Education|Evolving Requests Your Feedback: Innovating with School and Schooling

The recent passage of the America COMPETES Act has reopened the dialog in Washington on how we will actually go about bringing innovation to our schools and universities. Sometimes lost in the laundry list of funding recommendations for the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education efforts of the federal agencies is the fact that the act directs the President to convene a National Science and Technology Summit to examine the health and direction of the U.S. STEM enterprises, and requires a National Academy of Sciences study on barriers to innovation. It also expresses a sense of Congress that each federal research agency should support and promote innovation through funding for high-risk, high-reward research.

This discussion has brought renewed attention to approaches that substantially depart from the traditional systems and architecture of American schools. Washington is looking for innovation wherever it arises. Pouring more effort into frontal assault to bring about systemic change, is losing favor now even among the federal agencies. Based on conversation at several recent meetings, the consensus is that if we are really serious about competitiveness and innovation then we are going to have to get seriously competitive and innovative. Getting federal grant money will require more creative approaches than those that have worked in the past.

A policy group based in Minnesota, with whom many of you may be familiar, is now very much involved in this discussion and is successfully advancing the idea of radical alternatives to schools and schooling. They are addressing the barriers to innovation issue in Washington. Some may remember Ted Kolderie and Joe Graba who spoke to our conference a few years ago. Their group, Education Evolving (E|E), has argued (quite successfully it appears) for a national focus on innovating with new and different forms of school/ing. This view is now being taken very seriously and E|E has had several meetings in Washington with federal agencies. Coalition directors to take a look (because others are) at their most recent paper.

To download Innovating with School and Schooling, go to: http://www.educationevolving.org/pdf/InnovatingwithschoolingNASSMC.pdf

To read its case for a basically different national strategy, see the E|E website at www.educationevolving.org

STEM Education and Career Choice

Improved student achievement in school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) does not translate directly into greater numbers of students choosing to enter the STEM fields. 

While the reports generated by blue ribbon panels have repeatedly linked this effort to improving the STEM workforce pipeline, the connection simply is not there. Doing well in science technology, engineering and mathematics classes does not increase the likelihood that a student will choose a STEM career. Further, research on the factors affecting career choice suggests that interests do not change very much over time.

This surprises us, but it shouldn't. We have known for some time that hobbies or reading preferences correlate better with career choice than performance in particular subjects in school.  As performance and achievement go up, there is no accompanying rise in the numbers choosing STEM careers.  We have assumed quite correctly that students who receive more instruction in the technical subjects will be better prepared for the workplace or for college.  We have also assumed that because they are better prepared, they will choose STEM careers. It does not work that way.

Wanting to learn more science and mathematics arises from interest in these fields, not from an aptitude for scholarship in those subjects in school. We know for certain that students who do well in school generally do well across the board. They excel in English, History, and music just as they do in science, technology, and mathematics.  Some of those with the highest achievement in science will choose a career in law or finance, while others who may not have faired as well in science, mathematics and technology scholarship will, because of intense interest, choose engineering or research.  

Career choice is based on interest and awareness. If you are keenly interested in mathematics, science or technology, but do not know that there are jobs out there that you could do and enjoy, then you will not choose them. You will not take courses that would prepare you to pursue that goal. You will pick something else. The student has options of which they may be completely unaware. Certainly it is true that to be a scientist, engineer, or mathematician one must have the necessary background, knowledge and understanding. But how do we make the leap that developing these competencies will drive career choice?

In Texas, business and education leaders are collaborating in an initiative that acknowledges what we actually know about career choice. If we can identify interest early, develop an awareness of the options, and systematically help the student in the pursuit of their interest, we will impact the STEM workforce pipeline. This is not a theory. It is an observation. We need not ask if this is so; we already know that it is.

We lose scientists, engineers and mathematicians in our middle schools. We lose another cohort in our high schools and yet another in our community colleges and universities. It is ludicrous to assume that all of these individuals have been “weeded out” because they were incapable. A few of them will make their way back into the STEM pipeline by overcoming the obstacles we have erected that keep them out. They will catch up. If they are selected out very early however, we may have irrevocably consigned them to a lifetime of functional technological illiteracy.

We have created two tracks. One track leads to more science, mathematics and technology learning opportunities and career possibilities.  The other leads to marginal employment and limited options. That second track is doing no one any good.

-Jim McMurtray, NASSMC Executive Director

NASSMC Dues Structure

NASSMC 2007-2008 dues are payable now. Member coalitions may pay the full $300 at this time or $150 (half) with the balance due in the Spring. Member coalitions able to contribute at a higher level than regular dues amount will now be able to do so.

Sponsoring members such as corporations, federal and state agencies, foundations and professional organizations will not be voting members of the Delegate Assembly, but will serve in an advisory role to NASSMC. Sponsoring members will pay annual dues of $5000.

In the past the dues cycle has begun in March or April with dues being paid just before the annual conference. Some organizations will find it easier to pay in the Fall than in the Spring since this comes along in addition to annual conference registration.

In future years dues will be payable on the following schedule:

September: $150 (half) or $300 (to pay in full).
March: $150 balance due unless already paid in full.

If you require an invoice for dues payment, NASSMC will send it to you on request. Please send an email to info@nassmc.org.

Resources & Reports

• Master the Science ... Master the Game, National Institute of Aerospace and Nortel Learnit: Free online lesson plans help explore the dimensions of time and space using the basic themes of the Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl video games.  Students learn 21st Century science topics using 21st Century tools.Visit the website to download free lesson plans beginning now through the end of December 2007.  A classroom activity component is also available, encouraging teachers to submit student products and questions to be answered by science experts. Check this site monthly looking for new resources and student work. For award-winning, interactive lessons in Math, Science, Language Arts and Life Skills, visit the Pokémon Learning League. For a limited time, access a free Pokémon Learning League trial using www.pokemonlearningleague.com/autologin.weml?username=niademo&password=pokemon


• Second Annual 21st Century Explorer Podcast Competition, American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in collaboration with NASA: NASA’s space exploration plans make today’s students, tomorrow’s explorers.  As we look toward the future of space exploration, we can learn much by reviewing past successes. “What do you think is NASA’s greatest exploration achievement in the past 50 years and why?” is the question that drives the Second Annual 21st Century Explorer Podcast Competition.


• Team America Rocketry Challenge, Lockheed Martin Space Day and the Aerospace Industries Association: The goal of TARC is to promote aerospace to students to attract more young people to careers in the industry. The contest is also sponsored by the National Association of Rocketry in partnership with NASA, the Defense Department, the Civil Air Patrol, and 39 AIA member companies. The winning teams share a prize pool of more than $75,000 in savings bonds and cash. Space Day is contributing $15,000 toward that prize, with $5,000 going to each of the top three teams. As a result of its partnership, Lockheed Martin Space Day is promoting student participation in TARC and discontinuing the Design Challenges competition.


• Are Private High Schools Better Academically Than Public High Schools?, Center on Education Policy: This study, based on an analysis of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988-2000, finds that, once family background characteristics are taken into account, low-income students attending public urban high schools generally performed as well academically as students attending private high schools.


• Journey through the Universe Program, National Center for Earth and Space Science Education/Universities Space Research Association: Journey through the Universe content addresses exploration of the Solar System, galaxy, and Universe; Earth systems science; the search for extraterrestrial life; building a permanent human presence in space; and engineering for spaceflight. The content resides in a library of Grade K-12 Education Modules—compendia of inquiry-based, hands-on lessons at elementary, middle, and high school levels—that are used as the 'curriculum' for community-wide programming.

Of Interest...

+ Chilli-based anaesthetic won't leave you drooling: Hate being left numb and drooling after visiting the dentist? A local anaesthetic that targets just pain-sensing neurons could make these trips less traumatic. Local anaesthetics such as lignocaine work by diffusing into all neurons and blocking channels that transport sodium ions across cell membranes - leaving the person in the dentist's chair pain-free but numb. ~ via New Scientist

Click image to enlarge. The cloak's concentric gold rings can steer light waves travelling along a surface around an object and straight on again as if it was not there (Image: Smolyaninov/University of Maryland)

+ Gold rings create first true invisibility cloak: The world's first true invisibility cloak – a device able to hide an object in the visible spectrum – has been created by physicists in the US. But don't expect it to compete with stage magic tricks. So far it only works in two dimensions and on a tiny scale. The new cloak, which is just 10 micrometres in diameter, guides rays of light around an object inside and releases them on the other side. The light waves appear to have moved in a straight line, so the cloak – and any object inside – appear invisible. ~via New Scientist

+ Oxygen on Earth: 50 to 100 million years earlier than scientists thought: Scientists have found that traces of oxygen appeared in Earth's atmosphere 50 to 100 million years earlier than previously thought--before what geologists call the "Great Oxidation Event." This event happened between 2.3 and 2.4 billion years ago, when most geoscientists think atmospheric oxygen rose sharply from very low levels. The amount of oxygen before that time has been uncertain. Analyzing layers of sedimentary rock in a kilometer-long core sample from the Hamersley Basin in Western Australia, the researchers report finding evidence that a small but significant amount of oxygen--a whiff--was present in the oceans and possibly Earth's atmosphere 2.5 billion years ago. ~via NSF

+ Scans reveal lost gravestone text: Illegible words on church headstones could be read once more thanks to a scan technology developed in the US. Scientists at Carnegie Mellon university are making high resolution 3D scans of tombstones to reveal the carved patterns in the stone. A computer matches the patterns to a database of signature carvings which reveals the words. The technique could one day also be used by doctors to examine a patient's tongue for signs of illness. ~via BBC News Science/Nature

+ Eating spiders can fix a bird brain: Forget Baby Einstein. Birds have hit upon a cheaper, more reliable method for enriching their offspring's minds: spider snacks. The blue tit, a European relative of the chickadee, feeds its chicks huge, heaping helpings of spiders peaking when the chicks are five days old. This behavior has long puzzled biologists because spiders are rarer and harder for tits to catch than are caterpillars, the chicks' other main dish. ~via Discover

A droplet moving up an inclined surface. Shaking moves the drop in such a way that it forces it to defy gravity and move upward. Credit: Philippe Brunet, University of Bristol

+ Liquid drops defy gravity, travel uphill: Gravity-defying drops of liquid can travel uphill if the surface they are sitting on is shaken up and down vigorously enough, a new study finds. If you've ever looked out a window on a rainy day, you've probably noticed that small drops of water tend to stay where they fall, while big ones roll down the glass. Small drops stay still because the surface tension holding them up is balanced against the force of gravity pulling them down. But for bigger drops, gravity overwhelms the surface tension force and causes the drop to slide down. ~via LiveScience

+ Star system 'just right' for building an Earth: An Earth-like planet is likely forming 424 light-years away in a star system called HD 113766, say astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Scientists have discovered a huge belt of warm dust - enough to build a Mars-size planet or larger - swirling around a distant star that is just slightly more massive than our sun. The dust belt, which they suspect is clumping together into planets, is located in the middle of the system's terrestrial habitable zone. This is the region around a star where liquid water could exist on any rocky planets that might form. Earth is located in the middle of our sun's terrestrial habitable zone. ~via NASA

+ Eggshells could help power hydrogen cars: Eggs give many of us the fuel we need to start the day, but leftover eggshells of the future could provide fuel to start hydrogen cars. The fragile leftovers can be ground up and used to filter out carbon dioxide, a pesky by-product of hydrogen production, engineers said. "The key to making pure hydrogen is separating out the carbon dioxide," said L.S. Fan, a chemical and biomolecular engineer at Ohio State University. ~via LiveScience

+ Herbalists' cocktails may do more harm than good, say researchers: There is no proof that individualised herbal medicines do any good but a significant risk that they may do harm, according to a study published today. The study's author, Peter Canter, of the Peninsula medical school in Exeter, believes they should be banned. He says herbalists are promoting their individualised remedies - cocktails of up to 20 different herbs mixed for specific customers - on the back of the real evidence on the effect of standardised doses of single herbs such as St John's wort for depression. ~Via The Guardian

+ Belgium launches multipurpose ID cards: Ministers grappling with the technical and political problems of electronic identity cards are looking with interest at the experience of a close continental neighbour. The government of Belgium expects to be the first to issue multipurpose national chip cards to all citizens and residents. Unlike Britain, where residents will have to be 16 to qualify for the card, Belgians are eligible from birth. The Belgian government has begun issuing stylishly designed blue and green children's cards both as an identity and a child protection measure. The kids' card has three functions, says Joachim Van Eyck, project manager at the federal interior ministry. ~Via The Guardian

+ Brain's Capacity Limited by Connectivity Issues: If youcan't remember where you left the car keys, take comfort in a new study that suggests the brain's memory capacity may be far lower than once thought. About 100 billion neurons, or brain cells, make up the average adult's brain, but the computer-based discovery shows our memory isn't based simply on neuron numbers. Instead, the limited amount of connections a neuron can make to other neurons may cut memory capacity. ~via LiveScience