Where are we now? Where are we going? A lot has changed since the Science Education Summit in 2016. Nebraska’s NEW College and Career Ready Standards for Science pave the way for new directions in classroom instruction, high school courses, and future assessment. We will take a brief look at the journey, take a glimpse into some science classrooms, and explore the road ahead driven by phenomenological sense-making.
With national calls to action on the importance of STEM education, and the expansion of STEM-focused employment opportunities, there is no shortage of enthusiasm for STEM. However, what is STEM and who is responsible for it? The STEM educational pathway is an elaborate road with multiple stakeholders supporting the structure. The buy-in from administrators at the national, state, and local levels is pivotal, as is the contributions from K-12 districts. However, in addition to partners emphasizing the call to action, we need training and delivery of high quality content across the STEM disciplines, but in a way that meets existing timelines and objectives. To accomplish this, we need a strategic coalescing of stakeholders. The speaker will elaborate on who these stakeholders are and what their contributions can be for a balanced, effective STEM pipeline.
