognize any mistakes done, to correct them and improve them. Check out the pilot study developed by European Schoolnet and Intel on “European Science Fairs Evaluation Framework”. The aim of this evaluation exercise was to show the data that could be obtained from the evaluation tool developed. In the study, you will be able to see the main findings from students and from teachers and maybe even get inspired to develop a tool of your own!

Organizing fairs will become easier over time as one gains experience, establishes procedures, amasses contacts, and implements improvements. To get an idea of what does fair organization entail, in the words of an experienced professional, check the Scientix Opening minds to STEM careers newsletter.

In the newsletter, we have featured an interview with Audrey Anne Bella Bondin, Head of the Science Department in a public secondary college, in Malta. Audrey Anne is responsible for the setting up of annual science fairs involving interactive experiments with the aim of promoting and popularising science in her home country.

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engaging businesses in school activities.

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The problem of youth unemployment in the European Union is not new. Youth unemployment has been double or even triple the rate of general unemployment in Europe for the last 20 years. The events of the past few years have dramatically exacerbated it, however: 5.6 million young people are unemployed across Europe, and a total of 7.5 million are neither being educated nor are they working. Moreover, while young people are eager to work, more than half of those without jobs say they simply can't find one-all while businesses across Europe insist they struggle to find young people with the skills they need.

To understand this disconnect and what can be done about it, McKinsey built on the methodology used in our 2012 publication, Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works. We concentrated on four broad questions:

1. Is the scale of the youth-unemployment problem in Europe a result of lack of jobs, lack of skills, or lack of coordination?

2. What are the obstacles that youth face on their journey from education to employment?

3. Which groups of youth and employers in Europe are struggling the most?

4. What can be done to address the problem?

To answer these questions, we surveyed 5,300 youth, 2,600 employers, and 700 postsecondary-education providers across 8 countries that together are home to almost 73 percent of Europe's 5.6 million jobless youth: France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. We also examined more than 100 programs in 25 countries to provide examples of companies, governments, education providers, and nongovernmental organizations that may be relevant to Europe.

Our research led us to the following answers:

1. While there are more people looking for work, employers in Europe cannot find the skills they need.

Clearly, the lack of availability of jobs in Europe is part of the problem, but it is far from the whole story. In many countries, the number of people employed has actually remained steady, and in some countries, increased, since 2005. A greater number of older people are working longer, and more women with children are choosing to join or remain in the workforce. Across the 15 countries that were members of the EU prior to May 2004, for example, the percentage of people aged 55 to 59 who are in the labor market has jumped 11 percentage points since 2005, while increasing 4 percentage points among women aged 35 to 39. This increase in the participation rate in a demand-constrained environment means greater competition for jobs for younger people, who are disadvantaged by their lack of proven experience. Meanwhile, labor-market regulations that discourage hiring and firing, which are common in Europe, make it even more difficult for youth to step onto the first rung of the employment ladder.

Yet despite this availability of labor, employers are dissatisfied with applicants' skills: 27 percent reported that they have left a vacancy open in the past year because they could not find anyone with the right skills. One-third said the lack of skills is causing major business problems, in the form of cost, quality, or time. Counterintuitively, employers from countries where youth unemployment is highest reported the greatest problems. So why is it that young people are not getting the skills that employers need? One reason is the failure of employers, education providers, and young people to understand one another. To cite our 2012 report, they operate in "parallel universes."

In Europe, 74 percent of education providers were confident that their graduates were prepared for work, but only 38 percent of youth and 35 percent of employers agreed. The different players don't talk to one another and don't understand one another's expectations and needs. Only in Germany and the United Kingdom did most employers report that they communicate with education providers at least several times a year. In Portugal, only a third did. And only in Spain did most employers report that their interactions with providers were actually effective.

2. Youth face three significant hurdles.

The education-to-employment (E2E) path can be described as a road with three intersections: enrolling in postsecondary education, building the right skills, and finding a suitable job. The problem is that in Europe there are roadblocks at each of these three points.

When it comes to enrolling in further education, the most significant barrier in Europe is cost. Although university tuition fees are usually highly subsidized in Europe, many students find the cost of living while studying too high to sustain. Also, in a number of countries, nonacademic, vocational courses are not subsidized and can therefore be prohibitively expensive. Students also lack information: except in Germany, less than 25 percent said they received sufficient information on postsecondary courses and careers to guide their decisions. And finally, most of those surveyed said they perceived a social bias against vocational education; less than half of those who wanted to undertake a vocational course actually did so.

At the second intersection, young people are often not learning a sufficient portfolio of general skills while they study, with employers reporting a particular shortage of soft skills such as spoken communication and work ethic. Employers and providers are not working together closely to address this.

At the final intersection, young people find the transition to work difficult. One-third fall into interim jobs after graduating, and many more struggle to find a job at all. Many lack access to career-support services at their postsecondary institution. Many more do not pursue a work placement, in spite of this being a good predictor of how quickly a young person will find a job after his or her studies are completed.

3. The E2E structure is failing for young people and for small businesses.

To refine our understanding of the issue, we divided young people and employers into segments to examine different interventions to achieve better education-to-employment outcomes Specifically, we looked at how much support young people received on their path from education to employment, and the extent of their desire to develop skills that would make them more employable (Exhibit 1).

Only one of our segments, the so-called high achievers, which represent 10 percent of the youth surveyed, achieves a good employment outcome. This group succeeded because the young people in it receive a strong education and good information; they also focus on finding opportunities to build job skills. Another two segments, representing 11 percent of youths surveyed-what we call "coasters" and "meanderers"-receive strong support but are less motivated and end up only moderately satisfied with their job outcomes. The remaining four segments (79 percent) are frustrated by a lack of support and unhappy at their prospects. They exhibit different responses to these circumstances, from fighting for every opportunity they can get (but rarely succeeding) to losing heart and leaving education at the first opportunity.

We based our employer segmentation on the ease with which employers could find new hires and the degree to which they were prepared to invest in training (Exhibit 2). While two of the four segments are basically satisfied with their workforce, they start from very different places. One segment, representing 19 percent of employers, is able to attract strong candidates and invests substantially in training new hires. A high proportion of the companies in this group are large companies with an established market position. The other satisfied segment, representing 26 percent, finds it difficult to attract strong candidates but develops a strong workforce through training and partnerships. Of the two less satisfied segments, one (34 percent) reports moderate satisfaction but tackles the skills problem alone. The other (21 percent) is disproportionately made up of small businesses and is the least satisfied. This group struggles to find people with the right skills yet either does not, or cannot, invest in training.

In contrast to the findings of our global survey, in Europe, small firms were more likely than large ones to report problems in their business due to lack of skills. They also have the greatest problems in identifying and recruiting new hires and are less likely to work with education providers or other employers to tackle their skills problems. This phenomenon is particularly acute in Greece, which has both very high rates of youth unemployment and a high reliance on small businesses as a source of employment. Understanding the mix and concentration of employer and youth segments by country is critical-each segment requires a different set of interventions to reach its potential.

4. There are proven ways to improve the E2E journey.

Europe's governments, employers, education providers, and families are operating in difficult circumstances, but there are ways to ease the burden on all of these groups.

Innovate with design, course delivery, and financing to make education more affordable and accessible

To reduce the cost of courses, one solution is to break up degree or vocational programs into individual modules that focus on building a particular set of skills while still counting toward a degree or formal qualification. Each of these modules would be short (weeks or months) and self-contained, enabling young people to combine and sequence them in the order that makes most sense for their career aspirations. This model also enables young people to take a break in their studies to work for a period, and then return and pick up where they left off.

To improve financing, governments and private financial institutions can offer low-interest loans to students pursuing courses that have a strong employment record; they can also explore initiatives that allow young people to repay loans in the form of services, such as tutoring younger students. Employers can play a role by promising jobs to young people (following a rigorous recruitment process) and then assuming responsibility for part or all of the costs of education in return for the opportunity to select the most successful graduates, trained with the most relevant skills they need. This latter option is only likely to be successful, however, for employers in sectors that face either a skills scarcity or high employee churn.

Focus young people, employers, and education providers on improving employment readiness

Young people, employers, and providers must change how they think about the E2E process. To make rational decisions, young people need to think more strategically about their futures. This is particularly important in Europe, where students often have to make life-defining decisions about their educational future by age 15-the time when many choose whether to pursue academic or vocational tracks. Students need more and better-quality information about different career paths, and need to be motivated to use it.

Education providers should focus more on what happens to students after they leave school. Specifically, they should track graduates' employment and their job satisfaction. To improve student prospects, education providers could work more closely with employers to make sure they are offering courses that really help young people prepare for the workplace.

Employers cannot wait for the right applicants to show up at their doorsteps. In the most effective interventions, employers and education providers work closely to design curricula that fit business needs; employers may even participate in teaching, by providing instructors. They might also consider increasing the availability of work placements and opportunities for practical learning. Larger enterprises may be able to go further, by setting up training academies to improve required skills for both themselves and their suppliers.

Build the supporting structures that allow the best interventions to scale up

At a national level in Europe, responsibility and oversight of the E2E highway is split across multiple government departments, resulting in a fragmented and confusing picture. One way to improve this is to create a "system integrator" to gather and share information on the most salient metrics: job forecasts by profession, youth job-placement rates, employer satisfaction with the graduates of different programs, and so on. The system integrator would also identify and share examples of successful programs and work with employers and educators to create sectoral or regional solutions based on these. Technological solutions can also help to compensate for shortages of apprenticeships and other forms of short-term work placements. "Serious games" that mimic the workplace context, for example, are low-cost, low-risk ways for students to receive a personalized learning experience through repeated "play" of the game. While not a full substitute for an actual apprenticeship, this approach offers a substantial step forward in providing the applied skills that employers say young people lack; furthermore, such initiatives can be made available to greater numbers of young people without needing to find more employers to provide work placements.

Involve the European Union

To help the most successful interventions reach the greatest number of young people, the European Union has a critical role to play in three areas:

Information. The European Union could develop and share a more comprehensive labor-market platform incorporating the most relevant data to capture employment trends in each sector and region. This would help institutional decision makers, employers, and job seekers make better decisions, for instance, by helping users understand the implications of the data-whether on the courses they should offer as an education provider or the skills gaps they should try to fill as a group of employers within an industry.

Mobility. The European Union can improve educational and labor mobility by working to make vocational qualifications transferable across borders, as has already largely been achieved in the university-education process in Bologna.

Sharing relevant practices on matching labor-market demand and supply. The European Union is in the best position to take the lead on helping national public-employment services compare their successful interventions, and then disseminate and promote those that are relevant to similar-context countries.

Youth unemployment is a profound challenge to the future of Europe, and both individual countries and the European Union recognize this. Only by reaching across their parallel universes can all parties affected by the crisis of youth unemployment create an education-to-employment system that works more effectively and benefits all.

For more on this research, download the full report, Education to Employment: Getting Europe's Youth into Work (PDF-7,235KB).

For more on the 2012 methodology on which this report builds, download Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works (PDF-8.30 MB).

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Education to employment: Getting Europe’s youth into work

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The problem of youth unemployment in the European Union is not new. Youth unemployment has been double or even triple the rate of general unemployment in Europe for the last 20 years. The events of the past few years have dramatically exacerbated it, however: 5.6 million young people are unemployed across Europe, and a total of 7.5 million are neither being educated nor are they working.

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Business and education collaboration – Julie Baxter, CA Technologies

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Interview with Julie Baxter, Vice President, Support at CA Technologies about the importance and usefulness of the business and education collaboration. This interview is part of the ''Opening Minds to STEM Careers' MOOC developed by the Scientix, SYSTEMIC and STEM Alliance projects.

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Some guidelines to have in mind when working with parents:

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Some guidelines to have in mind when working with parents:

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1. Tackle gender-stereotypes with parents. Make sure they encourage girls and boys equally and, when possible, challenge any possible stereotypes they may be harbouring.

2. Help parents see their children’s experiments and curiosity as a natural, scientist-attitude. Encourage them to be tolerant and welcoming in that curiosity, and to let their children explore, regardless of the mess they may be making at home: noise, breaking, pulling apart things.

3. Facilitate the involvement of parents in STEM activities with their children. Inform them of activities they can do together with their children, events where they can participate together and activities they can put in practice at home to foster their children’s interests in STEM.

4. Financial constraints in a household can be an impediment for parents to expose their children to science opportunities – it a lot of cases, it will be up to you as a teacher to make extra steps to inform students and give them extra guidance for these opportunities.

5. Finally, remember to practice what you preach. If parents do not see you putting into practice what you tell them to do, they will not be convinced!

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If you're keen to get your kid interested in STEM, we've got 6 strategies to help you open their eyes to the wonders of science and technology! According to STEM education advocacy group Change the Equation, just 56 percent of high schools offer a computer science class of any sort. The situation with science isn't much better.

"On average, students in kindergarten through third grade spend 19 minutes a day on science and 89 minutes per day on language arts. This abbreviated exposure reduces time students spend solving open-ended problems and investigating, experimenting, and observing the world," reveals Vanessa Stratton, Vice President of Programs at Project Lead The Way. "Young people begin to see science, technology, engineering, and math [STEM] as a series of discrete facts that have no connection to their lives."

"Science class is not well connected to broader, relevant things in the workplace and to life after school," agrees Claus Von Zastrow, director of research at Change the Equation. No wonder by the time they get to high school, only 37 percent of students tell pollsters they like science class.

So what do you do if, as a parent, you're convinced this just isn't good enough? How can you nudge your own kids towards an interest in STEM?

The good news is you have a lot to work with. First, kids are naturally curious about the world. The same poll that found a minority of kids like studying science in school, also found that 81 percent liked science itself. Second, there are a ton of resources at parents' disposal to help you open your kids' eyes to the wonders of STEM.

1. Explore the world together.

In fact, the world itself can be seen as one huge laboratory for your kids to explore. Encourage them to ask questions and find their own answers. "Instead of answering questions such as, 'Why do leaves change color in the fall?; turn the question around and ask them what they think," Stratton advises parents.

Von Zastrow has an even more specific suggestion: Science Buddies, a website that offers thousands of ideas for at-home experiments. Or check out citizen science projects that allow young people to take part in actual, ongoing studies in which real-life researchers deputize the public to help sift through or provide data, from examining silt for micro-fossils to photographing lady bugs for entomologists. Scientific American has a list of ongoing projects. Online coding classes and programs are a good bet as well - you can check out this list of free websites that teach kids coding.

2. Introduce them to STEM professionals.

This tip may be easier for parents who work in a STEM field themselves, but introducing your children to real-life scientists and technologists can go a long way to proving STEM leads to viable and fascinating career options. If that's a stretch given your location or social circle, your local library may be your next best bet.

"Many books now exist for primary students including non-fiction offerings such as Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine by Laurie Wallmark and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer; and fictional offerings such as Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty," Stratton points out.

3. Provide the right kind of toys.

Children's books and web resources can help parents spark a love of science, but so can the right kind of toys. And today, thankfully, there are more great options than ever before. Focus on multi-functional toys that allow for open-ended play, suggests Stratton. "Some of my sons' favorite activities over the years have included Magna-Tiles, GoldieBlox building sets, and Minecraft," she says.

Or just stick with old standbys from a time when childhood was less structured and more imaginative. "I would also encourage parents to supply their children with basic supplies and unstructured time to allow them opportunities to explore the outdoors, observe insects and wildlife, and build structures with cardboard, sticks, and other recycled items," Stratton adds.

4. Explain that STEM is for everyone.

While there are excellent toys out there for budding scientists, there are also some offerings at your local toy store that send exactly the wrong message, especially for girls. Von Zastrow suggests that while books or toys that portray space exploration or dinosaurs as "for boys" and ironing and fashion as "for girls" are highly annoying (and still all too common), they also offer parents a perfect teaching moment.

"Intentionally talk to your kids about what they're seeing and explain why, if it's ridiculous, it's ridiculous," Von Stratton tells parents. "Kids soak it up," he says of this sort of stereotype-busting talk, "but it's going to be a constant fight."

For more resources to encourage your little girl to get excited about STEM, check out GoldieBlox, Black Girls Code, EngineerGirl, Girls Who Code, Yellow Scope, RoboGabby and A Mighty Girl for games, books, tutorials, events and more!

5. Find the science in your kid's hobby.

Another approach to encourage a love of science and tech is to enter through the back door. Rather than pushing STEM directly, figure out what your kids are already passionate about already and highlight how that connects to technology and science. There's a link for almost any interest you can imagine.

"Computer science is becoming infused into all areas of our lives. I would encourage parents of kids who might feel like science isn't for them to look closely at a hobby or interest of theirs and find the science, technology, engineering, and math involved," suggests Stratton. "Hobbies such as sports, fashion, art, and music involve STEM. In short, find the hobby and look for the science."

6. Be persistent.

Finally, just keep chipping away at it. "So many people led to my decision to become a NASA engineer," says real-life rocket scientist Jenny Moss. "It wasn't one particular moment that set me off in that direction. It was a progression of support that led to my career."

"I've learned it takes an army to keep people moving forward, especially women in engineering. They need encouragement and nudges in the right direction all along the way," agrees aerospace engineer Jamie Krakover.

"The most important thing a parent can do to encourage a love of science in their child is to provide support and encouragement," concludes Stratton, who points to research showing that encouragement from family and peers is the key to getting kids interested in STEM and keeping them hooked.

In other words, you really do have the power to shape your kids' feelings about science and technology. Now go exercise it wisely.

Hackbright Academy is the leading engineering school for women. Learn more about the programs we offer here.

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6 Ways Parents Can Encourage a Love of Science and Tech in Their Kids | Hackbright Academy

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If you're keen to get your kid interested in STEM, we've got 6 strategies to help you open their eyes to the wonders of science and technology! According to STEM education advocacy group Change the Equation, just 56 percent of high schools offer a computer science class of any sort.

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A message from a physicist to parents - Neil DeGrasse Tyson

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Neil eloquently states a wonderful point about scientific literacy and parenting.

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Role models in STEM careers – James Branam, CA Technologies

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Interview with James Branam, Director, Software Engineering at CA Technologies on the topic of STEM role models and best practices on informing students about STEM careers. This interview is part of the 'Opening Minds to STEM careers' MOOC developed by the Scientix, SYSTEMIC and STEM Alliance projects.

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Ο Έλληνας καθηγητής τ

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Ο Έλληνας καθηγητής του ΜΙΤ Κωνσταντίνος Δασκαλάκης στη Στέγη

Τεχνητή Νοημοσύνη 2

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Δείτε όλα τα video της Στέγης του Ιδρύματος Ωνάση. Παρακολουθήστε συζητήσεις, συνεντεύξεις, trailers και βίντεο παραστάσεων της Στέγης.

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“Teachers and Careers: The role of school teachers in delivering Career and Employability Learning” (CEL)

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“Teachers and Careers: The role of school teachers in delivering Career and Employability Learning” (CEL)

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1. Tutorial roles:
a) Career informant: In this role, teachers provide students with a model, an approach of thinking about a career and help students shape their own way to view career choices by using their own experience as an example but without offering it as the only way to do this. The report lists some taks that a teacher in this role might perform: “talking about their decisions and how they made them, talking about their career building (including discussing challenges and regrets”, and many more;
b) Pastoral support:This refers to the teacher as a first contact point for students who may approach them with conversations they need to have with a trusted adult. These can be related purely to career choices/guidance and sometimes, they may appear as being related to careers, but in reality the issue the student is having may be, for example, health-related. In this role, the teacher helps the student in line with their capabilities, but also direct the student to other professionals who can help. A task the teacher can perform in this role: “acting as facilitator and advocate for students to help them to have career conversations with other staff, parents and employers.”
2. Teaching roles:
a) Within-subject: In this role, the teacher has two opportunities to provide CEL: within or beside the curriculum. For some subjects it may be more straightforward to discuss careers (e.g., Economics or Politics versus Physiscs, where more direct connections have to be made), and teaching approaches can also vary. If career information has to be provided besides the curriculum (e.g. STEM subjects), then the report proposes a team teaching approach, involving employers and other enrichment activities. Some tasks teachers can perform in this role: “explaining to pupils the progression routes open in continued learning in their subject area, using the curriculum to develop core employability skills”, “arranging visits to relevant workplaces”, “organising a programme of visiting speakers from business”;
b) Delivering CEL: This role refers to the teacher being involved, where possible and it exists (as it depends on curriculum set-up), in CEL as a separate, standalone subject of the curriculum. A task teachers can perform in this role: “contributing particular CEL inputs related to subject expertise”.
3. Leadership roles:

a) Leading CEL: A teacher leading CEL will be someone that, either has a teaching background or not, but needs to be familiar with and be able to coordinate various stakeholders involved in providing CEL to the school. Therefore, a teacher in this role would be someone in a middle leader position, and a Career co-ordinator.

b) Senior leadership: This role is taken up, normally, by someone of the school’s senior leadership team. In this role, the person would “connect CEL to the school’s mission and ethos, identify resourcing for CEL programmes, appointing and managing the school career’s leader” and other tasks.  (table 2 page 30-31)

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STEM career activities: types and uses

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Classroom activities for STEM careers – Victor J. Perez-Rubio, European Schoolnet

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Presentation on the multitude of STEM careers materials and activities available for classroom use by Victor J. Perez-Rubio, Pedagogical Officer at European Schoolnet. This video is part of the 'Opening Minds to STEM Careers' MOOC developed by the Scientix, SYSTEMIC and STEM Alliance projects.

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Tools for match-matching

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5 Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning

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 Teaching strategies, which foster STEM Awareness 

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 Teaching strategies, which foster STEM Awareness 

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1. Incorporate both formal and informal approaches: constantly bring career awareness in your activities and do not keep it as a separate unit.

2. Help students see scientists as real people: students may have difficulty imagining themselves as scientists because they cannot see that scientists have a normal life, just like them. They have hobbies, families and various interests.

3. Connect the dots: it is not enough to just expose students to career information, the teacher also has to directly connect career information with whatever the student is learning at that moment. This can refer to making clear connections to the real-life use of subjects, to giving examples of how it connects to jobs of scientists. The student will not be always capable of making these connections themselves, and you will have to do that for him.

4. Embed reflection: To make sure that information sticks with students, embed reflection to drive a deeper understanding. Otherwise, a lot of the information can be lost over time if reflection is not used to “glue” it.

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How to promote STEM skills through different pedagogies and educational methodologies. 

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How to promote STEM skills through different pedagogies and educational methodologies. 

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1. Engineering design: Engineering design is a methodology to promote the inclusion of engineering practices into the existing STEM curriculum (through the design and construction of a specific object/prototype).

This design will provide with a context for learning through mathematical processes. The analytical element of these processes will also allow students to use science inquiry to create and conduct experiments. These experiments will inform the learner about the function and performance of potential design solutions for the construction of their object/prototype. Students can benefit from this design, as it provides them with a systematic approach to solving problems in the STEM fields. Finally, it will allow students to build upon their own experiences and it will provide them with opportunities to construct new science and math knowledge through design analysis and scientific investigation.
2. Scientific inquiry/Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE): An inquiry approach to instruction requires teachers to “encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness to new ideas, and skepticism that characterize science”. Scientific inquiry prepares students to think and act like real scientists, ask questions, hypothesize, and conduct investigations using standard science practices. However, an inquiry-based approach involves a high level of knowledge and engagement on the part of the teachers and students. Teachers often feel unprepared because they are lacking authentic scientific research and inquiry experiences themselves. However, through IBSE, students will be able to construct their own questions related to the science content they are investigating while becoming drivers of their learning.
3. Project based learning (PBL): Project based learning approach can be defined as “the ongoing act of learning about different subjects simultaneously”. When engaged in project-based learning, students will be assigned a project or a number of projects guiding them to identify, through research, a real-world problem and to develop its solution using evidence to support the claim. This approach usually requires students to use diverse skills (such as researching, writing, interviewing, working in teams, speaking in public, etc.) to produce different pieces of work (like research papers following experiment results, multimedia presentations or video documentaries, among others).

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An Introduction to Project-Based Learning

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is cloud-based platform that allows teachers to create interactive lessons in a single place, while (at the same time) pulling in resources from anywhere.

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As of December 31, 2023, the ClassFlow.com Service will be sunsetted. At that time, you will no longer be able to access your ClassFlow account. If you would like to retain any of the content in your ClassFlow account, you will need to export that content before December 31, 2023. Our support article will walk you through exporting your ClassFlow content in a few easy steps.

In the meantime, we invite you to register for an Explain Everything account at https://www.explaineverything.com, where you will find the various service options. Explain Everything allows you to easily import your ClassFlow PDF lessons, images and videos and explore your options to create interactive lessons, record video tutorials and collaborate in real-time with your students.

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Lesson Delivery Software for Schools | ClassFlow

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ClassFlow is a collaborative and cloud-based lesson delivery software for any remote or hybrid teaching environment.

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are free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations. These are written in Java, Flash or HTML5, and can be run online or downloaded from any computer. PhET is designed to encourage scientific inquiry and to provide interactivity among students.

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By converting our sims to HTML5, we make them seamlessly available across platforms and devices. Whether you have laptops, iPads, chromebooks, or BYOD, your favorite PhET sims are always right at your fingertips.Become part of our mission today, and transform the learning experiences of students everywhere!

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Development of hard & soft skills for students – Carlos Cunha, Scientix Ambassador

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Presentation by Carlos Cunha, Physics & Chemistry teacher from Portugal and Scientix Ambassador, on the topic of how to train students for the necessary soft skills and hard skills for STEM careers. This video is part of the 'Opening Minds to STEM Careers' MOOC developed by the Scientix, SYSTEMIC and STEM Alliance projects.

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eSkills for Jobs 2016 | Lavinia Morris, Head of IT, SMBC Aviation Capital

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In this video, Gabrielle Ferguson, Talent Development Partner at CA Technologies, has mentioned an array of soft skills (including communication, adaptation, time management, collaborative working, agile working, adaptation to change, response to change or presentation skills) that are relevant in STEM study fields and STEM careers.

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Soft skills for STEM careers - Gabrielle Ferguson, CA Technologies

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Α series of videos on how different professionals use math and science in STEM and non-STEM jobs

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The school I work at is quite big and it is one building.

There are about 350 students aged 16-18.

Class sizes range from 15 to 25 and there are lessons until 2.15p.m.
I do not have my own classroom and rotate around different rooms throughout the day. Classroom layout is very traditional and students sit in rows in front of the teacher's desk.  We have only one projectors which can be used by schedule from all teachers. We have not laptops or tablets in classes.

There is a computer lab with 16 PCs where we can take students upon reservation, but our WiFi connectivity is very weak, so even the best designed lesson can end up in a total flop.

Smartphones are not allowed at any school in Greece.

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ελληνική έκδοση

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δυναμικός ιστότοπος

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εφαρμογή διαχείρισης περιεχομένου

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Αρχική σελίδα

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Joomla! - δυναμική εφαρμογή για θεματικές πύλες και σύστημα διαχείρισης περιεχομένου

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In this animation you will learn about STEM industries, some examples of career options available in each of them and what can teachers do to support their students on their path towards possible STEM careers. This interview is part of the 'Opening Minds to STEM careers' MOOC developed by the Scientix, SYSTEMIC and STEM Alliance projects.

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A Quick List of STEM Careers

The nation is in the midst of a STEM revolution and the next generation of thinkers will be leading it. As the world becomes more digitally dependent, those in science and technology careers continue to fuel innovation with bold ideas and game-changing prototypes. Additionally, more industries are turning to engineers, scientists and mathematicians to solve and prevent some of the world's biggest problems in areas like big data and cybersecurity.

With STEM-focused careers on the front line of economic growth, students of these disciplines have more opportunities to find jobs that truly inspire, challenge and reward them. Whether you want to create the next big video game, build autonomous vehicles or design intelligent machines, there is a profession that can fulfill your deepest passions.

Below is a glossary highlighting both established and emerging careers in STEM including job titles, common variations of the job title, examples of companies who hire for these jobs, a brief job description, median pay, and the projected ten-year growth.

Read through the job descriptions to learn more about each role and see which STEM careers interest you the most. Afterward, explore our list of degree programs to find a concentration that aligns with your career goals and aspirations.

Job Title

Companies

Description

Median Pay

Projected 10-Year Growth

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The nation is in the midst of a STEM revolution and the next generation of thinkers will be leading it. As the world becomes more digitally dependent, those in science and technology careers continue to fuel innovation with bold ideas and game-changing prototypes.

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Evolution of STEM careers – James Branam, CA Technologies

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Interview with James Branam, Director, Software Engineering at CA Technologies on the topic of STEM careers, how they are evolving and how can teachers address this. This interview is part of the 'Opening Minds to STEM careers' MOOC developed by the Scientix, SYSTEMIC and STEM Alliance projects.

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Evolution of STEM careers – Alex Kingham, CA Technologies

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Description: Interview with Alex Kingham , Director, Software Engineering at CA Technologies on the topic of STEM careers, how they are evolving and how can teachers address this. This interview is part of the 'Opening Minds to STEM careers' MOOC developed by the Scientix, SYSTEMIC and STEM Alliance projects. http://www.europeanschoolnetacademy.eu/web/opening-minds-to-stem-careers.

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65% of today's school students will be doing jobs that don't exist yet

“Future Proof Yourself” Report (The Future Laboratory & Microsoft)

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What will future jobs look like? | Andrew McAfee

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The Fourth Industrial Revolution  | Full Version (Subtitled)

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How to promote soft skills when designing courses or lessons plans

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How to promote soft skills when designing courses or lessons plans

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Soft skills such as resilience, self-control and time management can be incorporated through pedagogical approaches like project-based learning and inquiry based science education (which will be further explained in the coming sections).

In general, group work activities are always an opportunity to integrate soft skills in the classroom. Problem solving tasks can be a chance for pupils to engage in social skills. The freedom of working in groups will help students to develop time-management and self-control abilities, emphasizing the notion of self-regulation and time-on-task. Last, working in small groups can also encourage quiet students to express their thoughts in a more comfortable manner. (Concordia University, 2016)

Incorporating student self-assessment into lessons is another way to promote soft skills. While students can measure their knowledge attainment through tests, they do not always take time to reflect on their own work, on what is challenging them and in what areas are they succeeding. Having students review their own work will also help them develop resilience and add a goal setting approach to their educational experiences (Concordia University, 2016).

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Just what skills do students need today to succeed in the future? We asked 7 leaders in STEM education what they think classroom teachers should focus on to prepare kids for jobs we haven't even conceived of yet.

Many of our interviewees cited a diverse range of skills, but we challenged them to name at least one key ability they believe will be more critical than the rest in order to succeed in future STEM fields.

We were surprised by the equal mix of "soft" and more traditional academic skills mentioned, from creativity to statistics. Read on for more of what our experts had to say:

1. Statistics

"If I were to choose one specific discipline for students to study, it would be statistics, a course that can be applied across all STEM fields. You don't need higher levels of calculus or physics for all STEM careers, but you do need statistics. A deep understanding of statistics means understanding probability and error rates, concepts that cut across almost any type of problem you want to solve in STEM."

- Gregg Fleisher, president, National Math and Science Initiative, Dallas, Texas

2. Problem-Solving

"What binds together the STEM movement is the notion of modern skills. Employers talk about problem-solving. Society requires problem-solving. Doing your taxes requires problem-solving. Those are the types of skills that really matter. A practicing engineer will tell you, 'I didn't use the calculus I learned to solve problems on paper, but the way it taught me to solve problems and to think about problems was really important.'"
-James Brown, executive director of the STEM Education Coalition in Washington, D.C., and a nuclear engineer by training
3. Creativity

"Creativity can be simple and complex at the same time.We don't always teach to think outside of the box. You've got to look at a problem from a different perspective sometimes. Teachers can nurture this by asking open-ended questions. In math and science, you can show different models so students get varying ideas of how it might look to bring together one idea. Or don't show a model at all and leave it a little open-ended so they have to come up with a solution on their own. Ask: 'Why do you think this is?' Reflecting and explaining what they did to solve a problem can foster creativity and teach collaboration -another important skill."

- Jenny Nash, education sp ecialist with in Boston, former middle school teacher and teacher-preparation instructor

4. Argumentation
-Eric Brunsell, associate professor of science education and director of the teacher education program at University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
"The act of arguing is using evidence to support a claim. In the STEM fields, this means using analytical and critical-thinking skills to look for patterns in data, trying to determine what those patterns mean, and then using that data to support a claim. This skill transfers across all disciplines. In an elementary school science class, for example, if you give students a lot of different experiences with noisemakers-everything from tuning forks to speakers to whoopee cushions-they have the experience of collecting data. And then they will be able to use that data to make the argument that sounds are caused by vibrations."

5. Intellectual Curiosity
-Ted Wells, vice president and chief strategy officer at STEMconnector®, in Washington, D.C.
"The days of coming into an organization and having the same role forever are over. Many people will have two-year stints and then are moved into a different role. That's the nature of modern career paths. Beyond mastering content, individuals need to be innovators, learn from failures and keep moving on. You need to cut across disciplines and be able to ask the questions that help build connections. People need to be lifelong learners and be driven by an intellectual curiosity to try to figure things out."

6. Data-Driven Decision-Making

"Students need to be able to make a decision not just based on what they think or feel, but on scientific data that supports the best solution. Everyone needs to know how to do this. It doesn't matter whether you go on to a career in STEM or not-you need to know how to use data to make informed decisions in your life."

- Stacy Klein-Gardner, director of Center for STEM Education for Girls at Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a biomedical engineer and on faculty at Vanderbilt University.

7. Flexibility

"People are now required to adapt quickly to new demands and new situations. They need quantitative skills to manipulate data well. They need to be able to communicate clearly. There is a broad set of skills that, I would argue, everyone needs. Just look at the sheer number of people in manufacturing who were skilled at what they did but who now need a whole new set of skills, often late in their careers, to be viable in the job market. They need to know statistics, technology, quality control. They need to understand programming and systems to ensure the automated production technology is operating correctly. The trick for teachers is to give their students authentic problems to tackle in school, problems that require students to draw on different areas of knowledge and skill."
Teachers, what are your thoughts? Do you have any focus skills that you particularly try to instill in your students? Please share in the comments!
- Claus von Zastrow, chief operating officer and director of research for Change the Equation in Washington, D.C.

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The 7 Most Important STEM Skills We Should Be Teaching Our Kids

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We asked 7 leaders in STEM education what they think classroom teachers should focus on to prepare kids for jobs we haven't even conceived of yet.

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“The Emerging Role of Science Teachers in Facilitating STEM Career Awareness” 

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“The Emerging Role of Science Teachers in Facilitating STEM Career Awareness” 

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4 cognitive-behaviour dimensions as the pillars of career development:

1. Awareness (students are aware and know the variety of STEM careers available),

2. Relevance (they see the connection between the subject they are studying and day to day life),

3. Engagement (students show direct interest and motivation to interact with the subject matter),

4. Self-efficacy (students are comfortable with using tools of science).

The report also goes on outlining four teaching strategies, which foster STEM careers awareness, derived from a series of interviews with science teachers:

1. Incorporate both formal and informal approaches: constantly bring career awareness in your activities and do not keep it as a separate unit.

2. Help students see scientists as real people: students may have difficulty imagining themselves as scientists because they cannot see that scientists have a normal life, just like them. They have hobbies, families and various interests.

3. Connect the dots: it is not enough to just expose students to career information, the teacher also has to directly connect career information with whatever the student is learning at that moment. This can refer to making clear connections to the real-life use of subjects, to giving examples of how it connects to jobs of scientists. The student will not be always capable of making these connections themselves, and you will have to do that for him.

4. Embed reflection: To make sure that information sticks with students, and embeds reflection to drive a deeper understanding. Otherwise, a lot of the information can be lost over time if reflection is not used to “glue” it.

the study entitled “The Emerging Role of Science Teachers in Facilitating STEM Career Awareness”  (Cohen & Patterson, 2012)

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Benefits of career counselling in schools