K-12 STEM Education

@ UNM

Vanessa Svihla, PhDvsvihla@unm.edu

Assistant Professor Teacher Education, Educational Leadership, and Policy

Secondary ScienceSeptember 6th, 2013

Ancient Sumer Classroom

Early American Classroom

What does science instruction look like right now?

• New Mexico has pretty good science standards– NM teachers tend to let textbooks- aligned to TX or

CA- drive instruction– TX and CA do not have good standards....

• reading from text book • direct instruction • worksheets• a few “cookbook” labs• very little science instruction in elementary

The Importance of early years for STEM

• Interest is NOT the problem• programs can increase interest but not affect pipeline

(Zarske, 2007)

• STEM identity• Building capacity – review of 240 papers on K-12 EE– Inquiry oriented engineering programs show gains

in science & mathematics achievement

“The real STEM crisis is one of literacy: the fact that today’s students are not receiving a solid grounding

in science, math, and engineering.”

• Science and Engineering• A focus on core ideas, cross-cutting concepts, practices

– Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)– Developing and using models– Planning and carrying out investigations– Analyzing and interpreting data– Using mathematics and computational thinking– Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for

engineering)– Engaging in argument from evidence– Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

What works

IES & the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)

What can we learn from WWC?• GEMS® Space Science Sequence > direct instruction • GEMS® The Real Reasons for Seasons < direct

instruction

???

What can we learn from WWC?

• Professional development matters!• Guided inquiry > direct instruction• Connecting to everyday understanding works• but... it depends on what you mean by

“works”– This will change under NGSS– Distributed practice and testing support learning

of facts and concepts, not practices, how to think

What else works?

• Explicit feedback matters• Effort and perseverance > IQ– (also, IQ is not a real thing)

• Failure can be productive for later learning and success

• STEM activities need to spark intellectual curiosity

How can we accomplish this?

• Project-based and problem-based learning– spark intellectual curiosity– connect to everyday experience– narrow achievement gaps

What doesn’t work?

• Learning Styles are not real• Multiple Intelligences is NOT backed by research• Right-brained/Left-brained is not real• Whole-brained and brain-based fads are not

back by research• “Brain-training” does not work• Approaches that cause

disinterest/disconnections

Interdisciplinary STEM Education

Research

Funding: 2012 UNM TAG, USDA NIFA HSI #2012-38422-19836

Interactive Learning Assessment

A collaboration between nutrition teacher education, computer science, and IFDM

A collaboration between teacher education and engineering

Performance Assessments are Rich and Robust:a Collaboratory with NMPAN, in conversation with PED

How would you design a home for a world with 10 billion people?

How can we make K-12 STEM better?

• Project- and Problem-Based Instruction that engages students in authentic intellectual work

• Performance assessments that support learning & make development toward mastery visible

П рвый блин всегд к моме́� а́� о́�• High quality, sustained professional development that

values teacher adaptation over fidelity of implementation

• Commitment to sustaining new practices, nurturing them beyond implementation dips

Thanks!Questions?